The BFHS boys cross country season did not finish the way that head coach Lyndsay Hart thought it would. 

“We had a couple of senior boys that ran really well last year and we had this core of really exciting, talented freshman boys too,” Hart said. “Then almost all three of the senior boys got injured.”  

They were still able to make it to the 4A IHSAA Cross Country Championships 2025 by finishing ahead of Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy. The Badgers fielded one of the youngest groups in their field.  

The girls team also consisted of underclassmen. They only had one upperclassman, junior Gia Roemer. A season highlight was placing first as a team at the Ben Castro Invite. 

“They are so young that it was just a nice building team,” Hart said. “Two of them had never run before. To watch them go from 35 minutes down to 27, cutting it down to nine-minute miles, was just really fun.” 

However, only sophomore Kylie Calderone qualified for the state race. 

“They were a little disappointed that they didn’t get to run at state,” Hart said. “But last year they did and the boys didn’t. Cross country is small enough that they’ve become a little bit of a family. I think in a lot of ways, the girls season was just as successful. It just looked different.”  

One of Hart’s favorite memories of the season was traveling to Kellogg High School. 

“Going to Kellogg is really fun,” Hart said. “They’re a school and a running program where we sort of try to support each other.” 

“Last year was my first year coaching (the high school team) and I didn’t realize that I had to order plaques,” Hart said. “I had these giant zucchinis in my garden.” 

Hart carved the zucchinis into homemade trophies. Last year, the Kellogg boys team was very excited when they were awarded a zucchini. 

“They were cheering more for the zucchini than their trophy,” Hart said. “That’s the dorky cross-country stuff that I love. We have a great running culture.”