Aside from one history-making individual achievement, Hillsboro’s track and field team struggled to compete against their peers at the Central Kansas League meet Thursday at Joel H. Wiens Stadium in Hillsboro.
The Trojan highlight of the day, and possibly the season, came from sophomore Wes Shaw, who broke Milford Klaassen’s 49-year-old shot put school record by three inches to achieve Hillsboro’s only gold-medal performance of the day.
Klaassen’s record of 54 feet, 101⁄2 inches, set in 1968, fell in the preliminary round when Shaw reached a distance of 55-11⁄2.
“Breaking the shot put record has been on Wes Shaw’s mind a lot this year, and tonight he broke through and set that new record,” coach Dennis Boldt said.
“I know he is not satisfied yet, he has some pretty lofty goals. Wes is definitely a student of the throws as he watches videos and communicates with others concerning his technique. When you combine that with the coaching of Len Coryea, you have a pretty powerful combination.”
Shaw registered the next-best outcome for the Trojan boys, finishing second in discus with a throw of 136-10, which was 14 inches behind the gold-medal throw of Patrick Hartung of Haven.
Shaw accounted for 18 of Hillsboro’s 30.5 points, which ranked the Trojans ninth among the 10 schools competing.
Junior Kaden Ward supplied 11.5 of the remaining 12 points by placing third in long jump (20-11⁄4), fourth in high jump (5-10) and in a tie for fifth in pole vault (12-0).
Jonathan Hinerman scored one point for his sixth-place finish in the 3,200 meters (10:56.25).
Pratt won both gender divisions, the boys’ title with 112 points and the girls’ title with 123.
Meanwhile, the Trojan girls placed 10th among 11 schools with 17 points.
Sienna Kaufman led the team with a second-place finish in the long jump (15-51⁄4) and a fourth-place effort in pole vault (9-4). Eva Franz earned two points for finishing fifth in the 400 meters (1:04.91). Addie Berens scored one point for sixth place in long jump with a distance of 14-81⁄2.
“We have one of the most competitive leagues in the state, with teams covering three different classes,” Boldt said. “Although we are the only 2A school in the league, I thought our athletes competed hard and represented our community well.”
Coming—Hillsboro will compete Friday at the Class 2A regional in Herington. The top four finishers in each event qualify for the state track meet at Wichita State University.
