Team Preview: Hillsboro

2020 Wrestling Season Preview Questions 

  1. Who are the top wrestlers that you lost last year and the top returnees? If you could mention some stats pertaining to these kids, that would be great. If you’d like to include your season record last year, that’s fine too. 
  • Last year- James Short (4x SQ and 1 time Placer, 2019) 
  • Returning- We return 6 SQ from last year’s team 
  • Senior Aidan Haggard – 2x SQ 
  • Senior Zach McNees – 2x SQ 
  • Junior Dalton Litzsinger – 2x SQ, 3rd Place 2020 
  • Sophomore Evan Morris- SQ 2020 
  • Sophomore Griffin Ray – 5th Place 2020 State 
  • Sophomore Gavin Alexander – State Champion 2020 
  • Last year we won the JCAA Conference, took 2nd in our District Tournament (Class 3 District 1), and 10th in the Class 3 State Tournament. 
  1. What are your expectations for this season?

Our captains will meet and we will discuss as a team our expectations for each other and the team. I think this group is focused on winning a district championship and making a good state run. They want to make each other better each day and hold each other accountable. I’m looking forward to watching them progress as a team. 

  1. What are the strengths of this team, and what aspects do you think will be a work in progress?

I think one of our strengths now is just experience at the state meet. We have a lot of kids with a lot of experience. Those kids will be able to share that experience with our younger kids and help them along the way. They can set an example in the practice room as well to show them the amount of hard work it takes to reach the state tournament. 

  1. What do you think of your schedule this year? What will be some of the challenges?

We are still experiencing a lot of schedule changes as teams adjust to the state COVID-19 recommendations. Overall, I think we have been able to build a tough schedule for our kids given all the cancelations. It may not look like a regular year but I think it will be challenging.

Our philosophy is to wrestle a tougher schedule than what we might see at the state tournament to prepare our kids for the best wrestlers in the state in Class 3. Wrestling up a Class will help with that as we see teams like Seckman, Lafayette and Francis Howell throughout the year. 

  1. Mention any other wrestlers you would like to say something about. Maybe some up and comers. Possibly those that provide some depth. Since this is a preview, you can mention all the kids if you’d like.

We have a lot of kids that will be fighting for spots in our Varsity lineup. Sophomores Blake  Jackson, Nick Green, Eddie Hines, Nate Barnett and Juniors John Bennett and Jordan Jarvis all  return with some Varsity experience. We also have some freshman that might make some noise  this year including Sam Richardson, Hunter Rhodes, and Aidan Black.  

In addition, our Girls Squad has 2 seniors, Marissa Hudman and Grace Johnson. Grace was really  close to qualifying for state last year. I think she could have a great season this year. We also  have a Freshman named Kate Hendrix that could make some noise in her first year of high  school.

What do you think?

Team Previews

Team Preview: St. Clair