Lady Trojans second in MCAA track
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
Drop a relay baton, lose six points.
Lose a consistently standout performer to sickness, lose 10 more.
In track and field, the minuses can add up to big trouble, causing the most powerful teams to stumble.
That's what happened Friday to the Hillsboro Lady Trojans.
A dropped baton in the 4x100 relay and an athlete under the weather and unable to perform at her best cost the team at least 16 points at the MCAA league meet in Marion.
In the end, Marion won the meet with 114 points, Hillsboro was second with 103.
Do the math.
"What I told the kids on the bus before we came home is that we are not training to peak for the league meet," said coach Dennis Boldt. "But at the same time, the league meet is an important meet because it shows us where we stand, and quite frankly we are standing well."
The Trojans logged at least 10 personal best performances Friday, which is good news going into this Friday's regional meet at Cheney.
The top four finishers in each event will qualify for the state meet.
Marion won gold medals in five events while Hillsboro picked up four with senior JuliAnne Chisholm hauling in three.
Chisholm repeated as league champion for the fourth consecutive season in the 100 and 300-meter hurdles and high jump.
Chisholm's high jump of five feet, nine inches is the best in the state this season and ties the 16-year-old state meet record. She led her second-placing teammate, Tina Frick, in the 100 and 300m hurdles with 14.99 and 45.68 times, respectively.
The Lady Trojans other gold medal came from senior pole valuter Hannah Marsh, whose 9-6 height was a half-foot better than Marion's runner-up, Julia Zeiner.
Marsh also placed second in the 100m and 200m dash, behind Marion's Erin Carr sprinted. But Carr's 200 time of 25.50 was just 22/100ths of a second faster than Marsh's.
In boys' competition, Hillsboro finished with 73 points, good enough for a fourth place, by winning four events and picking up silver and bronze medals in two others.
Senior javelin thrower, Adam Dirks, who finished 11th in the state last season, won with throw of 164 feet, seven inches. Teammate Jacob Yoder was second at 157-10.
Down the home stretch toward the state meet, the boys will rely on the strength of their relay teams.
"Relays have been a focus for me in my program, because if you can get a relay team to state you're taking four runners on the track and two alternates are training as well. That's our team concept. We don't have a of depth.
The Trojans three gold medalsFriday came from the 400-, 1600-, and 3200-meter relays, in respective times of 44.09, 3:32.93, and 8:24.78.
Cody McMillen captured a bronze medal in the 3200-meter run in 10:14.
mcaa league meet
Girls
Teams: 1. Marion 114. 2. Hillsboro 103. 3. Smoky Valley 85. 4. Halstead 58. 5. Hesston 57. 6. Hoisington 47. 7. Ellinwood 28. 8. Haven 22. 9. Sterling 21. 10. Collegiate 16. 11. Nickerson 5. 12. Lyons 2.
JulieAnne Chisholm - 1. 100m hurdles, 14.99. 1. 300m hurdles, 45.68. 1. High jump, 5-9.
Tina Frick - 2. 100m hurdles, 15.60. 2. 300m hurdles, 48.22.
Hannah Marsh - 1. Pole vault, 9-6. 2. 200m dash, 25.72. 2. Long jump, 16-3.5.
Chelsea Bebermeyer - 3. Shot put, 35-4. 6. Discus, 106-5.5.
Tiffany Rooker - 3. Pole vault, 8-6.
Jet Skiles - 6. Pole vault, 7-6.
Abi Humber - 2. Triple jump, 31-11.5.
4x400m relay, second - Frick, Rooker, Marsh, Chisholm, 4:09.71.
4x800m relay, fifth - Elissa Richert, Clara Ens, Cassie Kroeker, Jessica Elliot, 11:47.16.
Boys
Teams: 1. Sterling 109. 2. Marion 82. 3. Hoisington 76. 4. Hillsboro 73. 5. Smoky Valley 57. 6. Hesston 55. 7. Halstead 34. 8. Lyons 21. 9. Haven 20. 10. Collegiate 18. 11. Ellinwood 9. 12. Nickerson 4.
Ishmael Morris - 6. 100m dash, 11.65. 6. 200m dash, 23.50.
Grant Schneider - 3. 110m hurdles, 16.01. 5. 300m hurdles, 43.58.
Cody McMillen - 3. 3200m run, 10:14.30.
Spencer Brown - 6. 400m dash, 53.65.
Adam Dirks - 1. Javelin, 164-7.
Jacob Yoder - 2. Javelin, 157-10. 2. Long jump, 19-11.
4x100m relay, first - Yoder, Michael Suderman, Michael Tisdale, Morris, 44.09.
4x400m relay, first - Yoder, Sean Leihy, Morris, Brown, 3:32.93.
4x800m relay, first - Brown, Nathan Vogel , McMillen, Leihy, 8:24.78.
