Hagerstown and Northeastern both opened their seasons on Saturday, Aug. 16, at the Earlybird Invitational hosted by Blue River Valley High School.
Hagerstown placed third and Northeastern placed fifth among the 12 complete boys teams competing. Northeastern took the top two spots to win the girls race, and Hagerstown finished second among the five complete girls teams.
Final team standings for boys: Horizon Christian 75, Wes-Del 89, Hagerstown 105, Greenwood Christian Academy 111, Northeastern 124, Union County 127, Anderson 140, Shenandoah 212, Indiana Scecina Memorial 215, Blue River Valley 235, Blackford 253, Anderson Preparatory Academy 292.
Tanner Paddock from Union County won the boys race in a time of 16:53.79. The top finisher for Hagerstown was Kendrick Herr (13th). Other placements for Hagerstown include Ben Smith (20th), Hayden Pruitt (24th), Brayden Sanders (29th), Zach Logston (33rd), Orion Houghton (39th), Joe Dusek (50th), Jack Rector (54th), Grady DeGuira (56th) and Hazard Houghton (68th).
Dash Thacker was the top finisher for Northeastern (third). Other Northeastern placements include Lucas Chamness (fifth), Kayden Hill (38th), Nicolas Markward (44th), Zachrey Wright (46th), Brandt Benjamin (58th), Lucas Cameron (69th) and Luke Wiley (77th).
Final team standings for girls: Northeastern 28, Hagerstown 51, Horizon Christian 89, Knightstown 90, Shenandoah 119.
Northeastern freshmen Hayden Neagle and Aubrey Neagle captured first and second place in the girls race with times of 20:14.94 and 21:49.86, respectively. Other placements for Northeastern include Madelyn Green (seventh), Isabella Green (eighth), Zella Cook (33rd), Olivia Crull (34th), Amiyah Davis (35th), Brooklyn Lee (44th), Bella Stoops (45th), Kendall Patterson (49th) and Claire Mainous (52nd).
The top finisher for Hagerstown was Avery Blunk (10th). Other placements for Hagerstown include Abigail Smith (17th), Abbie Gilbert (26th), Maycee Favorite (27th), Claire Bowen (28th), Emsley Holcomb 29th) and Savannah Smith (30th).
A version of this article appeared in the August 20 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.