The Hillsboro High School wrestling team had great individual performances, albeit in losing team efforts against Riley County, 48-24; Douglass, 42-30; Wellington, 60-18; Republic County, 30-12; and Chaparall, 30-18 in the Marion County Dual Tournament on Friday.
Freshman Austin Cross was undefeated in five matches in the 145-pound weight class.
“Austin still made some mistakes, but he took care of business, never really being in trouble in any match,” Head coach Scott O’Hare said.
Junior Preston Nelson went 4-1 in the 152-pound bracket. Nelson was in control in his only loss, securing his Justin Bruns of Wellington in a headlock. Bruns countered the maneuver and pinned Nelson.
“Preston’s technique continues to improve, and he really dominated in all of his wins,” O’Hare said.
Senior Tyrell Thiessen went 4-1 in the 285-pound class. His only loss was to Clay Wilcox of Chaparral who is the No. 1 ranked wrestler in 3-2-1A in Kansas.
“Tyrell looked much better than last week, after getting back to good health and getting a full week of practice in,” O’Hare said.
Sophomore Jesse Meier won his first two matches.
Senior Tanner Jones at 170 only wrestled one match. He had been feeling ill earlier in the day but wanted to face the No. 1 wrestler in 3-2-1A in the 170-pound class, Gavin Grater of Riley County. Jones was pinned in the third round
“In that match, he really struggled with low levels of energy and ended up suffering a shoulder injury in the match,” O’Hare said. “Fortunately, we have some time to get him back to health.”
James Mercer wrestled his first varsity matches for Hillsboro in the 113-pound class in the tournament, winning one of them.