Trojans ninth at Halstead Invitational

Levi Mendoza wrestles Seth Fouts of Douglass, the No. 2 ranked wrestler in Class 3-2-1A at 195 pounds. Mendoza won the semifinal matchup by 4-3 decision before falling in the championship to claim second place. With four of Hillsboro?s 10 wrestlers posting winning records, the Trojans placed ninth among the 22 teams competing at the Halstead Invitational Friday and Saturday.

Levi Mendoza led the way with a 3-1 record at 195 pounds, including a 4-3 win over Seth Fouts of Douglass, the No. 2 ranked wrestler in Class 3-2-1A in the semifinals. He finished as the runner-up in his class.

Hillsboro?s other returning state qualifier, Travis King, finished 3-2 and placed fifth at 138 pounds.

?He continues to wrestle solid, but needs to get over the hump mentally to start competing against higher level competition,? coach Scott O?Hare said.

Kyle Horton won four of his six matches at 145 pounds for fifth place, while Franklin Jost placed fifth as 192 with a 3-2 record. Jost defeated the third-place finisher, 8-0, early in the tournament.

Also competing for Hills?boro were: Mac Bartel, 1-2, placing fifth at 113; William Spaich, 0-2 at 120; Tristan Donaldson, 1-2 at 132; Jaden Priest, 1-2 at 152; Ian Alum?baugh, 0-2 at 160; and Colin Settle, 0-2 at 170.

?Overall, we are very pleased with how the guys competed this weekend,? O?Hare said. ?Although it is not obvious in the win-loss column, they are making some nice progress. Each week we see more of them stepping up and starting to do some things that are good indicators that something is starting to click with them.

?Mentally, I thought they competed with a bit more grit and got after things with more intensity.?

O?Hare added that his team has room to improve but he is seeing progress.

?We just need to find ways to focus on more individualized instruction in practice,? he said. ?We have to identify and maximize potential strengths and clean up their weak areas.?

The Trojans? 75 team points placed them behind Marion with 185, Lyons 154, Fredonia 151, Douglass 127, Southeast of Saline 111, Chase 104, Hesston 99 and Cherryvale 86.

Coming?The Trojans will compete at a tournament in Eureka Saturday with a 9 a.m. start. The Trojans will host Council Grove in a dual the following Thursday with matches beginning at 7 p.m. in Brown Gymnasium.

Tags from the story
Written By
More from Don Ratzlaff
Hero time
? Our ?leaders? in Topeka are asking us to bear even more...
Read More