Sechrist, Franz set records at CKL meet

Hillsboro senior Justus Hilliard shows the long jump form that led to a fifth-place finish in the Central Kansas league meet Thursday in Nickerson. Hilliard?s best jump of the day was 19 feet, 21?4 inches. Phyllis Richert photo

Hillsboro?s Emily Sechrist and Marah Franz combined for three gold medals, two meet records and one school record at the Central Kansas League track meet Thursday at Nickerson.

Sechrist won the 1,600-meter run in 5 minutes, 26.70 but it was in her specialty, the 3,200, that the Trojan senior turned in a record-setting performance with a winning time of 11:36.82. Sechrist lowered the league record of 11:37.40 she set in 2012, and the HHS record of 11:37.4 she set in 2013.

Franz, meanwhile, cleared 10 feet in the pole vault to break the league record of 9-6 she set in 2014 as a sophomore.

The duo accounted for 30 of the 35 points Hillsboro compiled during the meet, which was good for seventh place among the 12 competing schools.

Also scoring for the Trojans were Abby Sechrist, who placed fifth in the 800 (2:33.18); the 4×800 team, which placed fifth (10:50.17), and Sienna Kaufman, who placed sixth in pole vault (8-0).

Hesston won the girls? team title with 104 points, which was 27 points more than runner-up Sterling.

The Trojan boys, meanwhile, finished last in the team competition with 17 points. Senior Grant Knoll accounted for eight points with fourth-place finishes in the 1,600 meters (4:41.56) and the 3,200 (10:45.63).

Also scoring were Cody Craney, fourth in shot put (42-8); Matthew Denholm, fifth in 110-meter hurdles (17.65); Justus Hilliard, fifth in long jump (19-21?4) and Kaden Ward, sixth in high jump (5-6).

Pratt dominated the boys? team competition with 112 points; Halstead was a distant second with 69.

Coming?The Trojans will attempt to qualify entries for the state track meet Friday by finishing among the top four places in their respective events at the Class 3A regional at Beloit.

Written By
More from Don Ratzlaff
Hesston powers past Hillsboro hoops
Hesston exercised its basketball muscle with a relatively easy two-game sweep of...
Read More