The Lewis Cass cross country teams are rounding out their outstanding season after running the conference and sectional meets over the last few weeks. These teams have been working hard all fall, and now, both have regional qualifiers, whether as a team or as individuals, moving on. Everyone is excited about the upcoming regional race and is proud of the year they have had and their accomplishments.
On October 4, 2025, the Lewis Cass boys’ and girls’ cross country teams ran at the conference meet at Manchester High School, competing for the title of the Three Rivers Conference champions. The boys raced first that morning and had three boys placed in the top fifteen. Senior, Kaiden Hughes, placed eighth and was the top runner for Lewis Cass, and was followed shortly by Colton Copeland, placing eleventh, and junior, Ben Jay, placing twelfth. Newcomer and freshman, Sam Vandeburg and Brogen Younts, were other top five runners for the Cass boys and placed third overall as a team.
The girls’ team ran second and had all top five runners place in the top twenty five with, senior, Aftin Griffin leading the pack, placing first. Senior, Analeigh Hedrick and sophomore, Hope Rush placed sixth and eighth. All girls helped together to win the conference meet, not only with talented running skills, but also with positive and encouraging attitudes.
The most challenging and anticipated week of cross country is the practices in between the conference and sectional meets. Boys’ coach, Matthew Benner, shared insight on the practices after conference saying, “We tried to keep practice as normal as possible, which was a little difficult with fall break, but the boys worked hard and did a good job of putting in the work.” Coach Benner also wanted to note that the boys are not looking to peak at the sectional meet, and they are hoping to run their best races at the regional meet.
Hope Rush also talked about how the girls were trying to keep practices as normal as possible, much like the boys. As the sectional meet came closer and closer, Aftin Griffin shared that she had a great week of practice. Even though she traveled on a fall break trip to Tennessee, she said, “I had an altered training plan that included hills and fartleks. Running up hills multiple times made running in the berry patch so much easier.” Overall, both teams worked hard, even over fall break, in order to perform well at the sectional meet.
Finally, the day of the sectional meet had arrived, and both teams were preparing to face some of their toughest opponents this season at Logansport High School. Just as they did at the conference meet, the boys ran first, starting out hopeful and finishing strong. Kaiden Hughes was the first Lewis Cass runner to cross the finish line again, followed shortly after by Ben Jay and Colton Copeland. The boys placed sixth overall as a team, missing the chance of taking their whole team to regionals. While they were hoping for a top-five finish, four boys, including the top three and, freshman, Sam Vanderburg, moved on individually and will have the opportunity to run again this week.
The girls ran after the boys, where Coach Rush commented, “The girls ran amazing at Sectionals as each girl did their part on the team!” Aftin Griffin was the Sectional Champion for the second year in a row, and Hope Rush and Analeigh Hedrick were able to move up from their predicted placements, scoring in the top ten. “We had a strong pack for my 4, 5, 6 runners finishing in the top 25 out of 80 total runners, which sealed the win,” Rush said. The seniors on the team were overwhelmed with excitement as they set a goal of being sectional champions back in June when practices began.
As the sectional meet concluded with great success, all focus was shifted toward the upcoming regional meet this Saturday, October 25, in Brownsburg, Indiana. Upon preparing for this meet, Ben Jay said, “(I’m) Doing nothing out of the ordinary and sticking to a daily routine is the best recipe for success.” As the teams continue practicing throughout the week, they are also focusing on the projected outlook for the meet. As of right now, the girls’ team is seeded 16th out of 25 teams, running against larger schools such as Carmel, Brownsburg, and Lafayette Jeff. As Aftin was the sectional champion, one of her goals going into the regional meet is to make it to the state meet again. But, she would love to run a personal record and rebreak her school record. Last year, she placed 18th overall, but her goal this year is to get in the top 15 in order to make the all-regional team. The whole team also has goals of placing in the top 15.
Both the boys’ and girls’ teams have been preparing for this meet ever since their first practice in August. All the practices, hard work, and dedication they have put into this season have prepared everyone to run in the long-awaited regional meet. The boys will run first at 10:30 in the morning, and the girls will follow after them at 11:15. Good luck to all the runners this Saturday at the Brownsburg High School Regional meet!
