Wrestlers win sportsmanship award at Eureka
By JILLIAN OVERSTAKE
Intern Staff Writer
Hillsboro High School's wrestling team had a successful weekend, placing sixth at the 18-team Eureka Invitational this past Saturday, taking home the sportsmanship award, and winning a double dual at Lyons this past Thursday.
Winning every match against Lyons, the Trojans won 63-0 in the Thursday competition.
Alex Jost, 103 pounds, started the day off right with a pin in 1:06. Jared King, 125 pounds, quickly followed suit, pinning his opponent in :58. Two more pins followed with Toby Jones, 135 pounds, and Tyler Jones, 140 pounds, each in the third period. Frankie Martin, 160 pounds, pinned his opponent in 3:15 in the second period, putting Hillsboro ahead 48-0. The match against Lyons ended with John Hein's 10-4 victory at 189 pounds.
Against Lincoln, the Trojans only matched up in three weight classes. Nicholas Mueller, 130 pounds, suffered his first loss of the season, 2-4 against No. 3 ranked Tommy Knapp. Hillsboro still came out on top, 42-27.
In the 13th Annual Eureka Invitational, Hillsboro had three runner-up finishes and three others in the top five. Nicholas Mueller, 130 pounds, was a runner-up, as were Tyler Jones at 140 pounds, and Jacob Yoder at 171 pounds. Grady Stultz placed third at 152 pounds. Toby Jones, 135 pounds, placed fifth, as did Sean Leihy at 145 pounds.
Three wrestlers, Stultz, Leihy, and Jones wrestled the maximum number of five matches, a grueling experience for any athlete.
In addition, the team received the Eureka Invitational sportsmanship award as voted on by the 17 other school's coaches and officials.
"I am very proud of this award," said Hillsboro coach Scott O'Hare. "We try to get these guys to understand the importance of character and sportsmanship that goes along with athletic participation."
The Trojans took to the mats again Monday at Halstead in a 21-team tournament. On Friday, the team travels to the Hoisington Cardinal Classic.
"It will be a very tough mental and physical challenge for these guys," O'Hare said. "I'm looking forward to seeing if they are ready to step up to the challenge."
