McMillen takes second at Wamego meet
Hopefully Hillsboro High School Trojan boys' senior cross country star Cody McMillen relished Saturday's moment, competing at the Wamego meet.
After six more meets and pending an injury, he'll be Hillsboro's best chance at capturing a state title at the same place for the Class 3A state meet.
McMillen proved why he is one of the best, finishing second only to Norton's Zach Bainter's winning 3.1-mile time of seventeen minutes, 45 seconds by a slim seven seconds. He was ahead of 122 other competitors.
Overall, the Trojan boys were fourth out of 19 schools, scoring 134 points. Wichita Trinity Academy topped all teams, with 85 points, 17 better than runner-up SE of Saline.
"Everyone gave a great effort on a very challenging course," coach Stewart Holmes said. "The competition was excellent as many of the top 3A boys teams were there with the exception of (reigning state champ) K.C. Christian."
Junior Nicholas Mueller could be a force to be reckoned with, too, as he was fifth with a time of 18:46 — his best finish at a large varsity meet.
"Nicholas was in excellent position after the first 400 meters," said Holmes. "He ran very focused in the tough middle part of the race and passed a few more runners in the last mile. He really gutted it out and finished strong."
Nathan Vogel ran a good race, as well, finishing in the top 30 with a 25th place time of 19:54.
Matthew Klenda was 43rd (20:49) to round out Hillsboro's top 50 finishers.
"If our other five or six guys running for the fourth and fifth spots can continue to improve, we could beat some of the teams that finished ahead of us today," Holmes said. "Every day is different, so we'll keep focusing on training smart and racing aggressively so we'll be even more prepared down the stretch."
The Trojans junior varsity team also was in action at Wamego, finishing eighth with 200 points.
Highlighting the meet for the JV was Cody Blacketter, who earned his first medal with a 26th place time of 21:03.
Illness was swarming around the teams with Jessica Elliot and Brandon McMillen battling to stay healthy.
Elliot's absence left the Lady Trojans short-handed, and a runner short of being able to keep a team score.
Heidi Schroeder lead the girls with a 48th-place, two-mile time of 19:37, but it was freshman Krista Benda's 67th place (20:45) which earned high praise from Holmes.
Abi Humber was 69th and Clara Ens was seven spots behind her with times of 20:53, and 21:07, respectively.
The Trojans return to the course at 9 a.m. Friday, traveling to Wichita's Cessna Activity Center.
