By JASON TIDD

Staff writer

Marion senior Colin Williams will race in the 2A state meet Saturday after placing fifth at regionals.

“Colin had a strong race,” coach Dmitry Bucklin said. “He started in top 10 and just kept picking runners off through the race. He was just shy of fourth place by less than half a second. It was an exciting finish.”

Williams qualified individually, finishing the 5K race in 18 minutes, 46 seconds. He was one spot away from qualifying for state last year, finishing 11th in 18:19.

A cross-country team score requires five runners; Williams was one of just three Marion High School runners competing at Saturday’s regional meet in Meade.

Freshman Colton Boudreaux placed 65th with a time of 24:07.

“Colton started the race very strong,” Bucklin said. “His form stayed throughout the race. He also had a very strong kick and finish.”

Sophomore Bethany Grimmett ran her best time of the season, finishing in 30:34 and 50th place.

“Bethany finished out her season with a strong run, getting an all time season best,” Bucklin said. “We worked a lot on her running technique the past week. Combined with running technique and lots of interval training, I think that training really helped.”

Williams races at 10:35 a.m. Saturday at Wamego, where the state meet is held at a golf course known for its hills. Bucklin said his runners practiced for a hilly course before regionals.

“I would say that all my runners utilized the hills to their advantage,” he said. “We did a lot of hill practice and we did a lot of interval workouts this past week during training. I really wanted the runners to understand their bodies and know how to deal with fatigue, that is where the interval training came into play.”