Having to field a lineup with open weight classes because of limited numbers proved to be a distinct disadvantage for the Hillsboro wrestling team Satur?day at the Southeast of Saline Dual Tournament.
Losing points to forfeits in several classes, the Trojans lost three of their four head-to-head duals against competing schools. The lone team victory came against Bennington, 24-18, while losing 71-3 to Russell, 52-12 to the host team and 30-24 to Republic County.
?Despite the lopsided team scores, with the exception of the first dual against Russell, I felt pretty good about the way we competed,? coach Scott O?Hare said. ?Against Russell we were very flat and just didn?t wrestle aggressively. We gave up hand control and position throughout that dual, which cost us big.?
The Trojans? top individual performers for the day were Bret Mueller, who went 3-1 at 138 pounds, Cody Delk who was 3-1 at 145 and Tanner Jones who went 3-1 at 160.
?Bret and Tanner?s losses were to opponents currently ranked in the state in 3-2-1A,? O?Hare said.
?Overall, the more experienced guys looked good most of the day,? he added. ?Some of the younger, less experienced wrestlers showed flashes of really good things. Mistakes with position, balance and recognition of scoring opportunities got them in trouble and they were unable to recover.?
O?Hare said his team continues to make progress, but the lack of wins has been frustrating for both wrestlers and coaches.
?In the meantime, they are gaining some valuable experience against quality opponents at the varsity level, and I still feel very strongly that good things are in the future for this group of guys,? O?Hare said.
Coming?Hillsboro will compete in a quadrangular Thurs?day at Lindsborg with duals against Smoky Valley, Marion and Hoisington. Action begins at 4:40 p.m.
On Saturday, Hillsboro will return to Lindsborg for the Central Kansas League tournament. Matches begin at 10 a.m.
