There are no programs available at cross country meets, but if there were, fans of the Northridge Raiders boys team would definitely be scooping them up.
Coach Ryan McClane’s Raiders lost three of their top four runners from a team that won the sectional and regional last fall, before finishing fifth at the IHSAA state finals.
Gone from that team are Baylor Miller – who won the regional title last season and finished 11th at the state – his twin brother Xavier and Brady Hicks, who was third at the Goshen Sectional.
‘’It is definitely a rebuilding year for us after losing another group of outstanding seniors,’’ McClane said. “We are excited though for our group of incoming freshmen and the development of some of our upperclassmen.’’
Leading the way for the Raiders should be senior Milo Bularo, who was fourth at the Goshen Sectional last season and has plenty of experience at the state finals.
Other returning letterwinners are senior Connor Yutzy and juniors Kaden Haist, Kaleb Kehoe, Landon Swathwood and Fernando Gutierrez.
“I think by the end of the season, we will have more depth than what we’ve had over the past couple of years and I think that will be our strength,’’ McClane said. “Our goal will be to continue to focus on the pack of seven or eight guys and let Milo score low points for us.’’
Goshen finished second to Northridge at the sectional last season in longtime coach Mike Wynn’s final season at the helm.
New coach Jordan Smeltzer has solid experience back this season, including senior Levi Schlegel, who came home fifth at the sectional last fall.
“We have a few returning runners, as well as a solid group of younger guys who have put in some good work this summer,’’ Smeltzer said. “We are excited to see that work pay off and to watch them improve over the course of the season.’’
Other returnees for the RedHawks are Ciaran Deegan, Christian Ramirez, Neil Bradley, Rafael Pizanna, Jesse Sawatzky, Jacob Griffith and Kendrick Hobbs.
Concord coach Matt Nicoson will have a very young team in Dunlap this season, as he has just one runner – junior Josiah De La Vega – back from a team that was third at the sectional and seventh at regional.
Among the graduation losses from 2025 are Jaxson Meyer and Jackson Yoder, who each reached the state finals.
“We are very young, but our summer runners logged a lot of miles and quality workouts,’’ Nicoson said. “Our expectations are to reload and work our way back up to the top half of the Northern Lakes Conference by the tournament meet and to qualify for the regional in late October.’’
In addition to De La Vega, other returning Minutemen are seniors Jonathan Lopez and Maximo Garcia, juniors Elijah Towner and Eli Hernandez and sophomore Sam Kratzer and Ricardo Flores.
“We have 24 to 26 guys, which is very similar to previous years,’’ Nicoson said. “But the gap between the first and last runner on our squad will be very small this year. We might not have a front runner, but we will have about a three-minutes spread between our No. 1 and No. 24. Should be a fun year to run as a pack, grow as a team and improve as individuals.’’
Adam Homo has 42 runners out for the team at Elkhart this season, including 13 letterwinners, as the Lions hope to rebound from a ninth place finish at the sectional in 2025.
“Looking at the roster as it stands now, we have the biggest boys team in years,’’ Homo said. “This bodes well for the future and it’s heartening because a record number of athletes put in summer mileage.
The number of returnees could be 14, as sophomore Owen Fletcher is now at Elkhart after a ninth place finish for Angola last season at the West Noble Sectional.
The top Lions’ finisher in the Goshen sectional last season was Dominic Turner, who returns for his sophomore year for Elkhart.
“We are a team of promise ... many promising things have been seen during the summer months,’’ Homo said. “However, the athletes need to be able to sustain that focus for the entirety of the season. Each race is a chance to get better so that we are able to compete to the best of our ability at the end of the season.’’
Fairfield has a new coach in Cole Johnston and should have one of the best runners in the area in senior Evan Corrall, who qualified for the state finals in 2025.
“I am very excited to see what Evan can do this season for us,’’ Johnston said. “He is a great leader for our group of guys and he has so much potential that I’m excited to see this season.’’
Fairfield qualified for regional as a team last season and should be one of the favorites to reach the New Prairie Regional again this season.
“We have a young team mostly filled with underclassmen, so this year it’s about improvement from now until October,’’ Johnston said. “I am excited to see the younger guys step-up and thrive for our team this season.’’
Jimtown coach Ryan Woolwine continues to build the Jimmies’ program, which had Jackson Woolwine qualify for the New Prairie Regional last fall. In addition, Simon Steven was a All-Indiana Northern State Conference runner.
“We have a good core group that has been working very hard all season and we’re excited to see what they can do,’’ Woolwine said. “Our team is growing yet again and our team is returning nearly all of our varsity runners.
NorthWood qualified as a team for the New Prairie Regional with a fourth place finish at the sectional.
The top runner back for the Panthers is junior Josiah Maxwell, who came in 10th at the sectional at Ox Bow, while senior Quinn Coffin posted a top 25 time. Head coach Justin Bell also has three sophomores who ran at the sectional last season in Luke Bodach, Micah Kauffman and Trey Stichter.
“Consistency has been and will continue to be a major theme for us this season,’’ Bell said. “Consistency in training and in displaying genuine support for one another will lay a solid foundation for success as we navigate the fall.’’
This will be the 18th year for both Bell and assistant coach Adam Polhemus at NorthWood.
Elkhart Christian coach Peter Casaletto returns everyone from last season, including senior Nathan Brown, who was the lone Eagle to advance to the New Prairie Regional last fall.
“Our boys team will be much improved in times and attitude over last season,’’ Casaletto said. “Nathan is returning after a strong performance at the regional and a great track season. Clayton Morris and Christian Whidden worked much harder over the summer and are looking good so far.’’
In addition to Brown, Morris and Whidden, other Eagles looking to post low times this season are Taydin Glick, Nememiah Liechty, Ty McVery, and freshmen Silas Miller and Max Hiler.
Penn finished 13th at the state finals last season and returns top runner Brody Lederer, who finished in the top 40 at the finals.
Among the other returnees for Penn are Abhjay Masetty, Ethan Schafer, Garrett Probst, Jacob Sullivan and Nate Hannah.
“We’re really excited about the upcoming season,’’ Penn coach Chad Wetzel said. “We feel that we are better now than we were last year at this time. We have very strong senior and sophomore groups that have put in a lot of work this summer to try to improve on last year.’’
Penn won the New Prairie Sectional by 63 points last fall, before finishing second to Northridge at the regional.