A second consecutive windy outing Thursday didn?t keep Hillsboro?s Emily Sechrist from winning her fifth race in six starts, but it may have thwarted a run for the record books at the Ster?ling Invitational.
The Trojan junior finished the 4-kilometer course in 15:23 to outpace runner-up Halle Helfrich of Pratt by 16 seconds.
?The windy conditions slowed everyone?s times and probably kept Emily from challenging the Sterling course record of 15:11,? coach Stuart Holmes said. ?Her 15:23 on such a windy day is excellent, and she ran another outstanding race.?
Classmate Karyn Leihy earned a medal by finishing 17th in the field of 52 runners in 17:43.
For the boys, Avery Franz ran the 5-k course in 20:31 for 34th place and J.D. Schmidt placed 42nd among the 56 runners in 21:30.
?It was good to see Avery and J.D. run stronger today as both have been battling to get back to 100 percent today from injury or illness,? Holmes said. ?They weren?t 100 percent today, but they definitely ran better.?
In the freshman race, Jonathan Hinerman placed seventh among 27 runners in 20:30 and Tristan Donaldson, running his first race of the season, placed 20th in 26:22.
Coming?The Trojans enter the championship phase of the season Thurs?day when they compete in the Central Kansas League meet at Hesston. Races begin at 4 p.m.
The Class 2A regional will be hosted by Pleasanton Oct. 26 at the Sugar Valley Golf Course in Mound City.
