NPCC Boys compete at the New Prairie Cross Country Invitational! The New Prairie boys cross country team returned to their home course this weekend for the 58th annual New Prairie Invitational, taking on one of the state’s most demanding courses. The Cougars demonstrated just how far they’ve come since last year’s invite, with nearly every returner showing massive improvement. The headline performance came from Braden Bachmann, who delivered a stunning 16:30.4 in the varsity race. Braden set the tone early with a 5:06 opening mile and never looked back, turning in a performance that reestablished him as one of the elite front-runners in the area. Braden is now 21st on the all-time list for New Prairie athletes at our home course. Behind him, Lukas Hannewyk ran a consistent and mature race in 17:37.2. For perspective, Lukas clocked 19:26.8 here in 2024, meaning he’s dropped almost two full minutes in just one year. His development has been one of our team’s biggest success stories. The biggest breakthrough of the day belonged to Mitchell Walls who had the breakout race of the day, clocking a lifetime-best 18:07.7 to firmly establish himself as a top-five scorer. His steady improvement over the past few weeks has been remarkable. He raced tough and showed what a determined athlete can accomplish. Aidan Jaronik (18:14.8) and Evan Wiesemann (18:18.7) rounded out the scoring five. Jaronik’s improvement stands out as he ran 21:59.3 at the New Prairie Invitational in 2024, meaning he has cut almost four minutes in a single year. Both went out hard and battled over the hills, showing that they were willing to take a risk to help their team be the best it could be. Ayden Carpenter battled through a tougher day in 18:28.4, but his growth is striking. Just last year, he ran 21:52.8 on this course. That’s a leap of more than three minutes in only 12 months, a reminder of how much work he has put in since last year. Sullivan Young finished in 19:17.6, an impressive improvement from his 20:46.3 last season, knocking off nearly 90 seconds. Isaac True ran 20:27.6, over six and a half minutes faster than his 27:09.0 at NP in 2024 which is arguably the most jaw-dropping year-to-year jump of anyone on the team. Ryese Lake ran an aggressive race and earned a great time with his 19:56.7! Freshman Evan Thibodeau made his home invite debut in style with a 19:38.1, once again racing and going for it in a big way! He was rewarded with a personal best time! In the reserve race, the Cougars fought the sun and heat. Chase Shelton ran 21:14.8, nearly two minutes faster than his 22:59.0 from 2024. Ricky Corbett hit a 21:51.3 despite falling in the middle of the race! Sam Ringer (22:57.6) ran an 18 second personal best despite the tough conditions!. Joey Smith ran 26:48.2, he battled an ankle injury but kept fighting the whole way through. Mason Skoglund knocked nearly two minutes off his Harrison Invite time with a 26:51.9! He went for it early and was rewarded! The NPCC boys left the New Prairie Invitational with plenty of momentum and we are looking forward to our next race at the Culver Invitational on September 27th!