Top Five Storylines Heading Into 2026 IHSAA Cross Country

Indiana has an opportunity to have three back-to-back winners this season. While the girls individual title was won by senior Libby Dowty of Indian Creek, the other three titles have teams and runners looking for back-to-titles. Both Carmel girls and Columbus North boys start the season at the top spot in most rankings across the state. The Carmel girls in particular look very strong and could be on the edge of an all-time great team. They return huge talent up front with Taylor Larkin and Annabel Pollert. The Greyhounds are actually seeking a three-peat this season and look very primed to accomplish that. On the boys side, Columbus North graduated four from the team that won the Midwest NXR title and finished 8th at NXN in December. They do return two All-State athletes in Justin Reckers and Joseph Day along with having Graham Pumphrey just outside of the Top 25 last season. They will face stiff competition from several teams, notably Carmel, Noblesville, and Homestead. The third back-to-back opportunity comes in the boys individual race. Reigning champion Calvin Seitz will be looking to build on a championship 2025-26 season- along with a national title indoors- with a huge season this fall. He will face some incredible talent this fall with Carter Zieren of Evansville Reitz and Banner Barnes of Noblesville likely leading the challenge.  

#2 - National Contenders

Indiana will undoubtedly be represented at the national level this fall in cross country. As mentioned above, Columbus North boys finished 8th last fall at the NXR meet in Portland and we had several individuals qualify for the various national meets. This season promises to be even better. The top two girls' teams have a great opportunity to challenge for team qualifications at NXN or top five finishes at Running Lane in Huntsville, AL. Macey Thompson of Lake Central, Annabel Pollert of Carmel, and Kenya Leitch from Columbia City, and Anya Zoeller all have the potential to lead a national qualifying and All-American group on the girls side. On the boys side, the top talent is simply amazing as well with the aforementioned group of Seitz, Zieren, and Barnes but they are just the tip of the iceberg with depth and strength on the boys side. The boys teams will also push for top finishes NXR in the Midwest, along with Running Lane. Columbus North, Carmel, Homestead, and Center Grove have all run strong in November and December as well.

#3 - Early Season Weather

The weather has put a damper on the beginning of the season as Week 1 was largely washed out. Our concerns and prayers are with the undoubtedly many coaches and athletes who have been impacted by the flooding and storms that hit all across Indiana during the second week of the season. Some courses were completely flooded over, schools have missed an entire week of school and practice, and damage was done to infrastructure that may impact teams for several more weeks. While missing practice and a meet or two is minor compared to the loss of life and property, cross country is still important to many of the people impacted, and we are all pulling for them!

#4 - New Regional Sites

The IHSAA has moved to several new Regional sites over the past couple of seasons. The new courses this year will include races at Ceraland Park, hosted by Franklin Community, and Crawford County, hosted by the same high school. The move to Ceraland will replace the Shelbyville Regional, while the Crawford County site replaces the Evansville course at Angel Mounds State Historical Site. The IHSAA has made a move recently to move courses back to on-site high school hosts. While this represents a change from using some private or university courses, it also puts the meets back into the hands of local high schools. Coaches may understandably be a little nervous at the moves, but while speaking with the new hosts, they are very dedicated to hosting and creating a course that offers a great experience at qualifying for state.

#5 - Transfers and New Coaches!

New faces will dot the landscape this season, both on the starting line and around the team tents. With the changes in transfers the IHSAA went to last year, it seems many student-athletes are taking advantage of the opportunities. We will hold off on names for now but it seems that schools around Hamilton County will have new rosters, especially on the girls side. Rumors will become either fact or fiction once the first meets really get going, but the landscape will change quickly. This might turn the preseason rankings on their head depending on the actual changes and their ability to get into the new system quickly and successfully. On the same note, several schools will be working under new coaching this season as long-time coaches have retired. Bloomington North boys and Bloomington South girls will be under new coaches this season as retirements hit the town after the track seasons. The southern part of Indiana has had turnover at up-and-coming programs like Madison and Silver Creek as well. 

These topics, along with many others that MileSplit Indiana will dive into this season, will help shape our season. Stay tuned as we dive into the main storylines each week!