#BonnerSports Championship Central

Bonner Springs football ( -5) fell behind early, -7, to Spring Hill on senior night.

The Bonner Springs cross-country team placed 11th overall in the 4A meet in Wamego on Saturday in its first state meet since 2008. Sophomore Austin Schuler was the first Brave to cross the finish line with a time of 17:50, placing 44th. Schuler was the No. 1 runner all season for head coach Bill Downing. Downing said Schuler was a bit behind his personal best, but that was because the course had some big hills and sharp turns that added time. He said the hills didn’t bother his runners since they train on larger hills. “We don’t practice those turns much, going down a hill and then doing a 180-turn, going back up the hill,” Downing said. “That slows down momentum, but I will say the top 20 times were really fast.” Downing said a time of 17:20-17:25 generally gets a runner a medal in 4A, but this year it was 17:05. He said the cooler weather helped bring out faster times. He also said that some of the more experienced teams were back at state, plus he thinks middle school cross-country is becoming an influence because runners are able to begin training at a younger age. Bonner Springs’ lone senior, TJ Kimbrough, came in 81st with a time of 18:35.