The Benjamin Logan Lady Raiders kicked off their 2025 cross country season Tuesday night with a home meet at the Raider Early Bird Invitational.
The varsity girls’ race featured 48 runners from six schools and covered a 2-mile course.
Leading the Raiders was junior Lucy Wenger, who finished 13th with a time of 14:31.
Scoring for Benjamin Logan were Gwen Smith (20th, 15:12), Lauren Kennedy (23rd, 15:44), Elliott Butler (25th, 16:06), Molly Siefring (26th, 16:14), Bonnie Brunson (27th, 16:24), and Lottie Bodin (16:32).
Other Raiders competing included Peyton Smith (30th), Illiana Vermillion (35th), Montana Coleman (37th), Mallory Chapman (44th), and Natalie Chapman (48th).
In the team standings, Benjamin Logan placed fourth with 103 points.
Fairbanks and Greenon tied for first with 40 points each, followed by Urbana with 48 points.
The Benjamin Logan Boys also competed in the Early Bird Invitational and finished 5th out of 8 teams.
Leading the Raiders in the 2-mile race was Senior Tyler Shoopman with a time of 11:52 for 9th place.
- Junior Oliver Morse 12:36 22nd.
- Sophomore Greyson Butler 12:46 23rd.
- Junior Maxwell Troth 13:22 29th.
- Sophomore Michael Berry 13:44 32nd.
- Junior Gabe Elsasser 14:15 37th.
The Raiders will next compete at the Northwestern Invitational on Saturday.
The Urbana Cross Country teams also started their season at Benjamin Logan on Tuesday.
Both high school boys’ and girls’ teams finished 3rd place.
Individually, Hazel Lightle was a medal winner with a 4th-place finish.
Avari Jenkins, Olivia MacKendrick, and Avery Smith were also top-ten finishers in the high school girls race.
On the boys side, Vincent Lightle and Zachary Nutt were top ten finishers, with Landon McKellop, Micah King, and Levi Zachrich also scoring points.
On the junior high side, neither boys nor girls placed as a team, but Mikenna Brown led the girls team with a 7th-place individual finish.
Wyatt Zachrich finished in 18th place in the junior high boys race.
The Bellefontaine Chieftain boys cross country team opened the season with a win at their first meet.
The team finished with 36 points, narrowly beating Emanuel Christian, who scored 39, followed by Urbana with 75, Fairbanks 100, Benjamin Logan 115, and Greenon 147.
Individually, Hayden Maus led the Chieftains, winning the 3200-meter race in 10:24.
Other top finishers included Oliver Grandstaff, 10:58 (4th); Will Myers, 11:37 (8th); Landon Gerwels, 11:58 (10th); Andrew Myers, 12:10 (13th); and Brenden Murray, 12:16 (15th). Additional team members included Nick Herrera-Diaz (30th, 13:28), Tristyn Wilson (45th), Brayten Swisher (50th, 19:56), and Jake Christen (51st, 20:35).
The Chieftains will next compete at the Bob Schul Invitational on Saturday at 8:10 a.m.
