Yoder shoulders 3rd state berth

Written by Don Ratzlaff Wednesday, 20 February 2008 10:25

To make it the high school state wrestling tournament even once in a career is no small feat. To qualify three out of four years is rare.

But to compete all season with the constant threat of a recurring shoulder injury—and then achieve a dominant season and a third state tournament berth to boot approaches legend.

Against all odds, Hillsboro senior Jacob Yoder will get a chance to achieve his goal of earning a medal at state when he walks onto the mat in Busch-Gross Coliseum in Hays this weekend.

“I really wanted to finish the season out and do my best at state—and I wanted to get that state medal,” he said.

Yoder separated his shoulder about midway through a standout football season that culminated with his recent selection...

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Hillsboro wrestlers win second regional in school history

Written by Don Ratzlaff Wednesday, 20 February 2008 10:23

Eureka-Regionals-2-15-08-(8.jpg Alex Jost finishes off an opponent on his way to qualifying for his second berth in the state tournament. Jost will meet Herington’s John Redetzke in the first round at Busch-Gross Coliseum on the Fort Hays State University campus Friday.

Aside from finding a winning lottery ticket lying in the gutter on the way to the parking lot, it’s hard to imagine a weekend that could have gone much better for the Hillsboro wrestling team than this one did at Eureka.

Eight Trojans qualified for the state tournament, the team took first place and coach Scott O’Hare came home with the 3-2-1A regional coach-of-the-year award.

“I am obviously very proud of these guys for winning the regional title, which is...

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Hillsboro stymied at Collegiate

Written by Don Ratzlaff Wednesday, 20 February 2008 10:00

HHSbbBrownP2166289.jpg Hillsboro senior Spencer Brown gets into the thick of it against Collegiate Saturday in his first week back on the hardwood.

Poor play at start of each half created a hole Hillsboro could not climb out of against No. 1 ranked Collegiate Saturday in Wichita. The Spartans prevailed in the rescheduled rematch, 56-44.

Hillsboro started the game with four turnovers and a missed shot in its first five possessions as the Spartans jumped to a 6-0 lead. Clay Shewey finally got Hillsboro on the board, scoring the Trojans’ only basket of the quarter from 3-point range at the 4:11 mark. By the end of the period, Hillsboro was looking up from a 14-4 deficit.

But the Trojans picked up their game in the...

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Trojans take 47-35 road loss at Collegiate

Written by Don Ratzlaff Wednesday, 20 February 2008 09:38

It would have taken a complete game for the Hillsboro girls to make a run at highly regarded Collegiate in Satur­day’s makeup game in Wichita.

That simply didn’t happen for the Trojans, who struggled through the second and third quarters and came up on the short end of a 47-35 score.

The Trojans were within striking distance at 11-7 after one quarter, but 1-for-9 shooting from the floor, 0-for-5 shooting from the free-throw line and five turnovers in the second period enable the Spartans to take control by halftime at 23-9.

The Trojans kept pace through the first half of the third quarter, but turnovers on seven consecutive possessions over the span of about two minutes enabled Collegiate to inflate its lead to 42-21 by the end...

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