Cross country started earlier this week. Here is a look at area boys teams:

Russia

The Russia Raiders boys cross country team is coached by Zachary Bell in his third season with the team.

Returning letterwinners for the Raiders this season will be seniors Jacob Schmitmeyer (17:27.4 best 2023 time), Sheldon Pohlman (18:03.85) and Caleb Unverferth (17:28.2), junior Jayden Gaerke (17:41.2) and sophomores Samuel Phlipot (17:24.78) and Eli Schmitmeyer (18:42.2).

Newcomers in 2024 for Russia will be freshmen Quinn Hoying, Evan Smith and Abe Hoehne.

“This season looks promising,” Bell said. “Even though we will miss Brayden Monnin, we have leaders who are stepping up and bringing much energy to the team. Many of our athletes have made huge strides since last season, putting in a lot of effort during track season and summer workouts.

“With a strong group of runners, we have a great shot at doing even better than last year and maybe even making it to state.”

Botkins

The Botkins Trojans boys cross country team is led by head coach Ryan Gutman in his 16th season.

Returning letterwinners for them this year are seniors Carson Brown (16:25 best 2023 time), Collin Doseck (16:56) and Jacob Grunden (18:28), juniors Ryan Koenig (18:12) and Owen Zimpfer (18:49) and sophomores Lucan Arnold (17:39) and Wesley Manger (19:09).

The Trojans have four newcomers to the squad this year in junior Carson Heuker and freshmen Wesley Gutman, Aaron Jutte and Aaron Steinke.

“We are excited to have so much experience back after our County championship and 10th place finish at the state meet last season,” Gutman said. “We are setting our sights once again to end our season in Columbus. This group is hungry and desperately wants to finish higher than we did last season.”

Anna

The Anna Rockets boys cross country team is coached by third year head coach Jeff Maurer.

Anna has 13 returners from its 2023 season in seniors Kyle Edelmann (17:54 best time), Gerran Nottage (18:38), Christian Mahan (18:51), Clayton Edwards (18:59), Josh Boyd, Jay Muter and Colin Tomanelli, juniors Blake Bixler (17:39), Tyler Maurer (18:40), Owen Poppelman and Weslee Fogt, and sophomores Titus Young (18:02) and Tyler Dickman.

The Rockets also boast five newcomers to the team this year in seniors Aidan Russell and Tristan Platfoot, juniors James Valentine and Cole Dulaney and freshman Derek Meyer.

“Our team is excited for the season,” Maurer said. “We have good numbers this year with 18 boys on the team. These strong numbers should make for a competitive training environment between our experienced guys and those who are new to the sport.

“Several of our guys gained valuable running experience at the regional meet last year and will look to build on the success. Shelby County has a strong tradition of producing outstanding distance runners and I’m sure that will hold true again this fall. The goal of our team is to work hard each and every day so that we can reach our full potential late in the season.”

Fort Loramie

The Fort Loramie boys cross country team is coached by Dennis Prenger in his 16th season with the team.

Its roster in 2024 consists on seniors Jared Baker, Nick Barhorst, Isaac Holthaus, Ethan Koester and TJ Paulus, juniors DJ Barhorst, Landen Drees and Adam Zircher, sophomores Sean Bornhorst, Jackson Frilling, Ean Grillot, Xavier Moore and Adam Wolfe and freshman Will Rethman.

“Our team was young and inexperienced in 2023,” Prenger said. “That experience should serve us well in 2024 as those runners now have a year of varsity racing experience and have gained strength and endurance.

“The boys have been working hard and challenging each other to prepare for our race schedule. We look to make significant improvements from 2023.”

Houston

The Houston boys cross country team is coached by Bill McKinney in his 10th season with the team.

Returning letterwinners in 2024 will be senior Dylan Shaffer, junior Dakari Crawford, and sophomores Weston Hoover, Konner Pleiman and Logan Ramge.

The team’s only newcomer this season is freshman Hudson Mowery.

