The Runnin’ Ravens are back! Last year, the Birds found new success, qualifying for the state meet for the first time in recent memory. This year, we expect no less. Led by captains Yuri Batan ’23, Nick DeHaven ’24, Evan Hugge ’23, and Simon Lin ‘26, the team has been hard at work since July preparing for a great season. We officially started the season this past Saturday, at the Forest Park XC Festival. Although the team results were a little disappointing, there were some notable individual highlights. Senior captain Yuri Batan placed 10th in the Varsity race with a time of 17:45, and sophomore Jacob Schmerold medalled in the JV race.

Despite some setbacks this past weekend and the lingering effects of some preseason injuries, the season is looking bright. We have a strong returning varsity core of seniors Evan Hugge and Yuri Batan, and juniors Greg Britt, Nick DeHaven, and Andy Behrman, a lineup aided by a fast cadre of mostly underclassmen including senior Mark Villa, sophomores Sam Faust and Jacob Schmerold, and freshmen Sam Palka and Simon Lin. The Ravens will have a chance to showcase this new talent against Missouri’s best at the Gans Creek Invitational in Columbia next week.

From there it’s on to Metro League and the postseason, where we have once again been placed in arguably the hardest district in Class 3. Despite this, Priory is looking like a strong contender not only for a spot on the district podium but on the state podium in Columbia too. We’ve got the talent and the depth; now it’s just a question of hard work.