On Saturday, November 1st, the LHS Cross Country team attended the 2025 State Cross Country Championships! On the boys side, seniors Hank Chojnacki, Rowan Ingraham, and Axel Fontaine along with juniors Jonas Fontaine, Tyler West, Zander Davis, and Louge Stewart made up the State qualifying team after a fourth place finish at regionals (the meet that determines who goes to State). On the girls side, Sophomore Sophia Bailey qualified for State individually, with an 11th place finish at Regionals.
The boys got 14th overall, with Chojnacki, West, J. Fontaine, and A. Fontaine leading the pack. They exceeded expectations by placing higher than predicted, and showed strong teamwork throughout the race.
When asked how the meet went for the team, West said, “It was really good! It was a bit hot since we ran mid-day, but it was really good and it was fun.”
Bailey finished 61st in the girls race, making a pretty impressive debut at State!
When she was asked how the meet went for her, she said, “I think that I started really well, which I was a little worried about, so that was a great feeling.”
Bailey had an excellent season this year, finishing as one of the top girls on the team in many races and reaching some big milestones in her running career.
When asked how she thought her season went, Bailey said, “Overall, I think my season went well. I was able to accomplish two big goals I had set for myself, which were to break 20 minutes and make state.”
One of the things that the boys’ team wanted to focus on this year was running the races as a team instead of individually, and they certainly showed that at State with Chojnacki, West, J. Fontaine, and A. Fontaine being within 30 places of each other, and Ingraham, Davis, and Stewart being within five places.
Seniors Reese Reynolds and Annika Stutzman also ran at State for the Unified race. Both girls had an excellent race, with Reynolds finishing sixth and Stutzman finishing eighth!
The LHS Cross Country team had an amazing showing at state, and it was well deserved by all of the runners. Congratulations to everyone who raced, and hopefully next season is just as exciting!
