Cross country practice started Monday, Aug. 4, for both the boys and girls programs at the six Wayne County schools.
Last season, five of the six Wayne County schools placed in the top 10 in the Rushville girls sectional: Seton Catholic (fourth), Richmond (fifth), Centerville (sixth), Hagerstown (eighth) and Northeastern (ninth).
Richmond (fourth), Hagerstown (fifth), Northeastern (seventh) and Centerville (eighth) placed in the top 10 in the Rushville boys sectional.
All six programs are hoping to get contributions from freshmen.
Cambridge City Lincoln and Seton Catholic could not field a complete team in the boys sectional race, while Lincoln could not field a complete team in the girls sectional race, which will likely be the case again this season.
Centerville boy returnees with sectional experience are expected to include Jonah Cornett, Tate Chasteen, Grayson Hawkins, Conner Scheer, Clay Johnson and Mason Flynn. Centerville girl returnees with sectional experience are expected to include Anna Nevels, Evie Morgan, Paige Dixon, Addie Talbot, Bowi Frame and Victoria Beatty.
Hagerstown boy returnees with sectional experience are expected to include Hayden Pruitt, Kendrick Herr, Brayden Sanders and Benjamin Smith. Bryce Tinkle, who missed the sectional last season because of injury, is also expected to return. Hagerstown girl returnees with sectional experience are expected to include Abigail Smith, Avery Blunk, Zaylee Payne, Claire Bowen, Cameron Robertson and Abigail Gilbert.
Northeastern boy returnees with sectional experience are expected to include Lucas Chamness, Nicolas Markward, Kaden Hill, Brandt Benjamin and Lucas Cameron. Northeastern girl returnees with sectional experience are expected to include: Madelyn Green, Bella Stoops, Amiyah Davis, Brooklyn Lee and Olivia Crull.
Richmond boy returnees with sectional experience are expected to include Cale Newton, Julian Bowden, Brayden Villafuerte, Brady Newton, Austin Retter and Trevin Crosby. Richmond girl returnees with sectional experience are expected to include Lauren Newton, Kemaira Farris-Craig and Lena Allen.
Seton Catholic girl returnees with sectional experience are expected to include Sara Swinney, Aubrey Bihl and Kelsey Brim.
Cambridge City Lincoln, Centerville and Seton Catholic all open their season on Saturday, Aug. 23, at the Southwestern (Shelbyville) Small School Invite. Hagerstown and Northeastern open their seasons on Saturday, Aug. 16, at the Blue River Valley Earlybird Invitational, and Richmond will open its season with an Aug. 16 trip to participate in the Laverne Gibson Classic.
Updated Monday, August 11 at 11:15 a.m. to remove Jayden Cornett from the list of runners on Centerville’s team. Cornett graduated in the spring and will not be on the team this season. We regret the error.
A version of this article appeared in the August 6 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.