Trojans grab second place at Remington

Three Trojans won their respective weight classes: Matthew Yoder at 135 pounds, Tyler Jones at 152 and John Hein at 189.

Yoder, in his first season of wrestling, claimed his second tournament title in three weeks.

?He had a very exciting championship match victory over two-time state qualifier Jerry Bennett of Remington,? coach Scott O?Hare said.

Yoder had lost to Bennett in their two previous meetings this season, but this time earned a two-point takedown with less than 10 seconds remaining to send the match into overtime, where Yoder earned a fall. It was Yoder?s third pin of the day.

Jones?s title was a strong rebound after a heartbreaking loss two weeks ago at home.

?He had a dominating performance this weekend, winning his first three matches by technical fall (by at least 15 points) and pinning his opponent in the championship finals,? O?Hare said.

Meanwhile, Hein pinned two of his three opponents, giving him 26 pins for the season, which breaks the school record of 25 set just last season by Jacob Yoder.

Other top-four finishes for Hillsboro were second-place performances by Nicholas Mueller at 130 and Gabe Anderson at 171, third-place finishes by Bret Mueller at 112 and Aaron Bina at 140, and a fourth-place effort by Robby McClelland at 119.

Nicholas Mueller?s loss in the championship match against Tyler McMichael of Central Burden was his first since McMichael defeated him at the Herington tournament during the first week of January. Between those two matches, Mueller defeated McMichael in the finals at the Halstead and Eureka tournaments.

?They could very well meet at the regional tournament as well, so we will need to take a close look at this match to see what adjustments need to be made,? O?Hare said.

On Thursday at Haven, Hillsboro defeated the home team 43-28 and then Lyons 42-33. The two victories improved the team?s dual record to 12-2 after losing the first two duals of the season. It also gives the Trojan program a 50-4 dual record over the past four seasons.

?As a whole, the team wrestled well on Thursday and Saturday,? O?Hare said. ?Although there were a few performances that were not what we hope to see at this time of the season, overall our technique is looking pretty good and the guys are wrestling with more intensity.?

O?Hare said the team?s physical conditioning has improved, which is important as the Trojans enter the post-season.

?The difference between going to state or having your season end may well come down to a very hard-fought six-minute match,? he said. ?They have to feel confident that they can force action for an entire match without stamina becoming an issue.?

Coming?The Trojans will vie for team honors, but more importantly for individual berths in the state tournament when they travel to Garden Plain for a Class 3-2-1A regional tournament Friday and Saturday.

The field also includes Anthony-Harper-Chaparral, Bluestem, Central Burden, Chase County, Douglass, Eureka, Fairfield, Flint Hills, Garden Plain, Halstead, Little River, Lyons, Marion, Moundridge, Peabody-Burns, Sedgwick, Stafford, Sterling, Remington and West Elk.

?I feel pretty good about where we are at right now,? O?Hare said. ?Many of the guys are doing some of their best wrestling right now, as far as technique and intensity. Hopefully, this is an indication that we are peaking at the right time.?