For Immediate Release West Lafayette, IN - 5/19/2026 The Lady Bison turned in a strong performance Tuesday night at the 2026 IHSAA Girls Track & Field Sectional hosted by Harrison High School, finishing third overall in a talented 11-team field with 56.5 points. Benton Central High School was led by several outstanding individual and relay performances throughout the evening as the Lady Bison competed against some of the area’s top programs. Senior Maddie Peterson highlighted the night on the track for Benton Central, earning sectional runner-up honors in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.56. Peterson also played a major role in two scoring relay teams, helping the Lady Bison place fifth in both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. The Benton Central distance group delivered one of the team’s best performances of the night in the 4x800-meter relay. The quartet of Peterson, Maggie Rayman, Harlo Holder, and Loralei Rayman combined for a second-place finish in 10:18.68, earning eight team points. Loralei Rayman also scored individually in the 800-meter run, placing fifth with a time of 2:25.13, while freshman Maggie Rayman added a sixth-place finish in the same event. Freshman Harlo Holder continued her impressive season by placing third in the 3200-meter run in 12:30.59. In the hurdles, freshman Riley Sowders turned in a strong effort in the 300-meter hurdles, finishing seventh overall in 50.98. The Lady Bison also had a strong showing in the field events. Senior Sophia Zarate placed second in the discus with a throw of 129-06, narrowly missing the automatic state qualifying standard while scoring eight important team points. Zarate also added a seventh-place finish in the shot put. Senior Keagan Strickland earned a fourth-place finish in the high jump after clearing 5-01, while Patience Bice added points in the long jump with an eighth-place finish at 15-03. Additional scoring performances for Benton Central included Sarah Lambeck and Riley Sowders in relay competition, along with strong efforts from Ava Hands, Paige Renfrow, Kendall Gephart, and several underclassmen who contributed throughout the meet. Host Harrison captured the sectional championship with 208 points, followed by West Lafayette with 117 points. Benton Central’s third-place finish capped off an impressive night for the Lady Bison program, the top 3 place winners in all individual events and relays will advance, along with any individual or relay team meeting the 3-Participant Standard in the sectional finals.