AREA SPOTS ROUNDUP

Canton-Galva

Cross-country- Christian Darrah and Morgan Becker competed at the state cross country meet in Victoria on Saturday, Oct. 30.

Darrah ran the best race of his cross country career, finishing 2nd in the 1A Boys race in a time of 16:41.

“Since this was his last race of his high school career, it was a good time to do it. Christian was able to get a good start in the front pack, and was able to stay there throughout the race, until it started to

break up with a mile left to go in the race,” said Coach Lyle Silsby. “He stayed strong the whole race and was able to hold off third place finisher Blake Yoder of Hutchinson Central Christian by 7 seconds.”

Becker ran a tough race also, and finished 13th in a time of 17:41.

“He got a good start along with Christian and was able to hang with the lead pack for the first mile. As the runners strung out he was able to maintain his 13th place position the rest of the race,” said Silsby. “It is amazing what these two have been able to accomplish during their high school careers.”

Becker has qualified for the state meet all four years. He finished 25th his freshman year, but has medaled the past three years.

Darrah has qualified for the state meet the past three years, and medaled each year, with this year being the runner-up.

“Their dedication and work ethic have been phenomenal, and it has been amazing to see all that hard work pays off. They are the examples that the younger runners can look at and see what it takes to be successful in the sport of cross country,” said Silsby. “They put the schools cross county program on the map, and they are leaving some really big shoes to fill.”

The coach has enjoyed having the athletes on the team.

He said, “It has been a pleasure, privilege, and an honor to coach them. Morgan since the 7th grade, and Christian since his freshman year. They will be greatly missed.Both are looking to continue running in college though, and it will be fun to get to go watch them as they continue on their paths.”

Goessel

Cross Country- The Eagles boys cross country team secured a fifth place finish at the state meet run at the Sand Plum Nature Trail in Victoria on Saturday. The team finished behind Meade, Quinter, Classical and Ingalls (by just five points).

“To finish in the top five in the state is a significant accomplishment and will be remembered by the team for the rest of their lives. The weather was perfect this morning and I am really proud of these kids and how they finished the season,” said Coach Brian Lightner.

Leading the team again was Ben Olson with a 23rd place finish. Jacob Schrag was 41st, Timothy Schrag 51st, Joey Lapp 64th and Javan Schmidt was 69th.

The first mile of the course is mostly flat leading to some quick starts and fast times at the one mile mark. Olson started out quickly being in 13th place around the one mile mark and remained in the top twenty up until about a quarter mile remained.

“This was the final race for Ben, Jacob and Timothy as they are seniors and was also their third time to state finishing 7th as freshman (2A), sixth at Juniors (1A) and moving up to fifth as seniors (1A). For Timothy to set a personal record on his last race of his career is very exciting,” said Lightner. “You all have been a fun group to coach and be with this season!”

Football- The first round of the playoffs was an exciting one for Goessel football fans who witnessed their team win, 44-36, over Pratt Skyline in overtime to advance to the next round of the playoffs.

Goessel got on the board first with a 33-yard touchdown run by Kacen Smith to put the Bluebirds up 8-0. After a Skyline touchdown, Goessel got back to work when Grant Bryant hit Caiden Duerksen for a 20-yard touchdown pass to put Goessel up 14-8. Goessel scored again when Jake Wiens broke loose for a 50-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to put the Bluebirds up 20-0.

That is when the trouble started though, and Skyline ripped off three straight touchdowns to take the lead 30-20 in the fourth quarter.

Weins finally responded for Goessel with a two-yard plunge into the end zone, to bring the game within two, 30-28. Skyline scored again with just 1:29 left in the game to go up 36-28.

With almost no time left on the clock, Goessel cooked up one more scoring play which saw Bryant hit Skyler Wuest for a 28-yard touchdown pass to even the score 36-36 after the two-point conversion was good.

In overtime, Goessel completed the comeback win when Wiens got into the end zone on a three-yard touchdown run to win the game for the Bluebirds, 44-36.

Coming- Goessel will play Macksville (5-4) who beat Medicine Lodge (6-2), 64-30, in their first round match-up. The game is on Friday at Goessel.

Hillsboro

Volleyball- The Hillsboro High School Volleyball Team traveled to Dodge City on Friday, Oct. 29, to play in the 2021 2A State Volleyball Tournament. The tournament was held at the United Wireless Arena.

The Trojans went in as a 4 seed so they were scheduled to play the number 5 seed, Wabaunsee, the number 8 seed, St. Mary’s-Colgan, and the number 1 seed, Smith Center.

Hillsboro defeated Wabaunsee 25-17, 25-14 in the first round of pool play.

