It was a perfect day for cross country at Idlewild Park in Burlington, KY, as Northern Kentucky schools competed for trips to the state championship meet on Oct. 31 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.
The six races brought a load of personal bests, team triumphs and even a little bit of history.
Here are the top stories from the 2026 Northern Kentucky regional cross country meets.
Campbell County sweeps Class 3A individual titles
Two weeks after winning the Northern Kentucky Athletic Conference meet, Campbell County senior Lila Dunlevy got the day started by winning her second consecutive regional title.
Running with Ryle's Stella Carpenter and Aubrey Poore, Dunlevy took off about halfway through the race, abandoning her plan of establishing a gap with about 800 meters left after she saw an opportunity
to break away coming off a sharp turn.
"I just kind of went for it and tried opening up that gap because I knew it would probably work best," Dunlevy said.
The junior has been dealing with "pretty bad" shin splints this year but her time of 19:16 was a season's best by three seconds.
Last year, she beat Ryle's Sadie Chalfant by just over one second. Coming down the finish chute with a comfortable lead over Poore, she smiled as she caught glimpses of her friends lining the fence.
"It was nice not to have anybody on my back this year. Even last week Morgan (Ripley) from Highlands was really close to me," Dunlevy said.
The Ryle Raiders absolutely dominated the team race, placing all five of their scoring runners in the top seven to score 23 points. Poore led the way in second place, followed by Sadie Chalfant, Nina Tibbs, Audrey Buschmann and Carpenter.
"We had a goal: run as a team. The only thing that really matters at region is that we run next week. Just go out there, be with each other and be us. We don't have to be anything more than us," Ryle head coach Shawn Proffitt said.
While the team is at peak fitness headed into the state meet, Proffitt emphasized the importance of being in the right mindset. He may try to ease the tension by leaning into the race being on Halloween morning. Last year, the Raiders took fifth place as a team.
While Poore is the lone senior, Ryle has plenty of eighth graders and freshmen on the roster, proving they aren't slowing down anytime soon.
Just under an hour after the girls race ended, senior Grant Holbrook claimed the boys race in a new personal best of 15:43.32. He won in a similar fashion, pulling away from Conner's Ethan Mann in the final mile. It was just the fifth race of his season, but the lightened load has allowed him to stack more productive training days, resulting in more consistent racing.
"I've been able to stay more consistent, more focused just on running, not doing all the extra stuff that doesn't allow me to be the best runner I can be, and just being focused in all parts of life," Holbrook said.
He has never placed in the top 30 at the state meet but has a solid chance to cap his high school career on the podium. He will also lead the Camels to to state as they qualified as a team for the third straight year.
Covington Catholic senior Braden Franxman also ran with the lead group for the first half of the race before eventually fading to 12th place. Colonels head coach Jeremy Mosher was proud of Franxman for taking a big swing and going out hard, but also displaying confidence in his teammates to carry CovCath to the team title.
Asher Edmondson took third place, Luke McLane wasn't far behind in fourth, Joel Barczak took ninth and freshman Salem Glasgow recorded a personal best of 16:55.79 for 11th place.
"If it didn't play out the way (Braden) hoped it would play out, I think he started hard in part because he has a lot of confidence that his teammates will take care of business if he's not able to finish that move," Mosher said.
It's the Colonels' fifth regional title in Class 3A, essentially matching their 2A total throughout the years. According to MileSplit, they currently rank as the No. 4 team in the state behind Trinity, Lafayette and St. Xavier. The challenge will certainly be different than when they were in 2A, but one goal they want to check off is eclipsing their lowest-ever Class 3A point total (122).
"If you want to be able to make noise at the state level, you have to go into a region meet felling like you can take the fight to your competition," Mosher said. "A lot of times you can pull out more from your athlete. You don't have as many gaps, which is one thing that I'm excited to see. The biggest thing is reminding them that every place counts. You got to keep fighting the whole way."
Highlands boys, girls surprise with Class 2A runner-up finishes
Highlands eighth grader Morgan Ripley put Northern Kentucky and Class 2A on notice with her runner-up finish at the NKAC meet, just one-tenth of a second behind Dunlevy.
