The numbers are up for Hillsboro wrestling this year with 18 wrestlers out for the team, six more than last year. And according to second year coach James Jones, it’s great to see as a coach.
“As a coach, it is absolutely great to see those numbers,” Jones said. “I actually though we would have more, but due to some football injuries, we just have the 18. Those kind of loses hurt or we would be up well over 20.
“I think we’ll be way better than last year. I’ve already seen improvement in the room. The guys’ attitudes are way better and the willingness to do what it takes to win has greatly improved.”
In years past, the biggest downfall of the Indians have been their small numbers. It has been hard for the team to be able to fill every weight class, which led to forfeiting weight class in some of their meets last season. This year, with the higher numbers, Jones thinks that the team should be able to fill most if not all classes.
“Our goal is to fill all the weight classes and we should be close,” said Jones. “We may be missing one or two at the beginning, but hopefully by the end of the season, barring any injuries, we should be able to have a full lineup.”
Also for the past few years, the South Central Ohio League (SCOL) has been run by Miami Trace and Washington Courthouse. This year Coach Jones thinks that trend will continue.
“As far as state placers, the league is kind of down overall,” said Jones. “Clinton Massie is the only team that has one and they have just that one. As far as overall numbers, I think the league is up. I think it’ll be between Courthouse and Trace again for the league title. Hopefully within a few years we’ll be able to compete for that title. Right now, I see us in the middle of the pack.
“Hopefully, if we stay healthy and eligible, we can win more duel meets than last year, which we only won three.
“I would like to see more guys make the district tournament this year and hopefully we can have some more league champs on an individual basis. Team-wise, I would like to see us fill all of our weight classes and compete in every duel meet instead of losing because of numbers.
“As always, we invite the community out to some of our meets this season. Welcome them to come out and cheer these guys on and we also thank the community for the support.”
Reach Robert Stegbauer at 937-393-3456 ext. 1679 or on Twitter @RStegbauer.
