By NICHOLAS KIMBALL and Ryan Richter

Staff writers

Hillsboro and Marion kicked off their wrestling seasons Thursday and Friday on the road.

The Warriors placed sixth out of 10 teams at Thursday’s dual tournament in Burlington.

“We saw a lot of great things and some things to work on,” coach Tyler McMichael said. “The duals went great when you account that we were giving up anywhere from 12 to 30 points before the dual started due to having open weight classes.”

Colby Lollar and Brian Nguyen had a perfect start to the season. Lollar finished 4-0, and Nguyen finished 5-0.

“These guys had awesome performances, and I look forward to watching them develop even more during the season,” McMichael said.

The Warriors will travel Saturday to Wellington.

“Wellington will be another test for our guys because there are a lot of 4A and 5A schools,” McMichael said.

The Trojan wrestling team kicked off its season Thursday in Hillsboro with a dual against Halstead and Minneapolis. 

Victories weren’t easy to come by with coach Scott O’Hare having seven freshmen in his lineup against the more experienced Lions and Dragons. 

Minneapolis won the first dual, 42-27, and Halstead was victorious in the finale, 48-28. 

Korean Pawlowski, Aaron Hein, and Lane Rogers each completed the evening a perfect 2-0, while Kayden Trimble and Logan Rogers went 1-1. 

Gavin Bennett and David Schafer also picked up victories against Halstead. 

Hillsboro will open the tournament part of its schedule Friday, traveling to Ellis for the Railer Scramble. 

“It was nice to get the competition part of the season underway,” O’Hare said. “In terms of wins and losses, it was a tough night for us overall. However, I am not at all disappointed in how this group competed. 

“I thought the guys competed hard and did some good things. We obviously have several things to work on here early in the season, but I am excited to see these guys continue to improve throughout the session. If they continue to focus on the process and the journey rather than on immediate results, we have some great things ahead.