Boys’ determination results in fifth place at state

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN DON RATZLAFF
The Hillsboro boys’ cross-country team battled blustery winds, a hilly course and stiff competition to place fifth in Class 3A at the state meet in Wamego on Saturday.

“The guys ran with a lot of determination and effort,” said coach Stuart Holmes. “People who have seen us run this year know we didn’t run as well as we have the last few weeks. Once again, the effort was terrific, but some days you just run better than others.”

The Trojans combined for 141 points in a field of 12 teams and 104 competitors.

Ellsworth won the meet with 59 points, followed by Holcomb with 98, Kansas City Christian with 103, and Lakin with 139. Hillsboro was just edged Belleville, who had 142 points.

Leading the way for Hillsboro, as he has in most meets this season, was senior Kody Borg, who won the first state individual medal of his high school career by placing 17th overall in a time of 17:38. He placed 11th among runners competing with full teams.

“I was happy for Kody, as he finished his senior season with a gutsy race to earn his first individual state medal,” Holmes said.

Next to cross the line for Hillsboro was fellow senior Westie Magnuson, who finished 32nd overall and 19th among teams in 18:20.

“Westie also ran well in his last race as a senior,” Holmes said. “Just like at league, our seniors led us and I want to recognize them both for their fine cross-country careers.”

Rounding out Hillsboro’s top-five scorers were Nate Holmes (46th/30th in 18:36), Daniel Bookless (58th/40th in 18:44) and Sean Leihy (59th/41st, 18:46).

Two steps behind them was freshman Cody McMillen (60th/42nd in 18:47). Robert Jost placed 99th/78th in 20:46.

“Nate has done a good job of hanging in there and running well enough to help the team in spite of a muscle injury that still bothers him some,” Holmes said.

“Daniel ran an excellent race, and was only six seconds off his personal best that he set at league,” he added. “Considering the windy day and very hilly course at state compared to the flat course and almost perfect day that we had for league, Daniel ran awesome.”

Holmes said Leihy and McMillen have made “great contributions to the varsity team while only 14 and 15 years old.”

He said Jost ran hard in his first trip to state “and had a good time.”

If his runners were healthy and had a typical day, Holmes’ team would have finished at least one place higher. But the Trojan coach said he wasn’t disappointed.

“The team was still able to finish fifth, which is the fifth straight year to place in the top five at state,” he said. “After losing Ric Johnson, one of our top runners, to a broken bone the week before the first meet, the guys have surprised a lot of people and still had a great season.”

Holmes said he was grateful for the “outstanding” support of parents.

“Certainly, the support of parents has been one of the keys this year as the guys have surprised a lot of people and had another very successful season,” he said.

Area teams-Four other schools on the Free Press area had runners competing in their respective classes at Wamego.

The girls’ and boys’ teams from Peabody-Burns both qualified for the Class 2A race and finished seventh and ninth, in their respective divisions.

For the girls, Tiana McGee led the way with a time of 13:30 over the 2-mile course. She earned a medal by placing 18th overall.

Following her were Kate Topham (32nd, 13:58), Ashley Elliott (37th, 14:06), Alyssa Carter (69th, 15:00), Stephanie Vetter (87th, 16:12), Samantha Pickens (94th, 17:14) and Anna Zappone (98th, 24:28).

For the boys, Andrew Topham earned a medal by placing eighth in the 5-kilometer race in 17:32. He was followed by Duane Unruh (63rd, 19:45), Jacob Wolf (76th, 20:23), Maximilian Stralka (80th, 20:27), Christian Bengsston (84th, 20:35), Nicholas Whitney (94th, 21:14) and Jesse Riggs (100th, 21:53).

“The girls and boys cross-country teams have done a great job this season,” said coach Tony Zappone. “Qualifying to run at the state championship meet is an honor. I’m very proud of their accomplishment.”

Also competing in their respective races in Class 2A were two runners from Canton-Galva. Sophomore Brandon Shannon placed 35th among the boys in 18:36 and freshman Caitlin Nelson was 43rd among the girls in 14:10.

“Brandon worked so hard during the off-season in order to be a strong competitor in cross-country this year,” said coach Mark Martens. “He was totally focused and ready to run when he arrived at the state course Saturday morning.

“Caitlin had a great start and was in a strong position at the mile-and-a-half mark when she got caught up in a pack of runners and fell,” Martens said. “She jumped up after the initial shock of falling and worked her way back to a strong 43rd-place finish. The experience of running at the state championships will really prepare her for next year.”

In Class 1A, Centre’s Justin Garrard, the Cougars’ only qualifier, placed second overall in the boys’ race with a time of 17:19, about six seconds behind the winner.

Goessel qualified its boys’ team and one runner among the girls.

The Bluebird boys placed eighth. They were led by Evan Fast, who placed 28th among 90 runners in 19:08. He was followed by teammates Zach Plenert (38th, 19:39), Kellen Jenkins (21st, 18:45), Brady Peters (46th, 20:31), Cameron Voth (57th, 21:14) and Jake Schrag (59th, 21:31).

The Bluebirds’ Janessa Wedel placed 24th among 78 runners in 14:22.

“I am so proud of how well our kids did this year,” said coach Greg Bontrager. “It has been an honor to be their coach.”

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