It's the greatest time of the year!
While the leaves are still a few weeks from falling and football has yet to kick off, the first signs of fall can be seen out on the grass as cross country runners from across the Tar Heel State have started opening up their high school seasons.
With the 2026 season officially underway, MileSplit will be spending this week previewing all eight classifications in North Carolina. From 1A through 8A, we'll take a look at the top teams, athletes to watch, returning standouts, and storylines that could shape the season as the road to the state championships begins.
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Avery Roberson Looks to Defend His Individual Title
The Northside senior is back in 2026 and will be hoping for a repeat of last season, which resulted in his first state title.
Avery Roberson is the lone returner to have run under 16-minutes in Class 1A last season and will be looking to add to the five wins he collected in 2025. The Panthers' upperclassman was victorious in each of his final three races last season, culminating in a four second win in the closing moments of last year's fall classic.
After winning a second state title this spring, Roberson now goes from the hunter to the hunted and will be tasked with holding off challenges from Chatham Charter's dynamic duo and a pair of rising underclassmen.
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Leadership Academy Returns 6 From Last Year's Championship Roster
In the boys team race, NC Leadership Academy will be looking to win a second consecutive state title after winning the school's first-ever championship last fall.
NCLA returns six of their seven runners from last year's meet, including Kostandinos Mellonas, who finished 4th at last year's state meet and 2nd in this spring's 3,200m final.
There will be very little margin of error for the Falcons, as Andrews and Robbinsville, last season's second and third-place finishing teams, each return young rosters that will be significantly more experienced than they were a year ago.
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Who Emerges as 1A's Top Individual Girl?
Class 1A graduated four of its top five finishers from last year's 1A Girls state meet, opening the door to a new crop of distance runners to emerge at the top of the classifiaiton in 2026.
Amelia Fleury is the classification's top returning finisher from last year's race (3rd) and also owns the fastest returning time in 1A (20:48). Remi Devore is coming off a strong finish to her outdoor track season, finishing 3rd in the 1,600m and 3,200m at the state meet and could be in store for a significant leap forward this fall.
Violet Reynoso and Kyla Feimster of Falls Lake Academy enter their sophomore seasons as the second and fourth-ranked returners in the classification, while Sofia Rodriguez hopes to finish her senior campaign atop of the podium. The individual state race in 1A should be amongst one of the best in Kernersville this season.
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Can NCSSM-Morganton Repeat?
NCSSM-Morganton won their first girls cross country state title last fall behind the efforts of two seniors and juniors. Their 71-point margin of victory was one of the ten most dominant wins in the history of NCHSAA XC State Championships.
The Dragons are led by the two top returners from last year's 1A state race, Amelia Fleury and Alexandra Hexemer, and appear poised to make a run at another title this fall.
Ascend Leadership Academy finished 3rd in 2025 and returns all seven pieces from last year's very young state qualifying team. The Aviators would seem to be the team most capable of spoiling the Dragons' run at the top of 1A.