The Jacob Graf meet is run in honor of Jacob who lost his life in a tragic accident. This loss affected many throughout the local running community. Lewis Cass Cross Country enjoys running this particular invitational prior to the county meet because the new girls on the team can get familiar with the course (Logansport) before the county meet. The Jacob Graf Invite has grown quite a bit over the years with 22 teams participating this year. This meet gets the teams ready for bigger meets coming later on in the season.
Last Saturday, the Cass boys’ team performed phenomenally with all of the boys improving from last year. Even though the boys’ cross country team does not have a full seven-man team roster, the boys have great top-five runners. When asked about the meet on Saturday, Coach Benner said, “The boys finished fourth overall as a team, three points behind Lafayette Jefferson and four points behind Hamilton Heights. We owe a lot of that success to the boys up front. Ben Jay finished fourth with Kale Skiles just 30 seconds behind him in twelfth. Colton Copeland stepped up and finished just 30 seconds behind Skiles in sixteenth place and Kaiden Hughes was able to pull it back together and finish 30 seconds behind Copeland. That tight pack put us in a position to finish well, but it was Aiden Heavilon who stepped it up Saturday. If Aiden keeps dropping time, our future potential could be unlimited.” The boys’ cross country team showed great perseverance and strength in their running in the Graf race last Saturday.
The girls’ cross country team also ran very well in both the varsity and the junior varsity races. The varsity team finished and placed fourth in the invite. The JV team finished second and was only one point away from winning. When asked about the meet on Saturday, Head Coach, Denise Rush, said, “We had a great start to the 2024 season finishing fourth as a team at the Jacob Graf Invitational. Aftin (Griffin) finished one place higher than last year with her second-place finish, which is awesome in a twenty-two school invitational! Hope (Rush) hit her goal of top twenty, earning her first varsity ribbon. AnnaLeigh Hedrick had a great finish, passing three girls in the last one hundred meters to finish third for the Kings. Grace Spicer and Brystalin Gillem rounded out the top five scoring for the Lady Kings. Also running varsity were Bianca Panmi and Lilly Hammond, who ran her first varsity race and 5K.” The girls’ cross country team has been working hard in practices and competing well this early in the season. This week, however, the team backed off on heavier workouts because of the heat while preparing for the county meet.
Both CC teams are heading to Logansport again to compete in the Cass County Invite this Saturday. When asked about how the boys’ team is expected to do, Benner said, “The boys won county last year for the first time in a long time. We have won the county meet several times in the past most years finishing second. This year, we are the favorites for the team title. However, the Kings are walking a thin line with only five runners. If something happens to just one of us and they don’t finish, the team will be without a team score and then Logansport and Pioneer will fight it out for the title.” The boys’ team has quite the fight ahead of them if they want to come out on top to win. The runners and coaches are confident and hopeful and like their chances.
The girls’ team has won the county eight years in a row and is projected to win the title again this year. The teams’ preparation over the summer and the last four weeks will show on Saturday. The athletes are confident their hard work will pay off once again. When asked about the upcoming county meet, Rush said, “We are excited to run this weekend at the County meet! We have been blessed with winning both the team and individual championships at this meet for all of those eight years. Aftin won the meet in her freshman and sophomore years so far and has the talent and determination to earn that title again. Our sixth and seventh runners, Bianca Panmei and Lilly Hammond, are very important as they will be pushing back the other teams scoring top five. Our top five runners are in great shape for competing and earning all-county honors as the top 7-8 in the county meet and finish strong in the top 7 in the county at the IHSAA tournament.” The girls’ team is very competitive in their standing with their place in the county meet. The team will not settle for anything less than first place.
The county meet should be successful for both teams this Saturday. The county meet this year falls after the first anniversary of losing beloved varsity boys’ runner, Gavin Griffin. This race will hold both fond and profound memories over the past year for both teams. Assistant girls’ varsity Coach Leslie Guy said, “I am moved and proud of the way the local running community has supported both our boys’ and girls’ teams during the past year. It is touching to see young men and women who are normally competing against each other come together to support each other. I know the girls and boys coaches collaborated and had a few team meals last season and all the runners enjoyed this” The important point is the resilience both teams have shown over the past year. The teams’ coaches have done a phenomenal job coaching and being mentors for their young runners. Both coaches are trusted and highly respected by their athletes and local communities. The boys’ and girls’ teams are excited to see how they perform on Saturday in the County meet. The Lewis Cass Varsity Girls’ Cross Country team will run first at 8:05 on Saturday with the boys running at around 8:35. Come support your Lewis Cass King runners this weekend!
