Staff writer
Hillsboro High School track teams finished the regular part of their schedule Thursday at the Central Kansas League meet in Halstead, placing in the bottom half of team standings.
Many athletes who had seen success over the course of the season, though, continued doing so.
“Without a doubt, our league meet with the additions of Larned and Hoisington this year created our most challenging event of the season,” head coach Dennis Boldt said. “Our athletes met the challenge and represented our school extremely well.”
Marah Franz won the league championship in pole vault clearing 9-feet, 6-inches while other Hillsboro athletes finished in the top three of their respective events.
Distance races continued to be a strength for Trojan runners, as Grant Knoll and Emily Sechrist medaled in the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs. Knoll placed third in both races while Sechrist finished second. Sechrist also finished fourth in the 800-meter run.
Seniors Avery Franz and Jesse Brown scored points in all three jumping events. Brown took second in high jump, 6-0; and third in long jump, 19-9. Franz scored second in triple jump, 40-10; and sixth in long jump, 18-9.5.
The girls’ 4x800-meter relay team scored a point with its sixth-place finish, while several other athletes missed placing by one or two spots. In the 110 hurdles, Matthew Denholm finished eighth, Cody Craney placed seventh in shot put, and Tara Proffitt tied for the sixth fastest time in the 400, but placed seventh.
The teams now will prepare for state competition, beginning with a 16-team regional qualifying meet on Friday.