Hillsboro XC teams win 3 of 4 events at Fairfield Invitational

The Hillsboro cross-country teams traveled to Leesburg on Sept. 17 to compete in the Fairfield Invitational. When the meet was over, Hillsboro walked away with three of the four first-place team trophies.
 
The first race of the evening was run by the middle school girls. Due to changes from previous years, the runners faced an unexpectedly more challenging course and rose to the occasion with a team win.
 
The first Hillsboro runner to complete the course was Quinn Swope. Finding herself involved in an all-out sprint over the last 100 meters, Swope outraced Fairfield’s Daphne Zink to the finish line to capture third place with a time of 18:14.

A little over a minute later, a whole host of Indians also crossed the finish line. Parker Wilkin finished in 19:30 to earn seventh place, while Claire Pierson finished eighth with a 19:41. Just behind Pierson, Aria Ruble completed the course in 19:58 to garner ninth place.

Emarey Schurman was the next Indian runner. Schurman ran a 20:37 and finished in 12th place.
 
Hillsboro’s final five runners followed shortly thereafter. Cathleen Smart finished in 19th place (23:59), and Lilly Fugate earned 23rd place at 24:39. Abrianne Anderson ran a 24:44 (24th), K’nasia Leeper registered a 29:08 (32nd place) and Taylor Elkins finished at 33:45 (35th place).

Hillsboro’s middle school boys were the next to step up to the starting line. When the final runner crossed the line, Hillsboro placed fourth in a highly competitive race.
 
Mason Rinal was the fastest Hillsboro runner to complete the challenging course. Rinal’s run was good enough for seventh place at 14:26. Teammates Luke Thompson and Luke Letts followed Rinal to the finish line. Thompson finished in 14th place with a 14:41, while Letts earned a 14:56 to take 16th place.
 
In the final 100 meters, Tyler Bender passed several competitors to claim 21st place with a run of 15:34. Just seconds behind Bender was teammate Rush Abernathy. Abernathy raced with a Western Brown competitor to the finish line, edging him out by less than a second. Abernathy collected 23rd place at 15:37.

Hillsboro’s final competitor was Austin Inman. Inman held off a late charge from another runner to earn 62nd place with a 22:45.
 
The final race of the evening saw the high school boys and girls run a combined race, with both teams earning first place as a team.
 
The men’s race was as dramatic as could be with the results in question through the final runner. After places were determined, Hillsboro edged FAC foe Washington by just three points and Fairfield by five points.
 
Leading the Indians were Hillsboro’s standout trio, Corbin Winkle, Rason Brunck and Chris Sowders. Winkle, who finished first overall, finished the challenging course in 17:47. Brunck, who earned second place, outsprinted a Washington runner to the finish line with an 18:49. Moments later, Chris Sowders finished at 19:14 to merit fifth place.
 
It was not until Hillsboro’s final two runners came in was the team’s fate ultimately known. Running without its full team, the Indians had to wait to see if underclassmen Jayden Wells and Trenton Gulley would do enough to secure the win.

Gulley was the first to cross the line with a 22:18. Finishing in a sprint, Gulley edged out two Washington runners by less than a second and finished in 19th place, earning critical points to put the Indians in the lead. Seven seconds later, Wells resolved the matter with a 22nd-place finish. Crossing at 22:25, Wells did not allow any runners to outsprint him to the line, earning a narrow three-point victory.
 
Hillsboro coach, Ed Letts, was elated in his team’s victory.

“Trenton ran a great race today,” remarked Letts. “He was able to hold off a couple Washington Court House runners to seal the win for us. He and Jayden really stepped up for us with Ryan and Cooper unavailable today.”
 
While the Hillsboro men and women were running concurrently, the ladies were the final runners on the course. The ladies claimed first place and placed all seven runners in the Top Ten.
 
Taylor Thoroman led the Lady Indians’ effort with a second-place finish and a time of 23:26. Just behind Thoroman was a host of teammates. Abbey Letts finished in third place with a time of 23:46, and Olivia Covault earned fourth place at 23:54. Shortly after Covault’s concluded race, Kennedy Sexton earned fifth place by finishing the course in 24:12.
 
Coach Rob Snavely was pleased with his first four runners’ performances.

“Those first four runners have run really well all year,” Snavely said. “They show up and consistently finish in the top groups of runners at each meet. They give us a great chance to compete in every meet.”
 
Brynne Holsted was the fifth runner to complete the course. Holsted came in at 27:12 to lay claim to seventh place. Less than a minute later, Alizeh Hudson raced stride-for-stride with an East Clinton runner to the finish line. After the video review, Hudson claimed eighth place and narrowly edged out her competitor by less than .01 second with a time of 27:51.

Claire Winkle rounded out the competition for Hillsboro with a 10th-place finish after registering a time of 28:31.
 
“It was great seeing all our ladies leave with a medal,” Snavely said. “It shows depth and the tremendous work ethic they have to come out each day and work in practice to improve.”
 
The Indians will travel to Cedarville on Saturday morning to compete in the prestigious Cedarville Friendship Cross Country Invitational at Elvin R. King Course.
 
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