Inspired effort: Aftin Griffin wins in honor of twin brother Gavin Griffin

Sep. 5—It was an emotion-packed day at the Caston cross country invitational Saturday.

"#RunforGavin" was the theme as Lewis Cass sophomore Gavin Griffin tragically died unexpectedly last Monday.

His twin sister, Aftin, courageously ran in honor of her brother Saturday. With an inspired effort she won with a time of 19:58.11.

"I ran for Gavin and I know everyone else did too," Aftin said. "Gavin made sure to make the day a great one and even gave me a little breeze during the race and I thank him for that. Gavin was alongside me and all the other runners Saturday, and I think that race was a great way to honor him. Everyone has been so supportive and I'm glad all the teams got together before the race to honor him."

Cass coach Denise Rush talked about the day.

"This is been a tough week," Rush said. "Both boys and girls cross country teams honored Gavin and his family by running at the Caston Invitational. We are so proud of these kids for showing strength today and running after losing a brother, teammate and friend this week. A big thank you to Caston coach Blair Zimmerman, his team and the Caston athletic department along with Pioneer's Violet Montgomery and team who helped fill my team's buckets along with all the community support.

"The Caston girls team wanted to pray with us and do a balloon release. We got ready to pray, as we do every meet, and when Caston joined our huddle, all the other 12 teams started coming over and joined our huddle forming a big circle. The Caston girls passed out balloons to all the teams and Aftin's mom also had also brought balloons. Our boys team and coaches joined the circle as well.

"When the race started, Aftin had a look of determination and focus that was amazing. To see her finish and still have the energy to have a kick at the end of the end of the race was beyond amazing. I am proud of my team and the boys team as they showed strength and courage today. I hope that cross country and the cross country family can be the therapy and give them strength as we navigate through this season.

"We are so thankful for all the other schools that reached out to us and to the Griffin family. This shows how sports are more about the process, the goals and the relationships that you build from your team and your opponents that will last forever."

Winamac was the girls team champion with 37 points, followed by Cass (63), Carroll (110), Pioneer (137), North White (142), Lakeland (154), Triton (158), West Central (171), Caston (195) and Frontier (219). Six teams had incomplete scores.

Maggie Smith placed fourth overall in 21:54 to lead Winamac, followed by Kelsey Wegner (9th, 22:29), Kandace Kroft (10th, 22:38), Claire Goodman (12th, 22:52), Avery Wegner (21st, 23:55) and Lily Bennett (33rd, 25:10).

Aftin Griffin was followed by Cass teammates Gracie Spicer (15th, 23:15), Kylie Logan (16th, 23:17), AnnaLeigh Hedrick (17th, 23:31), Bystalin Gillem (23rd, 24:03), Mia Hall (48th, 26:32) and Sophie Holmquist (53rd, 26:45).

Violet Montgomery placed second overall in 21:05 to lead Pioneer, followed by Ellie Hines (27th, 24:34), Avery Haselby (32nd, 25:07), Kylie Jamerson (51st, 26:37) and Laylynn Malchow (62nd, 28:12).

Camila Hernandez-Rios placed 31st in 25:06 to lead Caston, followed by Alexa Lowe (36th, 25:18), Myli Rude (44th, 26:05), Jaded Aguilar (66th, 28:42) and Breana Amezquita (87th, 36:41).

Pioneer won the boys team title with 49 points, followed by Cass (71), Rochester (130), Lakeland (144), Carroll (153), Winamac (184), West Central (186), Tri-County (187), Caston (188), Delphi (201), Frontier (256), Triton (268) and South Newton (319). Four teams had incomplete scores.

Carson Meyer and Leighton Dodt finished 1-2 in the race for Pioneer. Meyer won in 16:43 and Dodt was runner-up in 16:57. They were followed by teammates Jackson Baker (5th, 17:45), Dane Bowditch (20th, 18:43), Jack Nance (21st, 18:54), Elliott Cooper (46th, 20:25) and Kevin Gluth (47th, 20:25).

Kale Skiles placed fourth in 17:21 to lead Cass, followed by Ben Jay (10th, 18:00), Colton Copeland (14th, 18:23), Kaiden Hughes (18th, 18:40), Curtis Henry (25th, 19:11), Dominic Sebastian (26th, 19:15) and Dylan Collins (49th, 20:34).

Logan Fredel placed seventh in 17:49 to lead Winamac, followed by Nathan Pierzchalski (15th, 18:28), Dylan Guilford (17th, 18:31), Corbin Holehan (67th, 21:48) and Joel Showley (98th, 26:33).

Edison Byrum placed 12th in 18:15 to lead Caston, followed by Kane Finke (29th, 19:29), Reed Sommers (32nd, 19:42), Maxwell Sommers (48th, 20:33), Curt Shaffer (71st, 22:08), Josiah Helt (76th, 22:32) and Jace Rentschler (86th, 24:03).

HARRISON INVITE

The Logansport girls cross country team continued to cut time at its first away meet.

"The Harrison Invite is a fast field and can be a very intimidating meet for our first away meet. With several new runners this year, we focused on trusting our training and enjoying a new course," Logan coach Kailin Bauman said.

While the Berries didn't place amongst the top teams, their times continued to drop significantly. With a large personal best, sophomore Jacqueline Hernandez-Flores placed first for the Berries in 22:25.

"Watching Jacky run has been so fun. This is her first year running distance and she is learning so much about racing and trusting herself," Bauman said.

Second for the Berries was junior, Claire Bundy, in a season's best of 24:57. All running big personal bests were sophomore Audrey Graham in 25:18 (cutting 39 seconds), juniors Ashley Murillo in 26:00 (cutting 45 seconds), Lily Newell running 26:01 (cutting 1:39 seconds) and Kate Maxson in 26:03 (cutting 44 seconds) and a season best for junior Libby Dexter running a 26:59 to round out the Berries varsity team.

"I am so proud of the way these athletes ran this meet. These times are much more indicative of their current fitness and ability. They worked together as a team passing many competitors in the last mile and finishing strong," Bauman said.

The improvements were not isolated to the varsity runners. Huge improvements were made across the board for the junior varsity race as well. Personal bests were set by sophomore Nathalia Hernandez (28:16) and junior Madison Zimmerer (28:21). Season best times were recorded by sophomores Saylor McClain (28:25) and Olivia Gibson (29:35). Junior Marbella Nievez-Hernandez ran her first meet of the season (31:13) and junior Ava Martin had a big day with a 31:46.

"This was a very successful meet for our team in times and confidence. The team is starting to trust themselves and see what they are capable of, and the training is there to support the work," said Bauman. "Beyond the times we ran this weekend, I am proud of this team for their support of the Lewis Cass Kings after the loss of Gavin Griffin as they reached out and supported where they could. Our hearts and prayers are with the family, teammates, coaches and entire King community."