Her third place finish at the region meet in a new personal best of 19:06.54 helped the Bluebirds earn the silver team trophy on Saturday afternoon.
"She's such a great racer. I think the longer the race, the better she is. Early in the season, we had a discussion about whether she wanted to run high school. She did, so we tried it out. I had given her a race instruction of just stay in the back and feel it out for her first race, and she just went to the front of that pack and ran so much faster than I think any of us had thought or hoped," Highlands head coach Jonathan McKenzie said.
Ripley already has a mature outlook on her race strategy, believing she can hold a pace, even a fast one, better than most of her competitors. While she couldn't quite hang on for the win a few weeks ago, the higher competition level is an early lesson for the rest of her career.
"It helps me realize that I can go out with these girls and I'm able to do that. They help me push myself and I feel like I help them push themselves, too," Ripley said.
With Eva Lang and Isla Meyn also finishing on the podium and sisters Sophie and Ella Taylor both finishing in the top 15, the Bluebirds finished just 10 points behind Lexington Catholic in the team standings.
"Lexington Catholic and Lexington Christian are two of the very best teams in the state. I felt good about us being third but thought we had a shot at second, so I knew the girls would be in the mix. The guys are so young, so it's a little bit earlier than I thought they'd come around. Everybody on the team is so competitive. They really just love to run and it makes my job really easy," McKenzie said.
On the boys' side, Highlands was led by eighth grader John Gesenhues and freshman Charlie Schmidt, who both finished on the podium. Sophomore Sullivan Schoettker, junior Dylan Fortner and freshman Ethan Daly also finished in the top 15 to give the Bluebirds 48 points, 13 behind LexCath and 41 clear of Lexington Christian.
St. Henry junior Logan Vaniglia was the 2A boys individual champion, running in what he called a more competitive field than when he was the 2025 runner-up in Class 1A. He learned from his experience at NKAC and pulled away from Bourbon County's Grant Perraut for a 16-second margin of victory.
"I feel pretty confident. My principal (Grant Brannen) greets me every morning and I always say, 'I'm gonna be number one at this. Watch it,'" Vaniglia said.
He has been one of the most consistent runners in Northern Kentucky this season. He credits all of his times falling within a 50-second margin to hard training, good coaches and bicarb (short for sodium bicarbonate, which helps buffer lactic acid buildup).
He has also carried the mantel for the Crusaders since sophomore Sam Neuhaus got injured in late August and is aiming for a top-five finish at the state meet, optimistically landing in the top three.
Beechwood, Bishop Brossart claim Class 1A team titles while Newport makes history
With former four-time regional champion Lily Parke no longer in the mix, the Class 1A, Region 4 girls race figured to be a bit more wide open. That turned out to be true as six different schools were represented in the top 10, led by Villa Madonna's Jasmine Cozmanciuc.
The eighth grader steadily put a gap on Brossart's Callie Ochsner for an 18-second win, getting a little revenge after finishing second to Ochsner at the NKAC meet. She used the downhills, which her coach, Brian Rapien, calls "speed boosts," to her advantage.
"I feel like, most races, we try and run together and push each other," Cozmanciuc said. "I'm really proud of (Villa) because at conference, we lost to Brossart by a point, and then today we beat them and Beechwood only beat us by a few points. I think we can get them at state."
The eighth grader has high hopes for the state meet, predicting a top-five individual finish and a podium result as a team.
There's a bright future in the region as seven of the girls that finished in the top 10 are freshman or younger. That includes Dayton seventh grader Ashton Clifton, who was the first individual not on a qualifying team to earn a trip to state, as well as Holy Cross eighth grader Keiryn Gipson.
The team race, as always, was a close affair as the top three teams were separated by just eight points. But Beechwood, thanks to all five of its scoring runners placing in the top 17 with just a two-minute, 14-second spread, scored 53 points to edge Villa Madonna and Bishop Brossart.
Freshman Ellie Groene and eighth grader Audra Pohlgeers made the podium. Senior Alex Reis was the only upperclassman in the scoring five, proving that no matter what the roster looks like, the Tigers are still the team to beat in the region.
