Hillsboro?s three qualifiers combined for a 2-6 record at the Class 3-2-1A State Wrestling Championship Tournament in Hays Friday and Saturday.
Matthew Yoder (135 pounds) and Jared King (152) went 1-2 for the weekend while Aaron Bina (140) finished 0-2.
Yoder, a senior, was the only Trojan to win his opening match, posting a 10-2 win against Nathan Ellerman of Council Grove. In the championship quarter finals, Yoder lost 9-2 to Kale Newell of Smith Center. Newell went on to finish as the state runner-up.
?This match was very competitive compared to what the score indicates,? coach Scott O?Hare said. ?It was actually only 4-2 going into the third period and 5-2 with about one minute left in the match when Yoder had to try to make something happen. In the process, he was taken down to his back, giving up four points in the last 10 seconds.?
Yoder was then eliminated from the tournament Saturday morning by losing 7-3 to Matt Schneider of Phillipsburg. Yoder took a 1-0 lead in the second period before Schneider tied the score at 1-1 early in the third period.
?Getting a little frustrated and panicked, Matt tried to attack for a takedown in the third period before giving up a score on the edge of the mat,? O?Hare said. ?He earned an escape to get back to within one point, but while trying to take the lead back late, he got out of position and surrendered another takedown.?
Meanwhile, King, a senior competing at state for the first time, lost in the first round to eventual medalist Zach Eaton of Smith Center, 5-1, then won his first consolation match with a dominating 5-0 win over John Kubick of Ellsworth.
King was then eliminated Saturday morning, losing a hard fought 7-4 match to Thomas Rachow of Phillipsburg.
Bina, a junior, lost his first match to Levi Koehn of Holcomb, 4-2, then was eliminated by Matt Menear of Council Grove, 8-3.
?It was a rather disappointing weekend,? O?Hare said. ?I am not disappointed in the kids? effort, just the outcome. I really felt going into the tournament that all three guys were capable of winning a state medal if they performed up to their potential.
?As things turned out, we just didn?t perform at the level necessary to do that.?
In each of the three weight classes, a wrestler whom the Trojan counterpart had beaten earlier in the season, went on to win a medal.
?It just goes to show that you must be at the top of your game and have some things go your way to earn those state medals.? O?Hare said.
