The Hillsboro Middle School wrestling team took five wrestlers to the OHWAY Regional Tournament on Sunday and all five battled their way into the top six in their respective weight classes to punch their ticket to the state tournament.
They will compete in the state tournament in Marion on March 26.
The five state qualifiers, who all finished in the top five although only a top six finish was required to qualify for the state tournament, are Brody Armintrout, Collin Swackhamer, Mathias Hostettler, Johnny Deans and Jahari Pitts.
Armintrout finished fifth at 112 pounds. He suffered an opening round loss to the eventual runner-up and battled back through the consolation round to finish with two pins on the day.
Swackhamer also lost his first match, but finished second in a round robin bracket at 132 pounds.
Hostettler won his 167-pound bracket with two pins and great match against a game Mechanicsburg wrestler, winning 11-4.
Deans finished the tournament in third place with one pin at 212 pounds.
Pitts finished second at 212 pounds after losing a hard-fought match to the champion from Elder.
“We were pleased with the way the team wrestled today. We got pushed and fought our way out of some tough situations,” Hillsboro Middle School Wrestling Coach Scott Eastes said. “Jahari has been pretty dominate this year, so despite the loss, I was happy with the way he wrestled. This should help him stay hungry and look for a spot on the podium in Marion.
”Brody was in one of the toughest brackets at the tournament and could have folded up camp after the early loss, but he showed some determination and fought his way back through the consolation bracket. Collin and Johnny proved their metal, as usual, and when the smoke settles they are always in the top three. Mathias followed up an impressive tournament at the OAC last week and won a regional championship. He has the podium in Marion in his sites and I would not bet against him.”
Assistant coach Chad Vaughn said the goal from the beginning of the season was to make sure the Hillsboro wrestlers ended the season better than where they started.
”They’ve progressively improved each week and honestly, we expected to advance all of our wrestlers today. We plan to build on this and compete at the state level. We are not satisfied to just qualify. We want to go there and place,” Vaughn said. “We have the talent and the boys have definitely put the work in. Me and coach Eastes were proud of the guys and it was nice to hear some of the other coaches complimenting the toughness of our wrestlers. That’s been a focus in our room this year. It’s nice for them to get the recognition for the work they’ve put in.”
Eastes said the HMS team scored the most team points, the most individual points, had the most wins, and most pins out of the 21 teams represented in the tournament.
Information for this story was provided by Scott Eastes.
