Trojan tracksters heat up as season hits turning point
Sports reporter
There comes a time during the track season when teams are supposed to turn the corner. That time is now for Hillsboro High School.
Both Trojan teams are beginning to peak just in time as the teams hit the stretch run.
The girls' team won both meets it competed in this past week, and the boys took second and fourth in their two meets.
"Overall, what else could you ask for," head coach Dennis Boldt said.
During the Halstead CKTL quint Tuesday, 16 girls placed during the competition, giving the Trojans 131 points and a first-place finish.
Boldt tried something new with star JuliAnne Chisholm who usually leads the team in the two hurdles events and high jump. Although she took first in the high jump, she didn't run in the hurdles, instead taking first in the triple jump with a leap of 35 feet, six and one-half inches.
"She jumped very well," Boldt said.
Tina Frick, who usually finished second behind Chisholm in the hurdles, took first place in the 100-meter high hurdles with a time of 15.76 seconds. She also won the 300m hurdles with a time 54.35.
Hannah Marsh and Chelsea Bebermeyer were the other Trojans to win events.
Bebermeyer took first in the shot put with a throw of 31 feet, 10 and one-half inches. Marsh placed first in the pole vault (9-0), long jump (16-3), and 200m dash (28.13).
The boys' team racked up 123 points, finishing second behind Halstead's 149 points.
Tim Funk once again led the Trojans with a first-place finish in the 110m high hurdles (16.22) and a third-place finish in the high jump (5-8). But he wasn't alone at the top.
The Trojans dominated the 3200m run and the javelin toss.
Jonathan Christian (12:28.96) and Matt Klenda (12:30.41) finished first and second in the 3200m run.
HHS had the second through fourth place finishers in the javelin as Adam Dirks took second (144-0), Jacob Yoder finished third (135-04), and Tyler Kaufman was fourth (118-8).
Yoder also finsihed first in the 200m dash (24.26) and the long jump (18-8). Nate Holmes won the 800m run with a time of 2:10.03.
Boldt was pleased with both teams.
"Both groups did an excellent job," he said. "We are in a specific training phase right now so we worked through the meet, meaning we continued to train hard Monday [April 17] despite having a meet Tuesday [April 18]."
Conrad Nightengale
Traveling to Halstead Friday for the Conrad Nightengale invitational, the Trojans turned up the heat once again with two strong performances.
The girls' team took first out of 15 teams, and the boys finished fourth.
The girls' team placed in eight of 18 events and scored 80 points.
Chisholm continued to dominate by setting meet records in the 110 and 300m hurdles. She also won the high jump and anchored the 1600m relay team of Marsh, Frick, and Tiffany Rooker, that claimed the victory for the Trojans.
"This relay has turned into a cornerstone for this program over the years," Boldt said. "It is a demanding race that receives great attention, not only because it features four, 400m runners, but it also is the final event."
Boldt was impressed with Rooker, the youngest Trojan runner in the relay, and Frick who has been battling an illness.
"I know she feels much better about her performances tonight," Boldt said of Frick.
Marsh continued to be almost as hot as Chisholm, winning the long jump and 200m dash, and taking third in the pole vault.
Carrie Schroeder was the only other placer for the Trojans, taking fourth in the 1600m run.
David Funk returned to the boys' team for his first full meet of the season, taking first in the pole vault (13-6).
"They really got a shot in the arm with David's return," Boldt said. "I know he was exhausted during his first full day of competition and he needs to get stronger over the coming weeks in order to reach his full potential in May."
Cody McMillen and Sean Leihy took second and fourth respectively in the 3200m run, to rack up a few points for the fourth-place Trojans.
Dirks was the next highest finsiher for HHS, after taking second in the javelin with a throw of 152-11. Yoder finished fifth in the event with a toss of 149-01.
With the season coming to a close in three weeks, Boldt couldn't be happier with his two teams.
"These young people sacrifice their time and are committed to this program," he said. "Their efforts continue to pay off. I am proud of their accomplishments."
Full results on Page 6.
