Mueller, Vogel, King place in top 15, McClelland 21

The Hillsboro High School cross-country team closed out the regular season Friday, competing at the MCAA league meet at Hesston.

Led by the trio of Bret Mueller, Nathan Vogel, and Jonathan King, the boys’ team finished third out of the league’s 10 schools.

The hosting Swathers were the overall boys’ winner, topping runner-up Lyons, 67-75, while Hillsboro scored 91 points.

The confident Mueller continued his sensational sophomore season, running an 11th-place time of 17 minutes, 45 seconds on the 3.1-mile course.

Vogel repeated as an MCAA league medalist, finishing four seconds and a spot behind Mueller.

King also earned both a medal and all-MCAA honors, taking 15th at 18:21.

Hesston’s Zach Weber paced the 66 competitors in 17:12.

“It was neat that Nathan, Bret, and Jonathan all medaling, all have been so committed to training during the summer on their own as well as each day in practice,” Trojan coach Stuart Holmes said. “It was great to see their dedication rewarded with earning all-league status.

“Jonathan hadn’t even been a runner until his family moved to Hillsboro three years ago, now he is all-league. His success is a credit to his great attitude, dedication, and desire.”

Senior Dimitri McClelland ran a gutsy race, finishing 21st in a personal best time of 18:43.

“In only his first season of running, he did an excellent job for the team,” Holmes said.

Justin King was 35th at 19:12, Josh Richert 48th at 19:57, and Michael Christian barely missed finishing in the top 50 at 20:13 for 51st.

Illness kept Lady Trojan Samantha Ens out of school for two days, but Ens returned to form to take 31st in 19:08.

Because Ens is the only member of the Lady Trojans, Hillsboro was unable to obtain a team score.

Up next is the chance for Hillsboro to clinch a ticket to the Class 3A state meet on Halloween in Wamego at the Southeast of Saline regional Saturday at SES High School in Gypsum.

“Looking ahead to regionals, there are at least seven good boys’ teams with a shot at placing in the top three, and qualifying for state,” Holmes said. “If everyone has a good day, our team could be right there in the mix.

“Our guys will be mentally ready to compete for every spot and we’ll see what happens.”

The girls’ race begins at 2:30 p.m. with the boys starting 30 minutes later.