By BEN KLEINE

Staff writer

The top three teams from the Saturday regional in Southeast of Saline moved onto the state competition in Wamego this Saturday.

Even though the Trojans had three runners finish in the top 20, Hillsboro finished fourth.

“There is not a doubt in my mind we would have qualified in any of the other three regionals in 3A,” Hillsboro head coach Stuart Holmes said. “But that is the way the system works.”

Senior Nathan Vogel finished ninth with a time of 17 minutes, 52 seconds. He was the only Trojan runner in the top 10, and thus the only runner to move on to the state meet.

“Nathan ran a determined, gutsy race and it was great to see him earn the right to compete at state as an individual,” Stuart said. “His dedication and work ethic have been great examples for our younger runners.”

Boys

9. Nathan Vogel — 17:52*

16. Brett Mueller — 18:38

19. Jonathan King — 18:48

33. Josh Richert — 19:23

35. Dimitri McClelland — 19:28

39. Justin King — 19:44

61. Michael Christian — 20:36

Girls

41. Samantha Ens — 18:41

*denotes state qualifier.