Staff writers
After wrestling five of the 16 teams competing in the Marion County Winter Duals tournament Friday at USD 408 Sports and Aquatic Center, Marion wrestlers took seventh as a team.
At 3-2 for the night, Marion finished the tournament with a winning record and placed one-step higher than they did at the same event last year.
Wellington, a 4A school, was perhaps the toughest competitor Marion wrestled.
Last year when Marion finished eighth, Wellington finished fourth. However, this year Wellington took second only to Chanute, another 4A school.
“With Wellington, we were as good as them we just made a lot of little mistakes in our technique,” coach Chad Adkins said Friday.
Several wrestlers from Marion who were favored to win ended up losing their matches, Adkins said.
“We had several pin opportunities that we needed to get that we didn’t get,” he said. “Opponents can’t come back from a pin.”
However, after losing to Wellington 44-31, Marion came back to defeat Republic County 50-24, and Douglass 60-21, taking second in their pool.
When the consolation brackets began, Marion came up against 4A Clearwater, who took 11th in last year’s tournament, and lost by a narrow margin of 44-36.
In their final dual, Marion came up against 3A Riley County who, like Marion, finished their pool in second place with a 2-1 record and lost their first consolation match against Minneapolis.
Last year, Riley County took sixth and defeated Marion 48-36.
However, this year Marion trounced Riley 54-30, rounding out the evening with a win to claim seventh place.
“The kids wrestled well,” Adkins said. “We gave up a couple opens which cost us in the end. But we will continue to work hard over break to get ready for the second half of the season.”
Marion individual match results
- 106 lbs. — Jarrett Johnson, 4-1
- 106 lbs. — A.J. Cogdill, 0-1
- 113 lbs. — Noah Albin, 2-3
- 120 lbs. — Bryce Shults, 4-1
- 126 lbs. — Ezra Darnall, 4-1
- 138 lbs. — Paul Stratman, 1-4
- 152 lbs. — Luke Steele, 3-2
- 160 lbs. — Zac Dvorak, 3-2
- 170 lbs. — Adam Janzen, 5-0
- 182 lbs. — Zac Lewman, 3-2
- 195 lbs. — John Nordquist, 4-1
- 220 lbs. — Kyle Palic, 5-0
- 285 lbs. — Nick Meyer, 3-2
Hillsboro wrestlers struggle in tournament
Hillsboro wrestlers started out strong on their first dual against Friday in Marion County Winter Duals Tournament, winning three matches before going on a losing streak from which they ultimately would not recover.
“I was pleased with how the guys competed throughout the day,” Coach Scott O’Hare said. “I thought they did some things much better than last week, but there are still a number of fundamental mistakes that some continue to make that cost them.”
The team placed 15th out of 16th teams in the tournament falling two spaces from 13th place last year. The team fell to Rock Creek 37-35 in the first round after hard fought matches by seniors Cody Delk, 152 lbs., and Preston Nelson, 160 lbs.
“We lost three or four very closely contested matches throughout the day and lost a handful of others by getting caught out of position and getting pinned in matches that we were leading at the time,” O’Hare said.
In the second round, the team battled Burlington and lost 49-19. Trojan wrestlers were defeated by Clearwater 48-34 in Hillsboro’s final round of the tournament. Tyson Reimer was injured during the third round against Tyler Donely of Clearwater.
“There are things we need to work on after we get back to the wrestling room after Christmas break,” O’Hare said. “If this group continues to improve and can stay mentally strong through this early season stretch, while they are struggling, I feel good about what they can accomplish by the second half of the season.”
In the break between second and third rounds, Hillsboro team seniors Delk, Nelson, and Matt Reeh and their parents were recognized.
Hillsboro individual match results
- 106 lbs. — Tristan Donaldson, 4-1
- 120 lbs. — Travis King, 2-3
- 126 lbs. — Jon Carey, 4-1
- 132 lbs. — Brook Bradford, 1-3
- 138 lbs. — Nathan Bartel, 2-3
- 145 lbs. — Tyson Reimer, 0-3
- 152 lbs. — Cody Delk, 3-2
- 160 lbs. — Preston Nelson, 3-2
- 170 lbs. —Jesse Meier did not wrestle due to injury
- 182 lbs. — Levi Mendoza, 2-3
- 195 lbs. — Nathan Simhiser, 2-3
- 220 lbs. — Franklin Jost, 3-2
- 285 lbs. — Matt Reeh, 2-3