Sports News

Walking wounded.
Burro wrestling coach Eric Ptacek can count his healthy wrestlers on one hand.
Healthy or not, his 13 regulars — plus three junior-high aged reserves — were eager to hit the mat this weekend at the state dual tournament in Fargo.
A sore shoulder, a braced ankle or a case of walking pneumonia wasn’t enough to keep the Burros from wrestling this weekend — nothing was keeping them from giving their all at state.
The Burros coaches — Ptacek and Mark McLean — know it won’t be easy with a bumped and bruised bunch — a bunch that’s long on talent but short on experience. (more…)

State-bound.
For the first time since 2002, the Hillsboro Burro wrestling team will compete in the state dual tournament.
The favored-but-battered Burros “survived” the Region 2 qualifying tournament, eking out a win in a tie-breaker and overcoming a challenge match to secure a “true 2nd” place finish.
“The team accomplished a goal the Burros have had for five years now,” coach Eric Ptacek said.
With a 10-0 dual record in the region, Hillsboro entered the tournament at Central Cass Feb. 3 as the No. 1 seed. The Burros opened with a 48-27 win over Harvey.
“Good enough,” remarked coach Eric Ptacek. (more…)

On paper, Hillsboro should win the Region 2 dual wrestling tournament tomorrow (Saturday) at Casselton.
On the mat, the 14-7 Burros have beaten the other eight teams in the region at least once — and some twice — this season.
Off the mat, the outcome could be a different story. Injuries and illness have begun to take their toll.
“We’re expecting to win,” said coach Eric Ptacek. “We’ve had some bumps and bruises but should be able to put the whole team on the mat for the first time in a month. If we tend to business and work hard, we will come out on top.” (more…)

Grand Forks Central 51 Hillsboro 19
215 - Cameron Stewart (GFC) pinned Jesse Fulgium 4:53; 285 - Andrew Kennedy (GFC) pinned Blake Higginbotham 1:21; 103 - Oakly Zink (H) pinned Chris Echols 5:21; 112 - Tyler Vacura (GFC) over Tyler Anderson 11-1; 119 - Stephan Sharief (GFC) won by forfeit; 125 - Matt Wright (GFC) over Alex McLean 14-6; 130 - Josh Roberts (GFC) over Tanner Boeddeker 15-5; 135 - James Wright (GFC) pinned Lee Mooney 5:00; 140 - Josh Truni (GFC) won by forfeit; 145 - Dan Rude (H) over Nick Randal 11-2; 152 - Garrett Burg (H) over Chad Johnson 9-7; 160 - Jake McLean (H) won by forfeit; 171 Tom Burns (GFC) won by forfeit; 189 - Mike Gavere (GFC) over Lee Siegert 3-1 (more…)

Hillsboro 55 Cavalier 15
103 - Oakly Zink (H) pinned Chris Miller 3:00; 112 - Josh Riendeau (H) pinned Ryan Cleem 1:22; 119 - Tyler Anderson (H) pinned Kyle Williamson 2:31; 125 - Nick LaWonn (C) over Alex McLean 9-8; 130 - DevinDeMaine (C) pinned Tanner Boeddeker 4:54; 135 - Lee Mooney (H) over Drew Sagert 8-2; 140 - Anthony Von Ruden (H) won by forfeit; 145 (more…)

A huge win.
Hillsboro won its 14th dual match this season — a match that ended in a tie on the mat.
On the road in Casselton, the Burros eked out a win over the Central Cass Squirrels. Knotted at 33, the tie was broken by criteria at the scorer’s table. Both teams had seven wins but Hillsboro had more pins, 4 to 3.
“This was definitely the funnest dual of the season for us, a huge win,” said coach Eric Ptacek. “Anytime you win a dual on the road, short-handed when the other team is at full strength, is fun. The fans got their money’s worth and made it even better.” (more…)

Hillsboro 63 Larimore 18
103 - Oakly Zink (H) pinned Thomas Bair 3:03; 112 - Tyler Anderson (H) pinned Sean Hutzol 1:01; 119 - Josh Riendeau (H) pinned Michael Finn 0:59; 125 - Alex McLean (H) pinned Derrick Parsons 2:48; 130 - Tanner Boeddeker (H) won by forfeit; 135 - Scott Douglas (L) pinned Lee Mooney 1:54; (more…)

Hillsboro wrestlers maintained a busy close-to-home schedule the past 10 days — four home duals and a tournament at the neighbors’ gym.
With a win over Larimore Tuesday and a loss to Oakes last Friday, the short-handed Burros found limited success at the 33rd annual MayPort CG Invite last Saturday.
Only one Burro claimed an individual crown — 140-pounder Anthony Von Ruden. The junior held a perfect 24-0 record going into Thursday’s dual against Cavalier.
“He’s under a lot of pressure to win right now,” HHS coach Eric Ptacek said. “Hopefully he’s thinking about how bad he is going to beat someone instead of ‘what if he gets beat’.” (more…)

Three champions.
Hillsboro wrestlers claimed three individual championships Saturday at the 36th annual Lettermen’s Tournament at Central Cass. As a team, the Burros finished 5th in a “very tough” field of 21 teams from North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota.
“We got a chance to show our individual power,” commented HS coach Eric Ptacek.
Hillsboro also added another dual victory Tuesday, crushing Grafton 82-0. The win improved the squads’ dual record to 11-5.
Junior Anthony Von Ruden won the 140-pound title at Casselton. He remains unbeaten this season with a 20-0 record. (more…)

Hillsboro’s wrestlers stepped up a class last Friday night and stepped on the mat against Grand Forks Red River.
The Class A team eked out a 34-32 win over the visiting Burros.
“We thought we out-worked and out-wrestled them,” said Hillsboro coach Eric Ptacek. “But they ended up with a couple more six-point wins than we had. It was a good dual for us, new and quality competition.” (more…)