Benson/KMS Boys Place Seventh as Levi Pappadackis takes 10th overall

Benson/KMS opened the cross country season with a seventh-place varsity boys' finish and a pair of standout junior high performances Monday at the Central Minnesota River Run at The Vintage Golf Club. The boys scored 139 points among 13 teams, with only two Section 6A programs finishing ahead of them in the section preview. Libby Henry and Porsha Gravley added a 1-2 finish in the girls' junior high race, helping Benson/KMS place second by just two points.

Levi Pappadackis led the varsity boys' over 5,000 meters, earning a 10th-place medal in 18 minutes, 37.2 seconds. The eighth-grader finished just ahead of senior captain Alex Zurn, while Alex Zurn was officially timed in 11th place at 18:38.0, only eight-tenths of a second behind Levi Pappadackis. That tight front-running combination gave Benson/KMS an immediate foundation in the team standings.

The rest of the varsity lineup worked to maintain contact and build the scoring pack. Wyatt Hoff placed 33rd in 19:57.8, Mason McGeary was 45th in 20:46.1 and Cian Klucas crossed 50th in 21:07.1. Gabe Lofgren followed in 55th at 21:11.6, with Noah Barrett completing the seven-runner group in 58th at 21:24.8. The collective effort produced the seventh-place result behind a Sauk Centre team that won with 65 points.

The girls' junior high runners delivered one of the morning’s strongest performances. Libby Henry won the 2,500-meter race in 10:06.8, and Porsha Gravley followed in 10:16.0 to secure the first two individual places. Kenzlee Peters added a 15th-place finish in 12:00.0, Angela Espinosa took 21st in 13:03.0 and Kassie Olson rounded out the five-runner lineup. Benson/KMS finished with 29 points, just behind Fergus Falls at 27.

Across the other races, Peyton O'Leary led the Benson/KMS junior high boys by placing 10th in 10:19.7. Cooper Hatfield and Graeson Henkel completed that three-runner group. In the boys' junior varsity competition, Adam Davis finished 23rd in 22:28.6 and Shane Froehlich placed 44th in 25:08.2. Kayla Tollefsrud paced the four Benson/KMS girls varsity entrants with a 42nd-place time of 24:50.5, followed by Mamie Luft, Cora Doering and Ella Beyerl.

The first meet brought an unusual early-season test. Overcast conditions and a temperature near 69 degrees still made the morning feel surprisingly warm, while trees around the course blocked most of the wind. The roster was also lighter than usual because most Benson athletes stayed back for the first day of school. Even with fewer runners, the Fighting Saints gained valuable experience on the section course, tested their race strategy against several competitive Section 6A teams and left the opener with a medal, a team top-seven finish, and an impressive collection of front-running performances.