The Hillsboro wrestling team managed five top-four finishes at a competitive Central Kansas League tournament Saturday at Hoising?ton.
As a team, Hillsboro placed fifth among the nine league schools that offer wrestling. Finishing ahead of the Trojans were Smoky Valley, who claimed the league title with 180 points, followed by Hoisington (179.5), Pratt (156) and Lyons (102).
Hillsboro, which tallied 74 points, was followed by Hess?ton (58), Halstead (53), Lar?ned (33) and Nickerson (26.5).
?This was as competitive as any tournament we have attended this year and probably as solid as the league tournament has been since we started with this format,? coach Scott O?Hare said.
?Almost every weight class had a number of solid wrestlers vying for a league championship and many weights had a lot of depth, where any number of kids could have earned medals any given day.?
The Trojans top-four performances included second place finishes by Jon Carey (4-1), who lost in sudden victory at 132 pounds, and Nathan Simhiser (3-1) at 195 pounds.
Finishing third for Hills?boro were Jesse Meier (4-1) at 170 pounds and Levi Men?doza (4-1) at 182 pounds. Travis King (2-3) placed fourth at 126 pounds.
Also competing for Hills?boro were: Mack Bartel (0-5), sixth at 106 pounds; Tristan Donaldson (0-5), sixth at 120; Ian Alumbaugh (3-2), fifth at 138; Tyson Reimer (2-3), fifth at 145; Franklin Jost (1-4), fifth at 220; and Ryan Step?anek (0-5), sixth at 285.
?I thought our guys competed pretty well,? O?Hare said. ?We were definitely more prepared and looked better than last weekend. Although we still have a few wrestlers holding themselves back with lack of confidence and mental tough?ness, I thought overall we battled pretty well.?
Coming?Hillsboro will travel to Russell Friday for the two-day Class 3-2-1A regional tournament.
Also in the field are Beloit, St. Johns, Benning?ton, Canton-Galva, Ells?worth, Southeast of Saline, Halstead, Herington, Hess?ton, Hoisington, Lang?don-Fairfield, Lincoln, Lyons, Minneapolis, Moundridge, Osborne, Russell, Sacred Heart, St. John?s Military Academy, St. John-Hudson, Stafford and Sterling.
The top four finishers in each weight class will qualify for the state tournament Feb. 27-28 in Hays.
?We really need to focus on cleaning up on some technique and getting more aggressive with finishing things,? coach Scott O?Hare said. ?We will take some time to discuss match strategy to make sure we win the close matches when something is on the line.?
