Retry Trojan triumph

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN DON RATZLAFF
Perseverance pays off.

Refusing to cancel the James Thomas Invitational track meet for the third year in a row when rain fell on Friday, Hillsboro Activities Director Max Heinrichs and his team of assistants postponed it until Monday, when fair weather prevailed.

Four of the 11 teams that had been planning to compete on Friday didn’t show up for Monday’s version, but the Hillsboro Trojans sure did.

The girls’ team rolled up 155 points to win their division title in a seven-team field by a margin of 42 points. The Trojans boys scored 133 points, finishing second only to Hesston, who scored 144.

For the girls, JuliAnne Chisholm and Hannah Marsh each won three individual gold medals.

Chisholm continued her season-long domination in the high jump (5-feet, 6-inches), 100-meter hurdles (14.98 seconds) and 300-meter hurdles (46.65), winning all three events by comfortable margins.

Marsh won gold in the 200 meters with a season’s best time of 26.09, as well as taking the long jump (16-31â2) and pole vault (9-0).

To top off the evening, the Trojan duo teamed with Tiffany Rooker and Tina Frick to win the 4×400 in 4:14.89, their second-fastest time of the season. Their fastest time is tops in Class 3A.

Also contributing top-three finishes for Hillsboro were: Frick, with a second place in the 100-meter hurdles and third place in the 300-meter hurdles; Rooker, third in pole vault; Carrie Schroeder, second in both the 800 meters and 1,600-meters; Shelby Koons, second in the 100; Abi Humber, third in the triple jump; and a third-place finish by 4×100 team of Humber, Koons, Rooker and Frick.

Marion scored 21 points to place sixth. The Warriors’ top finish came from Erin Richmond, who placed second in both the javelin and pole vault.

In the boys’ division, Hillsboro’s David Funk turned in an impressive double-gold performance to lead the Trojans. The defending Class 3A pole-vaulting champion won that event by clearing 14-0, then won the 110-meter high hurdles (15.84) in his first attempt at that event this season.

“It’s one of those things where you don’t know-do you run a kid who has been injured and is the pole vault champion?” coach Dennis Boldt said. “But he wants to run it. That’s a good time for him.”

Adam Dirks won a gold medal in javelin with a throw of 153-2 and Cody McMillen did the same with a 12-second victory in the 3,200 meters (10:24.62).

Also turning in top-three performances were: Tim Funk, second in high jump and third in the 110-meter hurdles; Michael Suderman, third in the 400; Jacob Yoder, second in long jump; Nate Holmes, second in the 800 and third in the 1,600; and Sean Leihy, third in the 3,200.

The 4×800 team of Josh Boese, Thad Holmes, Leihy and McMillen placed second; the 4×400 team of Yoder, Ishmael Morris, Nate Holmes and Suderman placed third, as did the 4×100 team of Yoder, Dirks, Morris and Suderman.

Marion placed sixth with 37 points. Luke Gordon won the high jump (5-10) and Ben Leppke was second in the triple jump (38-101â2) to pace the Warriors.

Boldt said his Trojans competed well even though most times and distances where not at season highs.

“It was a good day for us,” he said. “But I can’t say we had our best times of the year. The air was pretty heavy and it’s still a Monday after a choir trip after after being disappointed on Friday.”

Boldt commended Heinrichs and his team of assistants for pulling off an efficiently run track meet on Monday after plans fell through on Friday.

“I think the main thing is that I got so many compliments from coaches, thanking us for not running the meet on Friday,” he said. “It was a huge decision, but what it came down to is you want to do what’s best for kids, and what’s best for kids was to run today.

“Not only would it have been messy (on Friday), but we could have had pulled hamstrings and other problems,” he said.

Coming-Hillsboro will compete Thursday at the Hesston Invitational with events starting at 4 p.m. They won’t compete again until the league meet May 12 in Marion.

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