ASHLAND — Lady Lex ran away and hid from the competition Saturday at the Ashland Cross Country Invitational.
Competing in the Division II/III race, Lady Lex cruised to the team title with a score of 39. Huron (70) was a distant second and Norwayne (71) was third.
Lexington would have been in contention for a team title in the Division I girls race but opted to run in the Division II/III event.
“It’s a little less competition than we wanted, but we kind of knew that going into the D2 race,” said Elyana Weaver, who finished sixth overall in 20 minutes, 6.7 seconds. “We debated (racing in the Division I race) but we just decided to stay D2 for this week.”
Weaver was followed across the finish line but teammates Emma Wise (20:12) in seventh and Brailey Slone (20:45.1) in eighth. Kenley Miller (20:52.8), Hannah Griffin (21:25.2), Maddie Haring (21:30.1) and Anna Blackstone (22:26.6) rounded out the top seven.
Norwayne’s Jaylee Wingate was the individual champ in 18:24.9. Wingate would have won the Division I race by nearly 30 seconds. Smithville’s Kaitlyn Carr was second in 19:00.5.
Crestview finished fourth with a team score of 93. Audrey Wolford led the Cougars, finishing ninth in 20:48.
Mansfield Christian and St. Peter’s competed in the Division II/III event, but didn’t have enough runners to factor into the team standings. Mansfield Christian was led by Brooke Badgley (26:41.9). Elina Gilland (30:38.1) led the way for the Spartans.
In the Division II/III boys race, Mansfield Christian’s Grantham Trumpower finished sixth in 17:58.1. The Flames were seventh in the team standings with a score of 156.
Crestview and St. Peter’s didn’t have enough runners to figure in the team standings. Cooper Brockway paced the Cougars, finishing third overall in 17:42.6. Feree Kent finished in 26:38.5 for the Spartans.
