Lady Indians gain FAC cross-country championship; Thoroman, Winkle win individual FAC titles
Lead Summary
By
Submitted Article-
The Hillsboro Indians cross-country teams traveled to Greenfield’s Mitchell Park on Oct. 15 to compete in the Frontier Athletic Conference Championship Meet. Running on a cool Saturday morning, both teams turned in some of their finest times of the year. When the dust had settled, the Lady Indians walked away with a conference championship, while the men finished third.
The Indians also had an individual FAC champion in each varsity race, with Taylor Thoroman winning the girls event and Corbin Winkle taking first place in the boys meet.
The Lady Indians started the day with the difficult task of upending the Chillicothe Lady Cavaliers, winners of six straight championship meets. In the end, the Indians and Cavaliers did not disappoint.
Running in her first career FAC Championship, Thoroman was the first athlete to cross the finish line. The young freshman held off two Chillicothe runners and finished with a winning time of 20:03.
Thoroman’s win marks the first time since 2003 that a Lady Indian has won a conference meet.
“I had several talks with Taylor this week,” said Coach Rob Snavely. “We knew she would have to go out fast. Chillicothe was going try to stay with her and outsprint her at the end, and she would need to keep distance between herself and their runners. She ran a very smart race. It’s not always easy being the person in the front of the pack. Taylor is learning what it takes to run there.”
Jailyn Williams, another freshman, was the second Lady Indian to finish. Williams ran a 21:26, good for sixth place.
However, by the time the first seven runners had run the course, Chillicothe looked as if it would win again as it had three runners in the top seven, while Hillsboro had only two. Nevertheless, as has happened all season, Hillsboro’s tremendous depth pushed it on to victory.
Five of the next six runners to cross the finish line wore red. Bree Bailey finished in eighth place (22:21). While Ramsey Haines ran to ninth place (22:32) and Brooklynn Minton earned tenth place with a time of 22:34. All three runners ran their fastest races for the year.
Four seconds behind Minton, Brooklyn Lucarello crossed the line with a run of 22:38 (12th place). Not far behind was Abbey Letts, who finished the course in 22:54 (13th place). The final Lady Indian to finish was senior Emily Letts. Letts, a team captain, finished in 23rd with a 25:25.
When all of the runners had finished the race, Hillsboro edged Chillicothe by just six points to win the conference title for the first time since 2013.
Snavely was not only pleased with the results, but the efforts of his entire team.
“We spent so much time talking about what it would take to win,” he said. “But I still didn’t know if our best would be good enough. Each young lady gave everything to help us win today, and it took everything we had to win. I’m happy for these young ladies. They’re the ones who train in the offseason and run to get better. Very happy.”
The men’s race that followed had its own intrigue. Coming into the race, Hillsboro knew that it would also have to run faster than it had run all year to have a chance to unseat the four-time defending conference champion, Chillicothe.
From the outset of the race, it was clear that Chillicothe, Jackson and Hillsboro all had what it took to take the crown. Each school had a runner in or near the front as the race neared its end.
However, it was Hillsboro that took the early team lead when sophomore standout Corbin Winkle crossed the finish line in 16:40 to take first place. Winkle’s win marks the first time an Indian has won the conference championship race since 2014.
“Corbin ran a great race today,” said Coach Ed Letts. “He ran smart early on and put himself in a position to win. It's great for his confidence to know that he can run somebody down in the last mile if he has to.”
As has been the case for most of the year, Chris Sowders was the second runner to score for Hillsboro. Sowders finished in 10th place, with a time of 18:30, just ahead of several Chillicothe runners. Mere seconds behind Sowders was also his teammate, Ryan Howland. Howland crossed the finish line at 18:35, placing 12th.
The next Hillsboro runners to complete the course were Nick Turner (20th place) with a time of 19:14 and Jacob Seaman (22nd place) at 19:34.
Rounding out the Indian runners were Cooper Swope, Dylan Bender and Garet Thompson. Swope finished in 31st place with a time of 20:32. Bender placed 38th after logging a 21:49, and Thompson ran to 45th place by running the course in 23:15.
When all runners had finished the course, the Chillicothe Cavaliers finished in first place for the fifth straight year and Jackson edged Hillsboro by just four points for second place.
Speaking about his team’s growth and performance, Coach Letts is looking forward to the future as his young team continues to get stronger and faster.
“Overall, our team fell a bit short of our goal, but there was a lot to be happy about,” Letts said. “A majority of our kids ran personal best times, and we've come a long way in the past year or two as a program.
“I really believe some of the kids are seeing the opportunities that we have if we continue to work hard. We have a solid young group of kids and some junior high runners coming up next year that we are excited about. We're trending up at just the right time.”
Visit https://www.baumspage.com/cc/ccevent.php?peventid=205&table=C for more information and full team results.
