It's been another fantastic start to the season for the Lincoln Christian cross country teams, as both look primed to repeat as state champions this fall.

The teams have competed in three meets through the first month of the season, with the most recent action coming at Lincoln's Midseason Meet of Champions, hosted on the LCS campus this past Saturday.

The boys finished 4th overall out of 19 teams, while the girls were 5th out of 17 teams.

Lincoln senior Ty Brooks continued his outstanding running career, taking first individually with a time of 15:150 in the 5k event.

Noah Caughey was 5th overall for the boys.

On the girls side, Bentley Stewart finished 5th individually with a time of 19:03, while Isabella Ramirez was 6th at 19:10 and Izzy Truitt was 13th at 19:48.

"Our top runners for both teams have been very consistent and it makes us a tough team to beat," said Lincoln head coach Stephen Lewelling. "Ty Brooks and Noah Caughey have been one of the best 1-2 runners in the state and the girls have had Bentley Stewart, Madison Miller, Bella Ramirez and Izzy Truitt all consistently in the top finishers."

"The depth of each team is very good as well with our freshmen getting used to the miles and several key sophomores stepping up."

Several weeks ago, the teams went to Claremore for the Rogers State "Distance after Dark" event, where the girls performed very well.

The team finished second out of 20 teams, led by Miller, who was 5th with a time of 18:51.

Ramirez finished 8th at 19:08, while Stewart was 9th close by, running 19:14. Truitt finished 23rd with a time of 20:06.

The boys were 14th, as Brooks was not able to run. Caughey led the way for Lincoln in 7th individually with a time of 16:22.

The teams opened the season in late August in the OKC metro at Deer Creek, where the girls finished 6th out of 13 teams and the boys came in 7th out of 18 teams.

Stewart led the girls with a time of 18:55, while Truitt ran 20:01 for Lincoln.

Brooks led the way for the boys, running 16:01, while Caughey finished with a time of 16:17.

"The start of season has been enjoyable seeing the team go through growing pains of more miles run, extreme heat forcing us to run at 6 a.m., fast meets, and the best competition in the state," said Lewelling.

"We've been fortunate to go against the best teams in Oklahoma and it's been really encouraging seeing us close the gap on the teams we see weekly.

The teams will be at the Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater at OSU next Friday before heading to the annual Chile Pepper Festival in Northwest Arkansas as on Oct. 4.

"This second half of the season will feature two university meets," said Lewelling. "The first one at Oklahoma State University, on what most consider the hardest course in the nation."

"Then we'll go to the Chile Pepper Festival at the University of Arkansas' course, which is one of the biggest meets in the entire county, where they routinely have over 7,000 runners."

Lincoln's final regular season event of the year will be the Pinnacle Conference meet on Oct. 7.

Regionals will be Oct. 18 with the state meet taking place Oct. 25.

The boys are looking for the program's 5th straight title and will hope to do so in Class 3A after dropping down. The program has won nine state championships — all since 2014.

The girls hope to win their 4th in a row, this time in 3A after also dropping down. The program has won five state titles — all since 2016.