The Hillsboro wrestling team stepped back into competition after the winter break with a double dual at Chapman last Thursday and a 14-team tournament Sat?urday at Herington.
The Trojans split the double dual, defeating Hering?ton, 45-18, then losing to the home team 39-27.
On Saturday, Hillsboro finished 14th as a team with 30 points. Coach Scott O?Hare had mixed feelings about the week as a whole.
?The duals on Thursday and the tournament on Saturday both served as great challenges for our team and gave us a good feel for where we stand,? he said.
?Although I am disappointed in the overall results, particularly our team finish on Saturday, I do not believe it is a clear indicator of the progress these young men continue to make. We continue to see improvement in areas of their performances.
?However, it is obviously not always translating into wins on the mat. These young men continue to get better, but they have to begin to understand that every match, and every point in every match has to mean something.?
Levi Mendoza was Hills?boro?s top finisher at Herington, placing third at 182 pounds with a 3-1 record.
?He wrestled with a lot of grit and things seemed to start to click for him,? O?Hare said.
In the other weight classes, Tristan Donaldson finished with a 1-2 record, including a bye, at 106 pounds; Travis King went 2-2 at 120; Jon Carey went 1-2 with a bye at 126; Brook Bradford was 1-2 with a bye at 132; Tyson Reimer finished 0-2 at 145; Cody Delk posted a 1-2 record at 152; Preston Nelson started out at 2-0 at 160, then finished at 2-2; Nathan Sim?hiser went 0-2 at 195; Franklin Jost was 1-2 at 220 and Matt Reeh was 0-2 at 285.
?As a team, we still have an awful lot to improve on, but they continue to come in everyday and work hard to accomplish that,? O?Hare said.
?We will continue to work on technique to clean some things up, but plan to really focus on physical and mental toughness these next couple weeks as well.?
Coming?Hillsboro will join a field of 22 schools at the two-day Halstead Invita?tional. Matches begin at 4 p.m. Friday, then resume at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