The Indians enter tournament play Saturday, Oct. 22 in the Division II District Championship at Rio Grande University. The Lady Indians run at 4 p.m., with the men following at 5 p.m.
[[In-content Ad]]
The Indians also had an individual FAC champion in each varsity race, with Taylor Thoroman winning the girls event and Corbin Winkle taking first place in the boys meet.
The Lady Indians started the day with the difficult task of upending the Chillicothe Lady Cavaliers, winners of six straight championship meets. In the end, the Indians and Cavaliers did not disappoint.
Running in her first career FAC Championship, Thoroman was the first athlete to cross the finish line. The young freshman held off two Chillicothe runners and finished with a winning time of 20:03.
Thoroman’s win marks the first time since 2003 that a Lady Indian has won a conference meet.
“I had several talks with Taylor this week,” said Coach Rob Snavely. “We knew she would have to go out fast. Chillicothe was going try to stay with her and outsprint her at the end, and she would need to keep distance between herself and their runners. She ran a very smart race. It’s not always easy being the person in the front of the pack. Taylor is learning what it takes to run there.”
Jailyn Williams, another freshman, was the second Lady Indian to finish. Williams ran a 21:26, good for sixth place.
However, by the time the first seven runners had run the course, Chillicothe looked as if it would win again as it had three runners in the top seven, while Hillsboro had only two. Nevertheless, as has happened all season, Hillsboro’s tremendous depth pushed it on to victory.
Five of the next six runners to cross the finish line wore red. Bree Bailey finished in eighth place (22:21). While Ramsey Haines ran to ninth place (22:32) and Brooklynn Minton earned tenth place with a time of 22:34. All three runners ran their fastest races for the year.
Four seconds behind Minton, Brooklyn Lucarello crossed the line with a run of 22:38 (12th place). Not far behind was Abbey Letts, who finished the course in 22:54 (13th place). The final Lady Indian to finish was senior Emily Letts. Letts, a team captain, finished in 23rd with a 25:25.
When all of the runners had finished the race, Hillsboro edged Chillicothe by just six points to win the conference title for the first time since 2013.
Snavely was not only pleased with the results, but the efforts of his entire team.
“We spent so much time talking about what it would take to win,” he said. “But I still didn’t know if our best would be good enough. Each young lady gave everything to help us win today, and it took everything we had to win. I’m happy for these young ladies. They’re the ones who train in the offseason and run to get better. Very happy.”
The men’s race that followed had its own intrigue. Coming into the race, Hillsboro knew that it would also have to run faster than it had run all year to have a chance to unseat the four-time defending conference champion, Chillicothe.
From the outset of the race, it was clear that Chillicothe, Jackson and Hillsboro all had what it took to take the crown. Each school had a runner in or near the front as the race neared its end.
However, it was Hillsboro that took the early team lead when sophomore standout Corbin Winkle crossed the finish line in 16:40 to take first place. Winkle’s win marks the first time an Indian has won the conference championship race since 2014.
“Corbin ran a great race today,” said Coach Ed Letts. “He ran smart early on and put himself in a position to win. It's great for his confidence to know that he can run somebody down in the last mile if he has to.”
As has been the case for most of the year, Chris Sowders was the second runner to score for Hillsboro. Sowders finished in 10th place, with a time of 18:30, just ahead of several Chillicothe runners. Mere seconds behind Sowders was also his teammate, Ryan Howland. Howland crossed the finish line at 18:35, placing 12th.
The next Hillsboro runners to complete the course were Nick Turner (20th place) with a time of 19:14 and Jacob Seaman (22nd place) at 19:34.
Rounding out the Indian runners were Cooper Swope, Dylan Bender and Garet Thompson. Swope finished in 31st place with a time of 20:32. Bender placed 38th after logging a 21:49, and Thompson ran to 45th place by running the course in 23:15.
When all runners had finished the course, the Chillicothe Cavaliers finished in first place for the fifth straight year and Jackson edged Hillsboro by just four points for second place.
Speaking about his team’s growth and performance, Coach Letts is looking forward to the future as his young team continues to get stronger and faster.
“Overall, our team fell a bit short of our goal, but there was a lot to be happy about,” Letts said. “A majority of our kids ran personal best times, and we've come a long way in the past year or two as a program.
“I really believe some of the kids are seeing the opportunities that we have if we continue to work hard. We have a solid young group of kids and some junior high runners coming up next year that we are excited about. We're trending up at just the right time.”
Visit https://www.baumspage.com/cc/ccevent.php?peventid=205&table=C for more information and full team results.
The Indians enter tournament play Saturday, Oct. 22 in the Division II District Championship at Rio Grande University. The Lady Indians run at 4 p.m., with the men following at 5 p.m.
[[In-content Ad]]