“We have a pretty young team this season,” McKinney said. “Shaffer and Crawford will likely be our leaders this season having the most experience on the team. The guys have put in some good work this summer and look to make improvements each week this season. With only six runners, avoiding injuries and staying healthy will be keys this season.”

Jackson Center

The Jackson Center boys cross country team is coached by Daniel McPherson in his second year as head coach.

Returning letterwinners for them in 2024 are seniors Owen Willoby (18:15 best 2023 time), Sean Wren (18:09) and Xander Gross (23:09).

Newcomers to the squad this season will be sophomores Xander Gayer and Randy Wise and freshmen Eli Prenger, Braylon Elmore, Brayden Nation and Shane Egbert.

“Our team’s main goal this year is focused on growth,” McPherson said. “We are excited to have enough members to score at meets and be competing not only for individual times, but also positions.

“We have strong upperclassmen leadership who have set great examples for our new runners. We look to be consistent and steadily drop times throughout the season.”

Sidney

The Sidney Yellow Jackets boys cross country team is led by first year head coach Adam Doenges. They tote two returning runners in senior Simon Blackford and sophomore Anderson Blackford and six newcomers.

The newcomers are juniors Christopher Santiago Rivera and Keaton Shaffer and freshmen Dakota Porter, Ashton Krabill, Marlon Tucker and Sam Fink.

“We are excited about developing our freshmen and the others who are new to running,” Doenges said. “Goals this year are developing a solid foundation at the high school and looking for ways to grow our program. Not just at the high school level, but from the elementary level on up.”

Lehman Catholic

The 2024 Lehman Catholic Cross Country team has 12 boys ready for the season’s adventures. The team is guided by their favorite two teachers/coaches: Nick Wolters and Louis Gaier.

Accompanying the girls squad are a crew of rambunctious boys. Senior Brian Baumann leads the way and is joined by juniors Chris Galbreath and O’Keefe Cooper. Sophomores Alex Goubeaux, Ethan Taylor, and Harold Tobe return along with classmates Leopold Schmiesing and Ben O’Leary. Freshmen Luke Dexter and Thaddeus Bezy are ready to join their high school counterparts and are accompanied by newcomers Landon Swan and Zach Latimer.

The junior high will add 11 boys to the mix to hopefully sustain the team for years to come.

The Cavaliers will strive to compete with the bigger schools of the Three Rivers Conference (Miami East, Milton Union, Bethel, and Covington), who Wolters said have great established programs.

Coach Wolters says the “Lehman Catholic Cross Country team is truly a family. There is a contagious positive energy about this group. When you have a team of runners who run for one another and not themselves, something special can happen. Maybe that means returning to regionals for the first time since 2015. Regardless, this is a team who simply enjoys being around one another and we know we’re going to have a great season.”

Minster

The Minster Wildcats boys cross country team is coached by Larry Topp in his 39th year at the school. In 2023, the Wildcats finished third in the MAC, second in the district and qualified for state as a team.

Returning letterwinners for Minster in 2024 will be seniors Nick Prenger, Carter Dirksen and Connor Collins and sophomores Collin Cedarleaf, Jackson Corona and Evan Homan.

“The boys have been working on becoming a cohesive and hardworking team,” Topp said. “The seniors and last year’s letterwinners are hungry for more success and are trying to learn their new roles on the team.”

Newcomers to the team this season are seniors Jack Oldiges and Bo Dwenger, sophomore Parker Kerrigan and freshman Jack Strausbaugh.

“The boys are looking to build on the success from last season,” Topp said. “The team has high expectations for this season, and with the hard work that they have been putting in and a little patience during the season, they just might reach their goals.”

Riverside

The Riverside Pirates are coached by Elizabeth Marks. While they don’t have enough runners to have a full team, senior Carter Kreglow and freshman Aiden Fout are running as individuals this season.

Fairlawn

No information submitted.

Reach Sidney Daily News assistant editor Ryan Harless at 937-538-4651, or follow @RyanHarless_ on Twitter.