On the boys' side, Bishop Brossart freshman Henry Kramer claimed his second win of the season thanks to a personal best of 16:25.53. He has carried the Mustangs this season while senior Adam Tarvin, who took third place, missed about a month with an injury.
"(Adam's) the type of kid Brossart needs. He plays five sports, he's a governor's scholar. So he just got a little worn down and we played it more safe than sorry. One of the bummers is that these two guys are such good friends and teammates so (Henry's) missed training with him, but the other guys really stepped up," Bishop Brossart head coach Chris Davis said.
Kramer started fast and kept a steady gap on Beechwood junior Gannon Parke, eventually winning by 25 seconds. He knows the course like the back of his hand rom spending so much time at Idlewild Park in the latter half of his season and had picked out his spots to attack.
"I ran this course almost all my life. From my experience, I knew they were going to go fast. After that first mile, I knew I needed to go because it was going to be tough. Once I hit that hill, I had plenty in me to keep going and I knew if I let Gannon get near me at the end, he would outkick me," Kramer said.
Davis has helped continue the cross country tradition at Brossart, which has won 11 cross country team state titles, most recently in 2023. With all five of their runners finishing in the top 10, the Mustangs scored 28 points, beating Beechwood by 15 for the team title.
Rounding out the top five boys teams was the Newport Wildcats, who qualified for the state meet as a team for the first time.
"These guys have been working on this for two years. That was the goal, they've been working hard, and we did it. I'm so proud of them," head coach Cheryl Noonchester said.
She and assistant Nate Long resurrected the program in 2025. After reaching last year's goal of qualifying for the regional meet, they set out to qualify for the season's final meet. Newport was led by Jameson Sawyer in 19th place, Obed Martinez in 27th place and Aavion Williams-McKinley in 31st place.
Four of the five scoring runners set personal bests at the regional meet. Allah Lewis is the only senior, meaning the Wildcats could be a repeat qualifier.
After the Wildcats celebrate at their homecoming dance, it's back to work to prepare for the trip to Lexington on Oct. 31.
"These boys deserve it. We're always the underdogs and I just say if we put in the work, it'll take care of itself," Noonchester said.
Which Northern Kentucky teams and individuals qualified for the 2026 KHSAA cross country state meet?
Class 3A, Region 5 boys teams: Dixie Heights, Conner, Campbell County, Ryle and Covington Catholic
Class 3A, Region 5 boys individuals: Shaun Halik, Cooper; Dylan Clemons, Scott; Leonardo Martinez, Scott; Lincoln Treas, Scott; Carter Jones, Cooper
Class 3A, Region 5 girls teams: Scott, Dixie Heights, Cooper, Notre Dame, Ryle
Class 3A, Region 5 girls individuals: Lila Dunlevy, Campbell County; Caroline Points, Conner; Ella Carroll, Simon Kenton; Violet Frey, Conner; Karsyn Kreidenweis, Simon Kenton
Class 2A, Region 4 boys teams: St. Henry, Highlands
Class 2A, Region 4 boys individuals: Landon Marshall, Lloyd Memorial; Alexis Lopez-Juarez, Holmes
Class 2A, Region 4 girls teams: Highlands
Class 2A, Region 4 girls individuals: Savannah Gerding, Lloyd Memorial
Class 1A, Region 4 boys teams: Newport, Villa Madonna, Holy Cross, Beechwood, Bishop Brossart
Class 1A, Region 4 boys individuals: Claudio Miller, Dayton; Jonah Cockrell, Walton-Verona; Wyatt Lewis, Bellevue; Vincent Breeden, Ludlow
Class 1A, Region 4 girls teams: Newport Central Catholic, Holy Cross, Bishop Brossart, Villa Madonna, Beechwood
Class 1A, Region 4 girls individuals: Ashton Clifton, Dayton; Ella Singelton, Bellevue; Abrielle Hooten, Walton-Verona; Charlotte Morris, Walton-Verona; Madeline Covey, Ludlow
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: NKY cross-country 2026 regional meet recap. Who's headed to state?
