The 2008 Marion High School fall sports season is in full swing, and there have been the usual ups and downs.

Strong team and individual efforts have contributed to some success in the past month. It also has provided me with some information for a column full of my random thoughts.

• MHS sophomore Ryan Jones has now finished in the top-three in each of the three cross country meets so far this season. He has yet to take first, reaching as high as second twice. He will.
• The Warriors football team has started out 2-1, with a victory in dominating fashion, and another some might say they were lucky to win. Three more games remain before district play, and head coach Grant Thierolf said his team will be better then, than it is now. I agree.
• The MHS volleyball team sits at 8-11 as of Monday, and equaled its amount of victories from a year ago. The record isn’t spectacular, but the girls are still taking small steps in the right direction. It feels like a big, upset victory is right around the corner.
• A friend let me know the other day that the Marion County Record used to run the scores of all the varsity county football teams. Considering we have previews for the teams each week, I thought it was a great (even common sense) suggestion for readers. So, from here on out, look for scores from Goessel, Peabody-Burns, and Hillsboro, along with Marion and Centre.
• In 2007 I played golf with siblings and MHS team members Travis and Lindsay Hett, and wrote about it in this space. I completely embarrassed myself (which led to a more entertaining column). However, I also had a lot of fun. If anyone involved with the fall sports teams wants to present a challenge to me involving his or her team for a column topic, send a request to sports@marionrecord.com.
• Bethany Carlson, who ran cross country for Council Grove High School, is in her third year as MHS cross country coach. She has done a great job of bringing up the numbers at the high school and middle school levels, and has a great passion for running and this Warrior team (see her bi-weekly cross country newsletter). Administrators made the right move in 2006 naming her as coach.
• This is my fourth year covering the Warriors’ football team (I was not with the Record in 2006), and they have gone 19-11 during my tenure. Despite winning nearly two-thirds of their games, the quirky Kansas high school playoff system has kept me from covering an MHS playoff game. That should change this year.
• With an MCAA tournament, a home triangular, and another eight-team tournament so far this season, Warrior volleyball fans must feel like they have lived in the new gym the past two and a half weeks. As nice as the facility is, that might not be a bad thing.
• This weekend marks the final one in September. Where has 2008 gone? I walked into a Marion County store the other day and saw a Christmas tree! What else can I say?