Trojan kick off season at Lindsborg

Abigail Driggers heads down the final hill at Lindsborg. She finished ninth in 25:45, which established a school record for girls at the new 5-k distance. Don Ratzlaff

Hillsboro cross-country runners opened their season Thursday on the hot and windy hills of the Lindsborg Golf Course.

?It was a positive start to the season,? coach Stuart Holmes said. ?In spite of what were about the toughest conditions our runners have faced in the last three to four years, they kept going and were able to finish with some respectable results.?

The format offered separate races for fresh?men/ sophomores and for juniors/seniors in both the girls? and boys? divisions.

Hillsboro boys placed sixth among the six teams competing in the freshman/ soph?omore race with 135 points. They trailed Smoky Valley with 20, Hesston 29, Hutchinson Trinity 48, Sterling 58 and Haven 59.

Freshman Caleb Rempel led the team, placing 20th among 46 finishers in 23 minutes, 38 seconds. He was followed by Tucker Moss (31st, 25:30), Samuel Damon (40th, 27:18) and Avery Unruh (43rd, 28:46).

?For a number of our runners it was their first cross-country meet, so our athletes will improve significantly as they continue to gain experience as well as increase their fitness through consistent training,? Holmes said.

Junior Jonathan Hiner?man was Hillsboro?s only runner in the junior/senior race. He placed ninth among 32 finishers in 19:21.

?Jonathan ran a good race in order to earn the ninth-place medal,? Holmes said

Two girls ran for Hills?boro. Freshman Abigail Drig?gers earned a medal by placing seventh among 23 runners in the freshman/ soph?omore race with a time of 25:45. Because this is the first year girls in Kansas are running the 5-kilometer distance, Driggers? time is a school record for girls.

?Special congratulations to her as she persevered in these conditions,? Holmes said.

Senior Lydia Kliewer placed 17th among 22 runners in the junior/senior race in 28:40.

Coming?The Trojans are scheduled to compete at Wamego Saturday with a start time of 10 a.m.

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