The Hillsboro High School Indians will open the coed cross country season on Saturday September 2 with the Ohio XC Classic at Liberty Park in Hillsboro. The season will wrap up just over a month later on October 10 at home when the Indians host the Frontier Athletic Conference (FAC) cross country championships.
The 2017 team features eight boys and seven girls for a total of 15 athletes set to compete in varsity cross country this fall.
The boys team is coached by Matt Schneider, who moved up from the middle school cross country team after former coach Jimmy Rhoades stepped down. “There is more responsibility for me. We have great kids coming up that I coached in middle school. We have a good base of returning runners that participated the last few years. We should have a pretty strong team this year.”
The boys lost one runner to graduation from the 2016 team. Schneider thinks that the experience that he returns to the roster and the freshman that are coming into the program make it possible for the team to compete.
“It helps to know what you’ve got. I know the leadership on this team already. I have been around this program for the last two seasons. I know I can lead on kids to help each other and push each other.”, said Schneider. “Being involved in the program prior to being hired as the varsity coach helps mostly from a leadership standpoint. I know what their strengths are and I know what they need to work on.”
The girls team is coached by Olivia Fulton, this will be her third year as coach of the girls varsity cross country team. Fulton’s goal for the program is to build a program that draws girls to the team, she said, “The goal is to build up. We need girls to come out that are going to come back. We have three new girls this year but they are juniors and seniors. We need girls that are going to come back.”
Fulton said, “Emily Young is the only girl that I have returning for this season and she is definitely the leader of the group.”
“I am excited for this season. Emily is a senior this year and I have worked with her all three years that I have been the varsity coach.”, said Fulton. “I have a good group of girls who work together well. We are starting at the bottom and working toward becoming what I think we can be. That’s what I am looking forward to the most this season.”
Reach Ryan Applegate at 937-402-2572, or on Twitter @RCApplegate89.
