Gomez 5th at state wrestling tourney

Written by Hillsboro Free Press Tuesday, 27 March 2012 14:54

For the second year in a row, elementary school student Devin Gomez, representing the Hills­boro Wrestling Club, placed in the top six in his age group and weight class at the USA Wrest­ling Kansas Kids State Cham­pionship Wrestling Tournament this weekend in Topeka.

After finishing third at state last year in the 8-and-under division, Devin move up to the 10-and-under division and placed fifth this year to become the first Hills­boro wrestler to ever place multiple times at the state tournament.

Wrestling at 76 pounds, Devin finished the tournament with a 4-2 record. He won by fall in his opening match, then lost a 4-2 decision in the quarterfinals.

Devin then won two straight matches in the consolation rounds, one by fall and one by a 6-4 score.

After losing by a score of 4-1 in the consolation semifinals, Devin dominated in his medal-round match, winning by pin after leading 12-0 at the end of the second period.

Following are results for other HWC competitors.

• 12 & Under: Nathan Simhiser (165 pounds) finished just one match short of placing in the top six with a 2-2 record.

• 14 & Under: Jesse Meier (150) finished his first trip to the state tournament with a 1-2 record. He won his opening match by fall before losing to a defending state champion in his second match.

• High School: Matt Reeh (285) received a first-round bye, then was pinned by the eventual fifth-place finisher. He then suffered a 5-1 loss that eliminated him from the tournament.

“I am very proud of the commitments these guys made in continuing to come to practice and preparing near the end of such a long, grueling wrestling season,” said Scott O’Hare, HWC director.