Trojan boys capture regional title; girls finish as runners-up
Sports reporter
By the skin of their teeth, or maybe more aptly by the skin of their legs, the Hillsboro High School boys' track team ran to a victory Friday at regionals hosted by Marion High School.
The Trojans finished with 66 points, one point ahead of Marion and Wichita Independent. The girls' team finished as runner-up, totaling 90 points.
Head coach Dennis Boldt told his athletes to realize how fortunate they are to have had the success they had at a tough regional.
"The achievements of these young people are in direct relationship to the commitment and sacrifice they make to complete track and field," he said.
The boys' team, who even coach Boldt admitted wasn't the favorite, has been successful this season, but not quite to the height it achieved this past week.
It was a relay team that didn't even qualify for state that impressed Boldt the most. The 4x400-meter relay squad of Jacob Yoder, Josh Boese, Michael Suderman, and Nate Holmes wasn't a threat to win, but the team knew a good time in the meet's final event could mean a top-three finish for the Trojans, according to Boldt.
In the end their sixth-place finish meant more than that.
"They ran as if the state championship depended on their effort," Boldt said of the foursome. "Because of their effort, because they competed against the odds, they earned the 66th point."
It also was the usual suspects for Hillsboro who carried them to the title. One of them was David Funk. Finally recuperated from an early-season injury, he took first place in the pole vault clearing 14 feet.
"As the returning state champion, he approaches each event with a very different attitude than most, Boldt said. "He knows what he wants and he demands perfection from himself."
Another Funk, Tim, showed his adversity after finishing fifth the past two seasons at regionals, but left as a state qualifier in both the high jump and 110-meter hurdles.
"Coaches who coach for many years do so because of athletes like Tim Funk," Boldt said. "He makes every practice and every meet enjoyable and deserves the opportunity."
Adam Dirks also will be competing in state after throwing a career best in the javelin and taking second place. Tyler Kaufman also had a personal best in the triple jump, two feet longer than his previous best.
Cody McMillen was the final individual placer for HHS after finishing second in the 3200m run, just 1.3 seconds behind Marion's Gavin Moore.
"I could see in Cody's face last year after the regional in Garden Plain that he was determined to qualify for state competition this season," Boldt said. "He trained throughout the off-season through this [season] in hope of preparing himself for the opportunity to make a run at state."
The final qualifiers for the state meet were Holmes, McMillen, Josh Boese, and Sean Leihy as part of the third-place 4x800m relay team.
Boldt is excited about his team chances this weekend, and couldn't be happier.
"Quite frankly you would be hard pressed to find a better group of young men to work with than our guys," he said. "They seem to have the right combination of talent and dedication as well as attitude toward the sport."
It doesn't take a genius to know the athletes on the Hillsboro girls' team possess the same qualities.
The runner-up Trojans finished 30 points ahead of third place Cheney, but 51 points behind champion Wichita Independent.
Still, three Lady Trojans have carried this squad the entire year, finishing first or second in nearly every event.
Junior JuliAnne Chisholm, who sat out the last two meets with an injury, won both the 100 and 300m hurdles, and the high jump.
"The rest over the past few weeks gave her the opportunity to go full speed," Boldt said.
That meant bad news for the competition.
In a way it was bad news for teammate Tina Frick, because Chisholm was normally the only person she finished behind in both hurdle events during the season. It happened again in the 100m hurdles as Frick was just three-tenths of a second behind Chisholm. She finished fourth in the 300m hurdles, but nonetheless qualified for state in both events.
It was another event that Boldt thought defined Frick's day.
"Her story of the day would have to be anchoring the girls' 4x100m relay to a third place finish," he said. Mainly because it helped qualify Shelby Koons, Tiffany Rooker, and Abi Humber for the first time.
Chelsea Bebermeyer will be making her first state appearance as well, after setting a personal record in the discus.
The third Lady Trojan however to help carry the team was Hannah Marsh. She will be representing HHS this weekend after taking second in the 200m dash, and winning the pole vault.
She also will join Chisholm, Frick, and Carrie Schroeder as members of the 4x400m relay team that will try for its third consecutive championship run.
Boldt knows although the regular season is important, it's regionals that determine who will go to state, and he was more than excited for the members of his team who will experience it this weekend.
"Today not only did we qualify many, we also placed well as a team," he said. "I wish every athlete sometime during their four years of high school will have the opportunity to experience state competition."
