BURLINGTON — It started as a child, when Keegan Hill and his friends would go outside for a friendly game of tag.
“I just started running,” Hill recalled, “and I didn’t want to stop.”
Fast forward to high school, and Hill still hasn’t stopped running.
The Iola High sophomore notched another impressive piece of hardware Thursday by taking second place in the Pioneer League Cross Country Meet.
On top of earning all-league honors, Hill also was voted as the Iola Register’s Male Athlete of the Month. Also up for consideration were Marmaton Valley’s Cooper Scharff, Iola’s Tre Wilson and Humboldt’s Blake Ellis, all for football.
For the honor, Hill will receive a free specialty pizza, courtesy of Rookie’s in Iola.
The 2024 cross country season has gone pretty much according to plan, Hill noted, after he narrowly missed out on qualifying for state cross country as a freshman.
The near-miss convinced Hill that he needed to do more, particularly in the offseason, where he would train for hours on end, with or without his teammates alongside.
Hill put in as many as 50 miles a week to stay in shape. He’s become so dedicated that he will eschew playing basketball this winter (he played high school hoops as a freshman) in order to keep up his running regimen.
“My dad and I were training over the summer, and he asked me what my goals were,” Hill noted.
Among them were to improve his personal-best times in the 5K. (check)
He also wanted to do better than his fourth-place finish at last year’s league meet. (check)
Next up is to turn that near-miss as a freshman to a state qualifying berth in Year 2. He’ll find out whether he’s successful at achieving that benchmark next Saturday at Central Heights, the host for the Class 3A Regional.
After cross country wraps up in November, Hill will continue his endurance work, while sprinkling in speed training in his run-up to track and field. He qualified for the state track meet as a freshman in the 3200 meters, but won’t be content without also qualifying in the 1600, after finishing a fraction short of qualifying at that distance, too.
“And I think I’m gonna give the 800-meters a try this year,” he said.
