HHS wrestlers repeat as Eureka tournament champs

Nicholas Mueller gains the upper hand during his championship match with Tyler McMichael of Central Burden to guarantee Hillsboro first place in the team standings. Mueller was the only Trojan to win his weight class at Eureka.

If the Hillsboro High wrestling team had a little swagger in its step on the way to winning the Eureka Invitational title Saturday, the Trojans were only following orders.

Hillsboro repeated as team champion with a 144 to 142 margin over second-place Caney Valley and a field of 17 other teams.

?Coach Bowman told the guys on Friday that they needed to go into the tournament like they owned the Eureka gymnasium,? head coach Scott O?Hare said. ?We won this tournament there last year and also won the Class 3-2-1A regional championship here.

?The boys seemed to respond, and they wrestled with a little more swagger.?

Nicholas Mueller was the only Trojan to win a weight class, prevailing with a 4-0 record at 130 pounds to raise his season record to 17-2.

Meanwhile, John Hein lost his first match of the season in the championship showdown at 189 pounds and is 17-1 for the season.

?Although it was disappointing for John, I believe he will use this loss as motivation and a good learning experience,? O?Hare said.

Joining Mueller and Hein as medal-winners with a top-five finish were: Robby McClelland (4-2 tournament record), fourth at 119 pounds; Matt Yoder (3-2), fifth at 135; Aaron Bina (2-1), second at 140; Toby Jones (3-2), fifth at 145; Tyler Jones (4-1), third at 152; and Gabe Anderson (3-2), fourth at 171.

?I was very happy for Aaron Bina earning his first appearance in the finals of a varsity tournament,? O?Hare said. ?He had an exciting overtime victory over a wrestler from Garden Plain that eliminated him from the regional tournament last season.

?Hopefully, this tournament will be a good stepping stone and confidence builder,? he added. ?After finishing in the top three of every tournament so far this year, it was great for the guys to finally get a tournament team championship.?

Coming?The Trojan varsity will make the long trip to Hoisington Friday to compete in the Cardinal Classic.

?We need to continue to build on the intensity we wrestled with this week and continue to improve our technique,? O?Hare said. ?As long as the guys understand that there is more to be accomplished and they continue to work hard, we could have an exciting last month of the season.?