Those in the know expect central Ohio boys cross-country runners and teams to fare well on the state scene this fall.
Dublin Jerome, Westerville North and Hilliard Darby all return key runners from teams that finished fourth, fifth and seventh, respectively, in the Division I state meet last year.
“It is looking like another strong region this year for both teams and individuals,” North coach Nick Horton said. “There are a lot of solid teams in central Ohio, and the depth of our region continues to get stronger. This year, it looks like a good blend of teams that have had recent success as well as teams that have been knocking on the door the last couple of years all have a shot at qualifying to state or winning the region.”
Here are 12 central
Ohio boys cross-country runners to watch this fall:
Logan Behm, Hilliard Darby
The senior led the Panthers at state last season, finishing 13th (15 minutes, 37.57 seconds). He was second at regional (15:18.94) behind Pickerington North’s Mick Temple (15:15.8), who is now in his freshman season at Butler. Behm finished fourth in the OCC-Cardinal meet (15:42.5), helping the Panthers win the championship.
Austin Benedict, New Albany
The junior is the top area returner from the 2025 Division I state meet, where he finished ninth (15:28.91). Benedict was third at regional (15:19.41) and second in the OCC-Ohio meet (15:42.87) behind Temple (15:31.36). Benedict opened this season by finishing third in the Pickerington North Classic (15:52.51) on Aug. 29.
Charlie Bosler, Westerville North
The senior is a key returning runner for North after finishing 43rd at state (16:09.94) and 34th at regional (16:16.55) last year. Bosler finished third in the OCC-Capital meet (16:03.26), helping North (22) cruise to the title ahead of second-place Delaware Hayes (79).
Ben Canales, Dublin Coffman
The senior opened the season by finishing sixth in the Pickerington North Classic (16:11.56). Canales was 22nd last fall in the Division I state meet (15:55.9). He was eighth at regional (15:33.98) and fourth in the OCC-Central meet (16:06.96).
Hunter Coakley, Dublin Jerome
The senior is the top returner for the Celtics, having finished 47th at state (16:14.51) last season after placing 30th at regional (16:12.52) and 24th in the OCC-Cardinal meet (16:47.49). Coakley is expected to play a bigger role this fall after Jerome lost Ethan Ishida, Lincoln Kelly and Graham Tyler to graduation.
Holden Gray, Westerville North
The senior should join Bosler in giving North a solid tandem at the top of the lineup. Last season, Gray was 19th at state (15:52.47), 14th at regional (15:43.22) and fifth in the OCC-Capital meet (16:20.26).
Rishi Jha, Thomas Worthington
The senior opened this season by helping the Cardinals win the Big Walnut Twilight meet Aug. 29, finishing fourth (16:07.83). Last season, Jha was 20th at state (15:53.15), 10th at regional (15:36.35) and fifth in the OCC-Cardinal meet (15:51.69).
Logan Miller, Granville
The junior is again expected to be a key runner for the Blue Aces. He finished 39th in the Division II state meet (16:22.8) last season after placing 20th at regional (16:18.20). Miller won the LCL-Buckeye meet (15:49.77), helping Granville capture the league title.
Ethan Roberts, West Jefferson
The senior opened this season by finishing fifth in the New Albany Invitational (17:13). Last fall, he was 47th at state (16:43.41) and ninth at regional (16:41.87) in Division IV. Roberts also was seventh in the Ohio Heritage Conference meet (16:46.9).
Connor Runkle, Fairfield Union
The senior, who has high goals for the Division III postseason, opened the season by handily winning the Newark Catholic Invitational (16:21.17) on Aug. 29 at Bryn Du Mansion, finishing about 25 seconds ahead of Thomas King (16:46.1) of Watterson. Last season, Runkle placed 18th at state (15:49.53) and third at regional (15.50.1), leading his team to ninth place and third place, respectively.
Vansh Sethi, Olentangy Berlin
The senior is expected to be a key runner for the Bears as they look to contend in the OCC-Cardinal and advance in the Division I postseason. Last season, Sethi was 30th at state (16:01.2), ninth at regional (15:35.04) and seventh at the league meet (16:03.19).
Calvin Watson, Thomas Worthington
The sophomore hopes to join Jha in giving the Cardinals a strong pair at the front of the lineup. Watson opened the season by winning the Big Walnut Twilight meet (15:45.98). Last fall, he finished 12th at state (15:37.49), fifth at regional (15:27.02) and sixth in the OCC-Cardinal meet (15:52.19).
High school sports reporter Frank DiRenna can be reached at fdirenna@dispatch.com and at @DispatchFrank on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Central Ohio boys cross-country runners to watch in 2026 season
