OFFICIAL Idaho XC 2026 Thread

Brother, that is a hot take.

Rigby will have at least one and possibly two scoring boys that would not make either the rocky or eagle state teams. you’re picking a team that has 4:39, 4:40, 4:40 and 4:43 for 2-5 over two really good teams. Don’t overthink it. CDA, Boise, Eagle, Rocky are very clearly the top teams.

With all due respect, if Highland could beat Rocky, Eagle and Boise (all 3 were better than Highland preseason and throughout the season) in 2025 at Lewistons state course, then it is extremely feasible for Rigby to beat Rocky and Eagle in 2026 at a State course that is at altitude which would favor Rigby.

On the girls side I might add CDA in the mix for that 3rd/4th place trophy as well.

Word on the street is that CDA girls will add 10:45 3200 M runner Christman to their XC roster next fall. Along with Howard and McVey and fast incoming freshman will make them a threat.

The boys will peak early at Woodbridge again but should maintain enough fitness for another state title.

With all due respect, 2026 Rigby is not 2025 Highland and 2025 Eagle is not 2026 Eagle, and Highland was absolutely at least as good as Eagle heading into the season. Boise and Rocky were definitely better on paper heading into the season, I will give you that.

2025 Highland had a 4:15/9:27 boy, the boy that was 15th at the state meet the year before, a boy that had run 10:06 at 4500', a boy that had run 10:20 at 4500', and a boy that had run 10:24 at 4500' as a freshman. They then developed another boy into a boy that got 34th. Their 3200m for 4 of their top 5 was 10:04 with most of those times run in Pocatello, plus they had 6th returner from the state meet.

2025 Eagle had boys that had run 9:41, 9:54, 9:55, 9:59, and 4:22 in Idaho. Some ran faster when they went to sea level but not actually in state. Their Idaho 3200m for their top 5 was 9:56. Highland was on paper better at 1, 2, comparable at 3, and Eagle was better at 4 and 5. Eagle's 9:54 boy was also coming off of a stress fracture.

2026 Rigby has boys that have run 9:30 in Boise, 10:16 at 4800', 10:18 at 4800', 4:39 at 4800', and 10:25 at 4800'. Their 3200m times for 2-5 are 10:18 (assuming Alex Martin runs around the guys he was running around for 1600m).

2026 Eagle has 9:22, 9:41, 9:45, 9:47, 9:58, all run in Boise in the 2025-2026 school year. Eagle is roughly equal at 1, but far better at 2-5. They have the 5th and 11th fastest sophomores in 6A for 3200 and the fastest freshman. Eagle's Idaho 3200m times for their top 5 is 9:42.

Highland and Eagle were roughly equal at 3200m, with Highland actually maybe being a bit better when altitude is taken into account. Eagle is 36 seconds faster than Rigby at 3200m.

For reference, 2025 Boise had 9:27, 9:45, 4:29/9:45, 9:50 plus 2:02, 4:37 and 4:39 boys.
2025 Rocky had 9:25, 9:49, 9:53, 9:57, 4:26, 4:34, 4:35 and 4:35 boys.

2026 Boise has Idaho times of 9:18, 9:27, 4:21, 9:59 and 4:40.
2026 Rocky has 9:41, 9:49, 9:53 (ran in 2025), 4:28, 4:31, 4:39 and Jack Davis.

2026 Boise is better at 1-3 but suffers at 4 and 5.
2026 Rocky was better at each spot except for 4 in terms of quality of PRs. (Tuft, Kurtz, Maybury, Bennion, Loscher, Miller, Majors vs. Davis, Clark, Bailey, Loscher, Bennion)

When you have only 6A teams, Highland beat Boise at Cardinal Classic. They beat Rigby 3 out of the 4 times they raced, the only time they didn't was when Rigby crushed Boise at Cardinal Classic, right after Boise crushed Eagle at Jimmy Driscoll. Eagle then narrowly beat Rigby at Hole in the Wall.

If you were paying attention, you knew Highland was good. Boise, Eagle and Rocky were not better "throughout the season."

I’ve still got Rigby with the surprise 3rd place finish this upcoming year since State is at altitude.

Can I hear from the experts on if my CDA girls being in the mix for 3rd/4th at State is a good prediction? Or is that one a terrible take like the Rigby one?

I personally think the girls races will go Rocky, Timberline, Capital, Centennial, Boise, CDA.

Boys:

1. CDA

2. Rocky Mountain

3. Boise

4. Highland

5. Rigby

Girls:

1. Rocky Mountain

2. Timberline

3. CDA

4. Boise

5. Centennial

CDA girls team made NXN back in 2012 and 2014

lol

Damn, Idaho is gonna be really crazy if Eagle is only 6th.

Boise girls that low is disrespectful with how good of a coach Aaron Olswanger is.

Rocky boys at 2nd with the coaching transition seems unlikely, but the teams 2-6 will all have similar talent so it’ll just depend on how things work out and who is ready to race at altitude.

IMO, Rocky has the most complete team, but that doesn't mean they are overwhelming favorites by any means.

1. Rocky was inconsistent last spring. They have a great 1-2 punch, but their 2 had a very rough track season. They have good to great pieces coming back at each spot, and have the best set of incoming freshmen.

2. Timberline is really good through 4 and then their 5th is very serviceable at 11:53, especially considering she was 21st at the state cross meet.

These two are my top two teams.

3-5 plus a CDA bonus

Boise has a low stick, however, their 2-4 returners from cross were 29th, 30th, and 44th at the state meet last year. Madi Tookey is much improved and should be their #2, but Belen Hoobing, Natalie Carlson and Rosa Wilper averaged 5:23 in 2025 and 5:21 in 2026, so I'm not sure they are going to necessarily make the jump Boise needs.

I think Capital has the best 1-4 in the state next year, at least in the state meet format. Maybe not at NXR, but I would bet anything they are in the lead through 4 runners. The problem is they are weak at 5 with a 5:41 girl and that could be 50th at the state meet.

Centennial has the same issue, they are weaker at 3 and 4 but stronger at 5. They have one of the top three duos in the state, they have a sub 5:20 girl at 3, add in a 5:27 8th grader, and have a 2:24 girl. How well do they develop that girl?

CDA has who I think should be the individual favorite heading into next fall as their 1, their 2 is very strong, and then they drop off to a girl that was 42nd at the state meet. I think CDA's issue is they will score 50 points for each of the 4th and 5th runners. On a great day they might score 120, but they are going to get hammered at those spots.

The only teams that actually have any depth are Rocky and Boise, but even then Rocky is going to have 10 girls under 5:35 including incoming freshmen and Boise will be at 7. Centennial is at 4, Capital is at 4, Timberline is at 4 (but the proven 5th), Owyhee is at 3, Mountain View is at 3, Thunder Ridge is at 3, CDA is at 2, Eagle is at 2. Nobody really has any depth in 6A outside of 2 teams and even they aren't that deep.

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills here. I think CDA is clearly on their own plane of existence, and then Rocky, Boise, and Eagle are all close. I would love to hear an actual concise argument that doesn't just boil down to "altitude" for how Highland and Rigby have similar talent.

Highland has Spencer Smith, then 4:43, 4:46, 4:56, 4:59 and a 2:00 boy that didn't break 18 last year. Their grade levels are 12, 10, 12, 10, 10 for the boys that broke 5.

You're really saying that team is in the same realm as those other 3? I don't think Highland would actually even be a lock to make the state meet out of District III if you are being honest.