The Knights concluded their season with great performances, at the Indiana Middle School Cross Country Championships. Hundreds of harriers from across the state descended on the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country course for a final round of racing in Cross Country Town U.S.A. The Knights raced in the 'Small Schools JV Open' category. In the boys race, Patrick Seeley was all in on the battle for first place. He turned in yet another power performance, finishing 2nd overall in 10:58. Seeley concludes his JH XC career with 5 race performances under 11 min, a feat unprecedented in the annals of Knights JH XC running. Andrew Thiel delivered another excellent performance, finishing in 2nd position for the Knights, with a 12:17. Thiel wraps up his 7th grade year with the distinction of finishing as the #2 Knight in all 8 contests this season. In the third scoring position for the Knights, Zach Kerr executed nicely and finished his JH XC career with a tie of his career best performance of 12:40. In close pursuit, Andrew Miller was out there tearing up the course, crossing the line in 12:50, just a couple seconds off PR. Miller, an 8th grader, leaves us with a short but distinguished JH XC career. He came to us only 8 weeks ago, debuting in time trials with a 16:36 capability. Nice job climbing the performance curve so well! Micah Worster, can now discard the title "rookie"! The 5th scoring Knight across the line, Worster got it done in Cross Country Town U.S.A. crossing the line in 13:22, seconds off PR. Our #6 and #7 Knights, Jeremy Sison and Beckett White tore up the course nicely, crossing the line in 13:36 and 13:46 respectively. Sison leaves his JH XC career behind with a tie of his career PR, White's performance a mere seconds off PR. The Knights collective efforts secured them a 6th place finish of 23 teams: 202 (2, 27, 45, 51, 77). Good show Knights! It was a blast to watch that race. In the girls race, the Katie Brown Maria Penn duo executed their recipe for success, pushing/pulling each other and leading the Knights across the line. These two 8th graders executed better than ever, turning in new PRs of 13:37 and 13:36 respectively. They leave their JH XC careers behind on a great note and wonderful memories. Our #3 Knight, Julia Duso ran strong and finished with a 15:36 performance, just 6 sec off season PR. Big day for Naomi Vogel and Gianna Starr, at the capstone race of their season. They can likewise discard the title of "rookie". In this debut season, these two have collectively raised the bar on PR achievements 10 times. They crossed the line at LaVern Gibson with new PR performances of 16:34 and 17:07 respectively. All girls wrap up with new PR performance, or near PR! The Knights collectively scored 16th place: 357 (16, 17, 93, 111, 120). "The real purpose of running isn't to win a race, it's to test the limits of the human heart". Bill Bowerman's words come to mind, when I think of this 2025 team. They brought all their strength, heart and passion, earning their PRs in practice when no one was looking, and repeatedly demonstrated them on race day!