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Ben’s Ford Christian School participated in the Mississippi Association of Independent School’s Overall Cross Country meet on October 23rd, held at Choctaw Trails in Clinton, MS. Senior Braeden Arceneaux finished in 3^rd place in the Class 4A 5k race with a time of 19:24. Kameron Willson from Centreville Academy finished in 1^st place with a time of 18:52.

Head coach Anna Rilea said this is the first year in over a decade the school has had a cross-country team, and with such a young team, Braeden has been a great example of how hard work pays off. Braeden’s first ever 5k race was on September 2^nd, and he finished that race in 22:42. “His time has greatly improved, and his 3^rd place finish at state has helped set the tone for next year’s team.”

The team’s younger runners participated in a 3k race only for grades 6-9 boys and girls.

For the boys, 6^th grader Kage Dantin finished in 13:35, 9^th grader Brody Williams finished in 18:55, and 7^th grader Brody Romano finished in 23:42. The boys’ 3k winner was 9^th grader Samuel Lewis from Christ Covenant School who finished in 10:08. For the girls, 8^th grader Matilda Golby finished in 20:01 and 9^th grader Kara Stewart finished in 22:00. The girls’ 3k winner was 9^th grader Natalie Payne from Silliman Institute who finished in 12:16.

Coach Rilea said this has been a successful first season. “These kids really trained hard in some unbearable heat this season and learned some mental toughness because of it. We are excited about challenging ourselves for our upcoming track season and look forward to getting more kids to join next year’s cross-country team as well.”