McClain’s Ethan Hill, pictured here grappling with Washington’s Brady Rohrer, was Highland County’s lone sectional champion last weekend.
Chris Hoppes | AIM Media Midwest
Hillsboro’s Gary Reno, shown here with position on Circleville’s Ayden Bkue, finished fourth in the sectional.
Chris Hoppes | AIM Media Midwest
McClain’s Joshua Smith, pictured here against New Lexington’s Jonathan Dold, placed fourth at the sectional.
Chris Hoppes | AIM Media Midwest
Hillsboro’s Ryan Burns, pictured here wrestling against Miami Trace’s Garrett Carson, finished fourth in the sectional.
Chris Hoppes | AIM Media Midwest
Eight Highland County wrestlers, five from Hillsboro and three from McClain, finished in the top four at their respective sectional tournaments last weekend and earned to the right to advance to district tournament action this weekend.
Hillsboro and McClain competed in different sectionals, one with nine teams and one with 10 teams, and both contested at Gallia Academy.
Team scores in Hillsboro’s sectional were: Miami Trace 187.5, Logan Elm 181, Circleville 155.5, Sheridan 153.5, Warren 148, River Valley 90, Hillsboro 81, Vinton County 61 and Marietta 47.
Team scores from McClain’s sectional were: Washington 211.5, New Lexington 187.5, Gallia Academy 186, Athens 169, Chillicothe 88, Fairfield Union 69.5, McClain 64, Jackson 60, Waverly 54 and Unioto 22.
The top four finishers in each weight class move on to the district tournament this Friday and Saturday back at Gallia Academy.
Highland County’s lone district champion was McClain senior Ethan Hill, who took first place at 285 pounds. He is now 22-2 on the season.
McClain sophomore Carlos Gonzalez took fourth at 144 pounds. He is now 15-15 on the year.
McClain freshman Joshua Smith took fourth at 157 pounds. He is now 14-12 on the year.
Hillsboro had two grapplers finish as sectional runners-up.
At 175 pounds, senior Gary Reno captured second place. He is now 36-7 on the season.
At 285 pounds, junior Ian Lawson took second place. He is now 28-17 on the season.
At 157 pounds, Hillsboro junior Ryan Burns took fourth place. He is now 21-11 for the year.
At 165 pounds, Hillsboro sophomore Mathias Hostetler took fourth place. He moves on to the district with a 28-16 record.
Three other county wrestlers placed and reached the podium, but fell just short of moving on to the district.
At 106 pounds, McClain freshman Remy Willis finished fifth. He finished the season 3-9.
At 132 pounds, McClain sophomore Dalton Rowland finished fifth. He concluded the season 27-10.
At 132 pounds in the other sectional, Hillsboro’s Jonah Wilson finished sixth. He finished the year at 19-14.
