Boys’ team finishes in top 30

Having a quartet of seniors on the roster might lead some to believe Trojan coach Stuart Holmes’ team is brimming with experience.

Holmes has the talent, but experience is something he’s not loaded with this year, as all but one of his runners competed mainly at the junior varsity level.

That puts the pressure on his new and young runners to mature quickly and perform.

That didn’t seem to hinder the Trojans much Thursday at Peabody with all six of Hillsboro’s varsity runners finishing in the top 30.

Of the 11 competing teams, the Trojans’ 93 points left them in third place with Hesston and Peabody-Burns first and second, respectively.

The Swathers won the meet comfortably, edging Peabody, 59-86.

Nathan Vogel posted the best finish for Hillsboro, taking 12th in 18 minutes, 50 seconds.

Jonathan King was 16th at 19:18 while Bret Mueller and Josh Richert were 18th and 19th, respectively.

“The kids did a terrific job again today,” Holmes said.

Josh Richert, a freshman, earning his first varsity medal was a highlight this week, just like Jonathan and Bret earning theirs last week.

“It’s important for our new and young runners to be competitive as soon as possible because we are so young and inexperienced. The outstanding job these three and Nathan have been doing gives us reason for more optimism as the season progresses,” Holmes said.

Dimitri McClelland and Justin King fought a heated battle to stay in the top 30 with McClelland coming in 28th with a time of 20:06 and King 30th at 20:08.

“Dimitri and Justin are also making great progress for guys that have never run cross-country before,” Holmes said.

Michael Christian and Daniel Gray enjoyed a successful day, too, competing in the JV race.

Christian finished fourth out of 52 runners in 21:36.

Gray finished 15th with a time of 22:34 to earn his first medal.

Samantha Ens was fifth in the girls’ JV race, barely missing the 20-minute mark by a mere two-hundredths of a second.

The Trojans were in action Tuesday, competing in the Southeast of Saline meet at Gypsum.

Results of Tuesday’s action were not available at time of publication. Hillsboro then will enjoy a short break before returning to the course Oct. 1 against 2A power Berean at Harvey County East Park.