The tournament pitted the six participating schools in head-to-head dual matches in a round-robin format. With Hillsboro able to fill 13 of the 14 weight classes against teams with multiple open classes, the Trojans, who went 5-0 for the day, posted lopsided scores against the four teams it wrestled against: 66-9 over Republic County (1-4), 55-20 over Russell (4-1), 58-16 over Remington (3-2) and 50-18 over Southeast of Saline (2-3).
A fifth school, St. Johns Military, withdrew from the tournament after the third round after one of its three wrestlers was injured. By rule, Hillsboro was awarded a 1-0 team victory.
Coach Scott O?Hare said even though his squad had a lineup advantage, the Trojans would have won each dual even without the awarding of forfeit points.
?I am pleased with the way we wrestled,? O?Hare said. ?As a team, we just seemed more in control in the matches and the guys did a much better job of forcing the action.?
Also encouraging for the Trojans was the performance of two-time state qualifier Jacob Yoder, who returned to the mat after reinjurying his shoulder a week earlier. Yoder pinned each of his four opponents.
?The shoulder did not seem to be an issue, and he gave no indication that it bothered him,? O?Hare said. ?At this point, we are pretty much back to where we were at the beginning of the season?go with it see how everything holds up.
?He is pretty determined and is in the process of chasing after a single season record for Hillsboro High School and going after a state medal.?
For the day, the Trojans won 18 of the 31 matches determined on the mat. In addition to Yoder?s performance at 189 pounds, Grady Stultz went 4-0 with three pins at 152, Tyler Jones was 3-0 at 145 and Nicholas Mueller was 3-1 with three pins at 135.
Mat results for the rest of the lineup were: Alex Jost 1-1 at 112 with one pin, Aaron Bina 0-2 at 119, Robby McClelland 0-1 at 125, Darren Mueller 0-4 at 130, Jared King 1-0 at 140 with a pin, Zach Jost 1-1 at 160 with a pin, Frankie Martin 1-0 at 171 with a pin, John Hein 1-1 at 215 with a pin and CJ Shaw 0-1 at 285.
?I felt pretty good about where we are as far as physical condition,? O?Hare said. ?We made some good adjustments this past week that are starting to pay off. If we continue to build on this and work on other areas of concern, we should compete very well down the stretch.?
Coming?The five wins at Southeast improved Hillsboro?s dual season record to 11-1. The Trojans will wrap up the dual season Thursday at Marion with matches against Lyons and Haven.
On Saturday, the Trojans will have their final tune-up before regionals when they compete at the Remington Invitational. Matches begin at 9:30 a.m.
