Clearwater, KS — The Goddard Lions Cross Country team kicked off their 2025 season Thursday September 4th with their first 5K race. This opener served as an opportunity for every athlete to gain valuable racing experience, for us coaches to identify our top runners, and to see the results of early-season training put to the test. After a week of heavy rain, the team knew course conditions would play a role, but it wasn’t until race day to what extent and the challenge became clear as mud. Despite the wet and muddy terrain, the Lions rose to the occasion and turned in a competitive showing across the board. On the girls’ side, the Lions had four athletes place in the Top 30—an outstanding accomplishment and a promising sign for the strength of the program this year. The boys also impressed, with five runners finishing among the Top 30, showing depth and teamwork. While times weren’t quite where we had hoped, we emphasized that this race was all about setting a baseline and gaining experience. Now that we’ve completed our first race, there’s nowhere to go but up. We will measure success this season by our continued growth and improvement. Medals and team accomplishments will come, but what excites us most is when each runner grows and becomes the best version of themselves. That’s how we rebuild and continue to grow a program. Jillian Eck and Kyle Horschel were our Female and Male athletes of the meet. Jillian Eck came away with our top place finishing on the girls team in her 1st 5k race as a Freshman! We are excited to see how she continues to evolve and grow as a runner this season. Kyle Horschel was our lone Personal Record by a returning runner yesterday running a time of 29:20 beating his old PR of 30:35! Kyle’s mindset and desire to be a better showed yesterday at ClearWater with a smile and joy on his face once he crossed the finish line as big as they come. Well done Kyle! With the opener behind us, we are shifting our focus to next week’s meet in Wellington on Saturday, September 13. The race itinerary will be sent out once details are finalized. RaceTimes and PRs Google Sheet (Ranked by Season Best Time) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1yBW2y4xJiUZGgIOopPElF2CgMBIVH7YN6Lnmq_lQ00w/edit?usp=sharing Link to MileSplit official Race Times https://milesplit.live/meets/698055 Link to Photos provided by Ben Povall (Team Picture Photos posted on Blast Athletics Clearwater event page) https://www.google.com/url?q=https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCt9qC&source=gmail-imap&ust=1757648989000000&usg=AOvVaw0SbntvaT7joesv8FU0EZks GO LIONS! Coach Andrews / Coach Womacks