by Lauren Redfern

The morning of October 15, the Men and Women’s Cross Country took to the start line to race in the SWBL league meet. The race was hosted by the Franklin Wildcats, a member in the southwest portion of the league.

The Eagles were familiar with the course as they participated in a meet on September 20 at the same location. The course is different than those in the past for the league race, because there are little to no hills and not as tactical as Eaton or Bellbrook own course is said to be. The first race of day was the high school girls. Senior Lauren Kemper was the first Bellbrook runner to cross for the team and was the 4th overall with a time of 19:10. But, Kemper was not the only Golden Eagle to place in the top 10. Senior Madison Pelfrey, Sophomore Elise Kemper and Seniors Kayla Parker and Emi Ford placed 6th, 8th, 9th, and 10th place respectively. Junior Maddie Crane made the second team with a 19th place finish. The Bellbrook Girls were awarded the first place team trophy with a score of 37 points topping Oakwood by 5 points.

The Bellbrook Boys also put on a show. Senior Connor Robinson was the 2nd overall runner with a fast time of 16:16. Seniors Justin Boreman and Nico Taylor along with Junior Cole Weslow rounded out the first team all league with placings of 4th, 7th and 8th. Sophomore Clay Cavanaugh and Freshman Trevor Bowers earned second team. The Eagles then were awarded their second 1st place trophy of the day. The boys also won with a score of 37 points. The Eagles had 27 points separating them between second place team, Eaton.

The Eagles brought home more than just trophies and medals. Many runners achieved personal records also known as PRs and ran their best time of the year, some earning a Varsity letter.

The Men and Women’s Cross Country team were the fourth and fifth fall team this year to win an SWBL title, and the sixth was later added that evening of October 15. The league title wins come from Girls Tennis, Volleyball, Men and Women Soccer and Men and Women Cross Country team. The Cross Country team will run their last regular season meet at Young’s Dairy and then will begin their postseason journey on October 22.