“It was a slow start for us as we got behind early in the first game, but we kept plugging away until we went on a 6-0 run to help us pull ahead and win that game. We played much more comfortably and confidently in game two. Wabaunsee had a talented 6’1 middle who we dug and blocked which really energized our team. This was an important match because we knew that we needed it to get out of pool play and into bracket play the next day,” said Coach Sandy Arnold.

Hillsboro defeated St. Mary’s-Colgan 25-9, 25-15 in the second match of pool play.

“We used some strong serving and attacking to beat a scrappy St. Mary’s-Colgan team. The girls played great as a team both offensively and defensively,” said Arnold.

Smith Center defeated Hillsboro 25-15, 25-22

“Smith Center was a tough match for us. They have a lot of weapons and firepower. I think we played a little nervous the first game but finally played our game better in the second. We were able to score down the line and tool their blockers more but could not stop their two big middles in the end.At the end of pool play we were 2-1, finishing second in our pool to Smith Center. This allowed us to advance to bracket play on Saturday,” Arnold said.

On Saturday, Oct. 30 Hillsboro defeated Garden Plain 19-25, 25-17, 25-22.

As the number 2 finisher in their pool, Hillsboro was then matched up with the number 1 seed finisher in the other pool. For the semi-final match the Trojans were up against Garden Plain. “This was a great contest for the fans (not so much for the coach) as both teams were very talented and had similar records. Once again we came out a little flat—or nervous—and got behind early and struggled more when Garden Plain went on a 6 point run. We adjusted our attack and serving to get Garden Plain out of system more in the next two games and it seemed to make a big difference,” said Arnold. “We also played better defense and were very scrappy. It was a hard fought win and I was proud of the girls for hanging in both physically and emotionally after losing the first game. With the win we were once again matched up with Smith Center in the state finals. Smith Center defeated Ellinwood in their semifinal match.”

Smith Center defeated Hillsboro 25-23, 25-12

“We worked our tails off in the finals, trying to find holes in a very scrappy Smith Center defense. In game one we used the block and tried some off speed attacking as well. Our serves were more effective which helped us defensively as Smith Center did not get to swing as much as in the first match in pool play. Our blocking and reading were better which helped us pick up their tips and off speed attacks,” said Arnold.

The Trojans were down 20-23 in the first game and battled back to tie it but Smith Center held on for the win. In the second game Hillsboro fell behind early and then fell further behind when Smith Center went on a 9-0 run behind the strong hitting of their big middles. They played tough defense and attacked the ball with a variety of attacks that kept the Trojans off balance.

Arnold said,“Overall, it was a great season for us! We had 35 wins, finished in 1st place in the CKL league, and finished 2nd in the 2A state championship. 9 of our 10 losses came to teams that qualified for the state tournament in their respective classes. I am very proud of the girls for what they accomplished this season!!”

Cross Country- Emersyn Funk placed 5th at the state meet on Saturday in Victoria.

“She had an amazing PR of 20:04.23,” said Coach Brielle Loewen. “Emersyn had some great support from her teammates and other classmates that showed up to cheer her on.”

Football- In what was never a close game, Hillsboro rolled through Douglass, 60-7, in their first round playoff match-up last Friday to advance to the second round of the 2A State Playoffs.

Hillsboro scored early and often in the game, racking up 481 yards of offense in the game. Matthew Potucek led the Trojans in passing with 122-yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 120 yards and four touchdowns, the first on an 18-yard scamper to put Hillsboro up 6-0 in the first quarter.

Jamari Harris led all rushers for the game with 122 yards on just eight carries and a long run of 85-yards and a score in the first quarter to put Hillsboro up 19-0.

Coming— The Trojans play Chaparral (8-1) in the second round on November 5 in Hillsboro. Chaparral beat Marion in the first round, 36-14.

Marion

Cross Country – The Warriors competed at state track on Saturday.

“What a beautiful day for a State Championship meet and our athletes performed like champions today. We had three PRs and one medal won so we know that our Warriors had prepared themselves well for this meet,” said Coach Grant Thierolf.

Heidi Grimmett closed out her cross country career in fine fashion, earning a medal by placing 19th in a very fast group of women.

“She ran very well, getting her last mile split down to a very competitive time. She has had a great career for herself and we look forward to watching her this spring during track and field,” said Thierolf.

The three boy runners all set legitimate PRs at the state meet with all placing in the top half of the finishers. Gavin Wasmuth completed his sophomore season by placing 29th.

“Gavin has been our number one runner all season and will return next year as one of the top runners in Class 2A,” said Thierolf.

Luke Wessel finished his freshman year with a great run at state, besting his previous PR by over ten seconds.

“He has gotten better and better over the course of the year and will be one of the top runners in the area next seaso,” Thierolf said.

Tristen Dye ran his best two races of the year last week and at state.

“He has been our leader during practice all year and will be poised for a great senior year next season,” said Thierolf. “Thanks to all the Warriors runners for a great season.”

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