Russia boys on course for big season

The Raiders return their entire state roster from 2025

It's not about how you start, it's how you finish. That cliché may be true, but for the 2026 Russia varsity boys cross country team, they will likely have success at both. Shelby County fans will find out soon enough. The season opening Shelby County Preview takes place this Tuesday, August 25th, at Russia Community Park. All seven SCAL schools, as well as Sidney and Lehman, will compete in both high school boys and girls and well as junior high. As has been the trend in recent years, the preview races have been shortened to just two miles for high school and one mile for junior high. Below is the schedule of events.

5:00 Junior High Girls

5:30 Junior High Boys

6:00 High School Girls

6:30 High School Boys

7:00 Youth Fun Run (Half Mile)

*Awards for the fast runner in each HS & JH grade level. Trophies for team champions and runner-up.

The preview course will cover all of Russia Community Park

The Division IV Raiders return their top seven runners from 2025. After winning the Shelby County Preview to start the season, the team later won both the SCAL and district championship for the first time in 11 years. They were also regional runner-up for the first time in 13 years. The boys capped 2025 with a 5th-place finish at the state meet, marking the third highest finish in 10 appearances throughout program history.

Paxson Bixler (left) and Samuel Phlipot are ones to watch this fall

Leading the way last season and most certainly this year is senior Samuel Phlipot. He was the 2025 SCAL Runner of the Year and a First Team All-Ohio honoree for his 8th-place individual finish at state. Last September, Samuel set a Russia school record when he blazed a 15:54 at Piqua to pass former record holder Luke Pohlman's 15:58 from 2010. On Samuel's heels this season will be sophomore Paxson Bixler who made quite a splash as a freshman. Paxson was a Second Team All-Ohio honoree at the state meet. His personal record time of 16:22 at last years regional meet ranks 6th all-time on the Russia record board. Paxson pushed Samuel the entirety of last season, making the duo one of the better 1-2 punches in Ohio.

The rest of Russia's roster includes guys that would lead other programs in the area. Seniors classmates Owen Sargent, Eli Schmitmeyer, and Keagan Baldridge were part of Russia's top seven last year. Junior Evan Smith was the Raiders #3 runner much of the season. Then there's junior Abe Hoehne and sophomore Lucas Borchers that battled for the final spot of the varsity roster most of last year.

Russia isn't the only SCAL boys team expected to do big things this season. For starters, Botkins will challenge the Raiders at the Preview and throughout the season. On the girls side, Ft. Loramie has won the last nine league titles and will positively dominate at the Preview on Tuesday. Enjoy the races cross country fans. 

The last time Russia hosted the SCAL Preview was 2020. Spectators were supposed to wear masks, but not everyone did.