The NPCC ladies had a fantastic morning at the NIC Championships. The girls earned a solid 2nd place finish behind Penn's top 5 perfect score, but nearly 30 points ahead of the next team. 12 girls ran lifetime PRs and 5 ran season best times. 4 of the scoring 5 earned All-Conference honors, with the 5th scorer (freshman Kenna Barnhart) missing All-Conference by only one place. Leading the Varsity 7 was Janice Felker in 6th place, right behind Penn's 5th scorer, with a sub-20 breakthrough time of 19:58 (PR), followed by Mikaela Wilson in 9th with a time of 20:19 (PR). The rest of the scoring 5 consisted of Elise Zelasko finishing in 12th place (20:33 - PR), followed by Raegan Bicker in 17th (21:08 - PR) and Kenna Barnhart in 20th (21:23 - PR). Rounding out varsity and adding important points to the competition were seniors Jill Firanek in 23rd (21:36 - SB) and Natalie Klemczak in 32nd (22:28 - SB). In the JV race, we saw just as exceptional of performances! The JV squad was led by Ava Schelstraete in 10th (22:15 - SB), followed by Afton Maynes in 11th (22:23 - PR). Both Ava and Afton used their JV taper to peak this week and earned the varsity lettering standard with their times outside of the top 7, highlighting the team's strength and depth this season! Ella Sanford finished her senior season strong in 22nd place with a season best time of 23:28. Lexi Hyatte came in 26th with a big PR of 23:55, followed by senior Madelyn Lower in 39th (24:46) and Cora Buss in 40th (24:49). Another PR was earned by Maci Allen in 25:43 for 49th place and a big PR from Kenzie Boswell in 52nd (26:09). Olivia Hardy hit a big PR in 55th (26:13) as well as Sophia Hackett in 67th (28:08). Senior Madison Mitchell finished her season strong with a season best of 28:36, putting her in 68th place. Jessica Wodecki finished her first season with a big PR of 30:31 in 72nd place. The Lady Cougars have an off weekend from competition next week, but will be hosting the IHSAA Sectional on Saturday October 17, 2026.