Sechrist paces Trojans at Rim Rock

 

Emily Sechrist and two teammates got a preview of their potential Class 3A state course Saturday, with Sechrist finishing third to a couple of Iowa runners at the Rim Rock Farm Classic near Lawrence.

Sechrist covered the challenging 4-kilometer course in 15 minutes, 57.2 seconds, finishing 27 seconds behind the winner and 17 behind the runnerup, both from Iowa City West High School.

The closest Kansas finisher was Maddie Willson of Class 6A Shawnee Mission West, who placed seventh in 16:25.5.

Hillsboro?s Karyn Leihy placed 54th in the field of 86 runners with a time of 18:21.5.

Sophomore Jonathan Hinerman, the lone Trojan boy competing, placed 215th in the boys? 5-k with a time of 20:25.2,

?Now that we know that we are 3A this year, running at Rim Rock, where the 3A state meet is, was especially beneficial,? coach Stuart Holmes said. ?Being more familiar with the course and its steep hills will hopefully help a month from now at state.

?Also, we applied to run in the large-school ?gold? division, so it was especially nice for Emily to run against some new competition.?

Holmes said times were affected by the warm afternoon temperatures.

?Consequently, we weren?t so concerned with the times, but saw it more as an opportunity to compete on a tough course and run a tough workout,? he said.

Southeast of Saline?Hillsboro senior Emily Sechrist won her third race in three starts by outdistancing the other 72 runners at the Southeast of Saline Invitational Sept. 23.

Sechrist covered the 4-kilometer course in 15 minutes, 13.71 seconds, nearly 31 seconds faster than the runnerup, Mikala Heddin of Hesston.

Also earning a medal for Hillsboro was senior Karyn Leihy, who placed 18th in 17:43.31.

In the junior varsity race, Lydia Kliewer finished 11th among 37 runners in 21:00.26.

For the boys, Jonathon Hinerman was Hillsboro?s lone entry in the 5-k varsity race, finishing 22nd in 18:49.36 in a field of 89 runners. Tristan Donaldson placed 24th among 72 runners in the JV race with a time of 22:06.11.

Coming?Hillsboro runners will compete Thursday at the Berean Invitational at Harvey County East Park. Races begin at 4 p.m.

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