1 with championship
Sports editor
With just seven wrestlers Saturday at the Eureka invitational, Marion High School placed ninth out of 20 teams with 87.5 points.
Dillon Wildin bounced back from his first defeat of the year to take first place in the 140-pound bracket.
Wildin earned a 29-second pin in his first match, a 16-0 technical fall in the semifinals, and a 2:59-second pin against Hillsboro’s Aaron Bina in the championship round.
His twin brother Cody, who wrestles at 130-pound, was out with an injury.
MHS head coach Chad Adkins liked what he saw from Dillon Wildin.
“Dillon is wrestling really well right now and the loss at Halstead (Jan. 16) has the fire burning even brighter,” Adkins said. “ He puts in a lot of extra work and is completely committed to being a great wrestler.”
As a team the Warriors were 16-11 in matches wrestled, while Andy Shipman (125) and Tylor Neil (145) both took third place.
Neil, who is now 21-5 on the season, is hitting his stride down the home stretch.
“Tylor is often left out of the conversation, and he looks as good as the Wildin twins this year,” Adkins said. “ He has really started to put some things together.”
Neil improved his record by winning three of four matches, and Shipman was 4-1.
Senior Adam Regnier (135) was 2-3, but won when it counted, and was able to place sixth.
“He also is wrestling well and is working really hard to get the trip to (state) that has eluded him to this point,” Adkins said.
Freshman Cole Lewman was 1-2 on the day with a victory against Hillsboro’s Bret Mueller at 112-pounds.
Sophomore Randy Regnier (119) moved his record to 9-11 after going 3-2 on the day and taking fifth place.
“Some of our younger guys who are wrestling well are Cole Lewman and Randy Regnier,” Adkins said. “They continue to get better every week and are going to surprise some people at the regional tournament.”
Levi Anderson also competed in the tournament in the 160-pound weight class and was 0-2.
The Warriors have five meets or tournaments before the Feb. 20 regionals, and Adkins thinks his team will only get better.
“If our kids keep working hard and keep getting better we can do some great things at regionals and state,” Adkins said. “I just keep preaching that we need to work hard and keep taking care of business.”
Adkins said everyone on the team has been working hard and no matter their record, everyone has contributed to the team with their dedication.
“Our entire group of kids that are still out have worked tremendously hard all year and deserve a lot of credit,” he said.
Next up for Marion is a Thursday dual at Nickerson.