by Asst XC Coach and CN Alumnus Kyle Burton
The 2025 fall season was another highlight in a long history of excellence for the Columbus North distance running program. Many athletic teams at Columbus North have achieved success over the years, but few have done so with the consistency and high level of performance as the boys and girls cross country programs.
Over the last forty years, Columbus North cross country has built one of the strongest traditions of distance running success in Indiana. The boys and girls teams have combined to win nine IHSAA state championships, including seven titles for the boys program and two for the girls. The boys total ranks third most in state history, while the girls championships place them tied for fifth most among Indiana schools.
The 2025 boys team added another impressive chapter to that legacy with a dominant performance at the state meet. Columbus North won the state championship meet with fifty-eight points, finishing seventy one points ahead of the second place team. The score is the second lowest winning total at the state meet in the past twenty-five years, reflecting just how strong this year’s team performance was relative to other championship teams in the past.
The team’s success continued beyond the state championship. Columbus North went on to win the Nike Midwest regional meet, earning a place at Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon, the premier high school cross country championship in the United States. The meet features only twenty-two of the top teams in the entire country, making earning a qualifying spot a difficult achievement on its own. Only three Indiana schools have ever qualified for the Nike Cross Nationals meet in the twenty years it has existed.
Competing against the best teams in the nation, the Bull Dogs finished eighth place in the country, marking one of the top national performances in school history. The result also continued a pattern of national success that has been part of the program for more than two decades.
Columbus North previously reached the national stage in 2010 and 2011, finishing third and ninth at Nike Cross Nationals. Even before a national championship meet existed for high school teams, the distance program had already established itself among the best in the country. The 2002 team finished ranked third nationally, and the 2003 team finished ranked fifth in national polls.
This season’s success was the result of several years of consistent hard work and positive leadership from the four seniors who competed on the varsity this year leading the team to the national level: Jace Works, Denton Sluder, Sam Steinmetz, and Logan Vanzant. Their experience, commitment, and desire to excel helped set the tone for the team this year as they started the season with their eyes set on winning a state championship and competing at the national level.
The Bull Dogs hope to achieve a similar high level of success next year as the team returns juniors Justin Reckers and Graham Pumphrey, as well as sophomore Joseph Day, who all competed at the state meet and finished among the top thirty-five runners overall. With several young talented runners from this year’s junior varsity team stepping up next year, the team should be in a good position to continue North’s tradition of achieving excellence in the sport.
