Hillsboro's Thoroman, Winkle, Indians team win McClain Opener

Hillsboro’s cross country teams traveled to Greenfield’s Mitchell Park and competed in the McClain Opener Saturday, Aug. 24.
 
The Lady Indians opened the meet with a strong showing and finished second in the team standings. Taylor Thoroman jumped out to a quick lead in the front pack and never relinquished her lead. Finishing first, Thoroman ran the course in 22:11.
 
“I told Taylor that a first place is always good,” said Coach Rob Snavely. “It doesn’t matter when or where or how. Being the best on any given day is a thing to enjoy.”
 
Not far behind Thoroman was teammate Kennedy Sexton. Sexton crossed the finish line at 22:44 and earned a fourth-place finish.

Finishing in ninth and 10th place were teammates Abbey Letts and Olivia Covault. In a sprint to the finish line, Letts narrowly beat out Covault to earn ninth place. Letts finished with a time of 24:29, and Covault notched a 24:30.

Brynne Holsted was the next Lady Indian to finish the race. Holsted finished in 15th place with a time of 26:17. The next to finish was teammate Alizeh Hudson, who completed the course in 27:19 in 16th place. Hillsboro’s final runner was Claire Winkle. Winkle came in 20th place at 28:15.
 
Snavely was pleased with his team’s performance. “I like the steps we are taking as a team,” he said. “We’re not as deep and experienced as we have been in the past. New runners have to step up and I think some of them want to take that step.

“As we move further into the season, they will have opportunities to continue improving. We’ve created a climate of hard work and high expectations at practice. Hopefully those will pay off at the end of the season.”
 
For the second straight weekend, the Indians team walked away with a first-place team award and finished with four runners as medalists.
 
Corbin Winkle and Rason Brunck once again led the attack for the Indians, garnering first- and second-place honors, respectively. Winkle finished his race with an impressive 17:00 time and a first-place finish, while Brunck followed at 18:06.

Shortly after Brunck’s finish, teammates Chris Sowders and Ryan Howland crossed the finish line. Sowders’ race was good enough to earn sixth place (18:32), and Howland finished one spot behind at seventh place (19:10).
 
Coach Ed Letts singled out senior Chris Sowders’s performance after the race. “Chris had an excellent race today,” said Letts. “I’m looking forward to seeing him compete in a larger meet next week at Circleville.”
 
Cooper Swope was the next Indian to complete the course, followed by Trenton Gulley and Jayden Wells. Swope earned 15th place (20:39), while Gulley finished in 28th place (21:51) and Wells notched 32nd place (22:05).
 
Letts went on to praise the performance of his team. “I was pleased with how our boys ran today,” he said. “Almost everyone ran faster than they ran here last year. Jayden Wells had himself a great day. He’s worked his tail off, and it’s showing. He went from 27:55 at this meet last year to 22:05 today. Love it when kids get to see the results of their hard work.”
 
Hillsboro’s middle school teams took the course when the high school had finished. In what turned out to be the closest race of the morning, the middle school girls lost a heartbreaker to Zane Trace through a tie breaker. When the race was finished, both teams finished with 32 points. After the tiebreaker, Zane Trace’s sixth-place runner defeated Hillsboro’s sixth-place runner by one spot, handing the Pioneers the hard-fought win.
 
The girls team was led by Quinn Swope, Parker Wilkin and Claire Pierson. The trio finished in fifth, sixth and seventh place, respectively. Swope completed her race in 13:51, while Wilkin’s time was 14:18 and Pierson’s was 14:25.
 
Emarey Schurman finished in 11th place with a time of 15:43. Aria Ruble edged out a Fairfield runner by less than a second to earn 14th place at 16:22. The final Hillsboro runners were Abrianne Anderson with a time of 17:25 (19th), Scarlett McElwee at 18:11 (22nd) and K’Nasia Leeper’s run of 23:46 (36th).
 
The final race saw the middle school boys finish in second place.
 
The Indians’ top runner on the morning was Tyler Bender. Bender’s final sprint to the finish line earned him fifth place as he narrowly edged out a competitor with a time of 12:30.

Moments later, teammate Luke Letts also won a sprint to the finish line at 12:57 to capture eighth place.
 
Coach Ben Young praised his two leading runners after the race. “We had two eighth graders completely shatter their personal best times. Luke Letts beat his personal best by close to a minute, and Tyler Bender beat his by almost a minute and a half. Tyler had our best time of the day by running two miles in 12 minutes and 30 seconds.”
 
Shortly after Letts finished, Mason Rinal completed the course with a time of 13:07 to garner 11th-place honors. Rush Abernathy followed shortly after with a time of 13:59 to earn 18th place, while Austin Inman notched 33rd place at 17:50.
 
“I thought our kids ran a great race today,” said Young. “Out two newcomers, Rush Abernathy and Austin Inman, ran a very solid race. I look forward to seeing what this team can do the rest of the season.”
 
The Indians will travel to Circleville and compete in the Kiwanis Invitational on Aug. 31.

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