Hillsboro competed with only four wrestlers Saturday at the Eureka Invitation, as several of the younger members of the team competed in a junior varsity tournament in Stafford.
Bret Mueller led the Trojans at Eureka, going 4-1 at 138 pounds to place fourth in his weight class. Mueller had to forfeit the match to determine third place because he had already reached the five-match limit.
Also competing for Hillsboro were Cody Delk, 1-2 at 145 pounds; Tanner Jones, 1-2 at 160; and Matt Reeh, 0-2 at 285.
?After a solid opening-match victory, Bret lost a tough match to the No. 2 seed and eventual tournament champion, Austin Hughey from El Dorado, who is ranked No. 1 in Class 4A,? coach Scott O?Hare said.
?Following the loss, Bret came back strong with three straight victories. Through that stretch of three wins, Bret began showing some flashes of things really starting to click for him.
?I felt he grew a lot throughout the day and hopefully he continues to improve as we near the final month of this, his senior season.?
At the Stafford JV tournament, Jon Carey placed third with a 3-2 record at 120 pounds, River Cecil placed fifth with a 1-4 record at 132, and Jesse Meier placed fourth with a 2-3 record at 145.
Halstead?A slow start Friday hampered Hillsboro?s performance at the two-day Halstead Invitational Jan. 13-14.
?We started out in the first round with three of our younger kids getting drawn in the bracket with a matchup against the No. 1 or 2 seed right off the start,? coach Scott O?Hare said.
?The other first-round matchups were not bad, but some costly mistakes never really got us going. As a group, we never really got any momentum going and a negative vibe and lack of confidence just seemed to steam roll us.
?After a talk in the locker room when we got home, those remaining in the tournament came out with some fight and wrestled hard on Saturday.?
Bret Mueller and Tanner Jones were the only Trojans to place for HHS. Mueller took fourth with a 3-2 record at 138 pounds and Jones placed fifth at 160 with a record of 4-2.
Finishing with 0-2 records were Jon Carey at 120, River Cecil at 132, Jesse Meier at 145, Cody Craney at 170, Dermot Morey at 220, Matt Reeh at 285.
Cody Delk did not wrestle due to injury and Tyrell Thiessen was out due to illness.
Coming?Hillsboro will compete Friday at the Hoisington Cardinal Classic. Matches begin at 3 p.m. On Saturday, a group of wrestlers will compete in the Marion junior varsity tournament.
