Sports News

Out-muscled but not outdone.

Hillsboro’s wrestling team couldn’t quite muscle their way to a win against Grand Forks Red River last Friday but they found a way to outdo Cavalier Tuesday.

The Burros ran up against a “solid” Roughrider squad last week, losing a 44-24 decision at home. 

The team rebounded and showed staying power to best the Tornadoes 48-23 as the opening act of a double header at Cavalier. The two school’s boys basketball teams competed later that night.

The Burro wrestlers are now 9-7 in dual action. They have one more dual before Christmas break — tonight (Friday) at Fertile.

“We wrestled Red River okay but just got outmuscled. The difference in a few spots was we were happy to be out there and they were not happy unless they were rubbing our face in the mat,” said coach Eric Ptacek.

Red River is one of the top rated teams in Class A, noted coach Mark McLean. “They don’t have a weak spot. Many of the matches where they scored pins, we were wrestling them pretty close. We still get caught in a bad position. That shows our youth.”

The Burros put 12 wrestlers on the mat — six were freshmen or younger.

“Cavalier was ready to wrestle and again were more physical than we were,” Ptacek said. “We were able to hold off a few of their guys to get pins in the third period. We were in better shape and it paid off.”

At this point in the season, team leaders include junior 189-pounder Andrew Grothmann, who owns a 16-0 record. Eight more Burros have winning records — senior Anthony Von Ruden (140) 7-2;  juniors Jake McLean (160) 14-1 and Christian Von Ruden (152) 10-3; sophomores Tanner Boeddeker (145) 13-3 and Garrett Burg (171) 8-8; and freshmen Alex McLean (135) 13-3, Tyler Anderson (119) 12-4 and Oakly Zink (112) 12-4.

After Christmas, the Burros open the new year at the two-day Central Cass Lettermen’s Tournament Jan. 4-5.

The Burros will add a new wrestler to the squad after Christmas. Randy Doeden is a co-op athlete from Central Valley School. The 6-3 220-pound junior has never wrestled before but his coaches have high hopes for the “big, strong” 215-pounder or heavyweight.

“Randy will fill an open spot in our line-up,” said coach Ptack. “He will have his work cut out for him as a first-year wrestler but we are excited that he wants to be part of the team.”

McLean agreed, “Randy is big and strong. He has long levers which is an advantage for the upper weights. His balance is good and his lower body strength is excellent. Once he picks up a few moves and finds out what does and doesn’t work for him, he will do all right this season.”
Grand Forks Red River 44  Hillsboro 24

103 – Josstyn Richter RR over Oakly Zink TF 4:33; 112 – Brett Bogenreif RR pinned Colby Tapson 0:52; 119 – David Campbell RR over Tyler Anderson 4-2; 125 – Lee Mooney H pinned Brian Campbell 0:40; 130 – Jayden Richter RR pinned Josh Riendeau 1:22; 135 – Alex McLean H over James Brandt 8-4; 140 – Arlo DiCristina RR over Anthony Von Ruden 3-2; 145 – Nash Hanevold RR over Tanner Boeddeker 5-0; 152 – Christian Von Ruden H pinned Ryan Christianson 2:48; 160 – Jake McLean H over Alex Broderson 6-2; 171 – Jacob Cooley RR pinned Garrett Burg 3:07; 189 – Andrew Grothmann H pinned Jared Espe 0:25; 215 – Matthew Wolf RR won by forfeit; 285 -  Spencer Marek RR won by forfeit
Hillsboro  48   Cavalier 23

103 – Tapson H pinned James Svenson 0:46; 112 - Jeff Ulvog C over Zink 8-1; 119 - Anderson H won by forfeit; 125 -  Mooney H pinned Kyle Williamson 1:37; 130 - Riendeau H pinned Taylor Gibson 5:02; 135 - A. McLean H pinned Nick Lawonn 5:39 (Cavalier penalized one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct); 140 - Jeff Wirtz C over Thomas Johnson 13-8; 145 - A. Von Ruden H pinned Dylan Jerome 2:54; 152 -  Boeddeker H over Kyle Olason 13-2; 160 - J. McLean over Patrick Askew 12-4; 171 - Mitch Ford C pinned Burg 2:30; 189 - Grothmann H over Alex Cull 14-3; 215 - Garth Burg C won by forfeit; 285 - Eric Ricard C won by forfeit