Hillsboro varsity, middle school cross-country teams run in Circleville Kiwanis Invitational

Hillsboro’s cross-country teams traveled to Circleville on Sept. 2 to participate in the Circleville Kiwanis Invitational.
 
Hillsboro’s middle school girls and boys teams started the action off. Due to injuries and vacations, neither team was able to field enough athletes to place as a team in the meets. However, both teams registered several excellent individual performances.
 
In the girls race, 91 athletes ran the course, with Emarey Schurman and Parker Wilkin being the lone Hillsboro runners. Schurman led the team with a time of 15:35, good for 25th place. Wilkin followed closely behind and finished in 32nd place with a run of 16:05.
 

The boys team competed with four athletes, one short of the necessary number to qualify for team rankings. Eighth grader Alex Read led the team with a fifth-place finish and a time of 12:13. The second Hillsboro runner to finish was Mason Rinal, who finished the course in 12:47, good for 12th place.

Just over a minute later, Luke Letts crossed the line in 33rd place at 14:00. Rounding out the running was Tyler Bender with a time of 15:08 (47th place).
 
Speaking of the team’s efforts, Coach Ben Young praised the young runners' efforts in spite of being short handed.

“Neither team had enough athletes healthy to place,” Young said. “But Schurman and Wilkin ran well, and all of the boys were in the top 50 in a field of 96.”
 
The high school Lady Indians finished fifth in the varsity race.

“There were ladies from 28 schools at the meet, so it was highly competitive,” said Coach Rob Snavely. “We were missing a few to injury and vacation. It will be nice as we slowly get back together and run as a team.”
 
Jailyn Williams led the effort by finishing in 11th place with a time of 21:24. The second and third ladies to finish the course were Taylor Thoroman and Ramsey Haines. Thoroman ran a 22:27, good for 20th place, while Haines finished in 35th at 23:45.
 
Three more runners finished in the 50s. Finishing in 50th place was sophomore Olivia Covault, with a personal best time of 24:35. Just behind Covault were Brooklyn Lucarello at 24:44 (53rd place) and Abbey Letts, who earned 57th place with a 25:07 run.
 

The final two ladies to cross the line were freshmen, Claire Winkle and Sofia Mezo-Mil. Winkle finished in 102nd place (28:37), and Mezo-Mil finished in 133rd place (33:59).
 
“I am looking forward to seeing who makes some moves over the next month,” Snavely said. “To have a chance at FAC and districts, we are going to need a few more ladies to be running in the 23s. We had a lot of ladies make huge strides last year as the season progressed. That’s the great thing about sports, you never know who will step up.”
 
The final race of the day saw 227 young men race the Circleville course. As a team, the Indians finished in 13th place.
 
Leading the way for Hillsboro was junior Corbin Winkle. As the race neared its end, Winkle surged past several runners and managed a seventh-place finish with a time of 17:04.
 
“I thought Corbin ran a smart race,” said Coach Ed Letts. “He didn’t press early and was able to make a strong move in the last mile to pick up valuable spots.”
 
Rason Brunck was the next Indian to finish the course. Brunck, a freshman, finished in 17:57, good for 20th place. Hillsboro’s third runner to finish was Ryan Howland. Howland finished in 52nd place with a time of 19:28.

Cooper Swope finished in 107th place (21:41). Jayden Wells finished in 202nd place (27:40). Senior Jacob Schommer was the final Indian to cross the line with a run of 30:22, good for 215th place.
 
Letts felt that “missing our third runner today hurt, but I’m confident that we will be right in the mix come districts if we keep improving.”
 
The Indians will travel to the Zane Trace Invitational on Sept. 9, with the first race starting at 10 a.m.