Who are Greater Cincinnati's top boys cross-country runners ahead of 2025?

The final day of the 2024 high school cross country season was a busy one for teams in The Enquirer's coverage area.

Cooper's Paul Van Laningham won an individual state title. Villa Madonna, Covington Catholic and Mason all won team titles.

This season promises to be just as successful as many of last year's top performers are back.

Here are the top boys runners this fall.

Alex Chadwick, Villa Madonna

As a junior, he made a major breakthrough at the start of the 2024 season, running a personal best of 17:13.12 on Sept. 21. While his times slowed down a bit in the postseason, he took sixth place at the regional meet and 27th place at the state meet to help the Vikings win their first team title.

Jagger Dollenmeyer, CHCA

The most important thing any cross country team can have is depth. Behind Nate and Wyatt Gockerman, Dollenmeyer has been a reliable third runner for the Eagles. He ran the fastest two times of his career so far at the end of the 2024 season, crossing the line at the district meet in 15:57.19 before setting a new personal best of 15:49.25 with a 32nd place finish at the DII state meet.

Dom Ellis, St. Xavier

It feels like each year, the Bombers have one of the top runners in the state. In the past, it was Nathan Mountain, Evan Trapp and Alex Bruns. Now it's Ellis's turn. He has a personal best of 15:35.62 and took 35th place at the DI state meet. At the 2025 state track meet, he set the 3,200-meter school record with a time of 9:00.6.

Colin Glasgow, St. Henry

The Crusaders boast one of the best cross country traditions in KHSAA history, winning 18 team state titles, the last one coming in 2022. That year, Dixon Ryan also brought home the Class 1A individual title. Coming off a team runner-up trophy in 2024, St. Henry has a chance to reclaim one or both titles with Glasgow at the helm. The junior has a personal best of 16:57.54, recorded seven top 10 finishes in 2024 and took 17th place at the state meet.

Nate Gockerman, CHCA

After winning the 2024 DII 3,200-meter state title in June, Gockerman previewed the cross country season by saying he believes CHCA can win a team title. The Eagles moved down to DIII now that the sport has expanded, but the expectation is there. Gockerman won four straight races at the end of the 2024 season before taking sixth place at the state meet in a personal best of 15:29.98. He never finished worse than sixth as a sophomore and only ran one race above the 16-minute mark.

Wyatt Gockerman, CHCA

No, you're not seeing double. Mostly because the Gockermans are fraternal twins, not identical. Wyatt finished in the top 10 in eight races as a sophomore, including second place finishes right behind Nate at the Miami Valley Conference and district meets. His personal best is 15:41.43, run at his 14th place finish at the 2024 DII state meet.

Grant Holbrook, Campbell County

Holbrook opened his varsity career with a time of 17:38.29 and only got faster from there. He ran under 17 minutes five times and recorded a personal best of 16:21.4 in the final regular season meet. Holbrook ended his season with a fifth place finish at the regional meet and a 33rd place finish at the Class 3A state meet.

Joe Mayer, Covington Catholic

Mayer is more than equipped to take over as the Colonels' lead runner now that Will Sheets has graduated. He finished in the top five in all eight of his races in Kentucky in 2024, including a runner-up finish at the regional meet and third place at state. His personal best is 15:30.2 and he is receiving interest from several Division I programs.

James McGrath, Indian Hill

Two of McGrath's fastest times of 2024 came at the start of the season and the end of the year. He ran 16:09.3 at the first meet of the year, followed that up with a wins at Mason and Princeton, then closed his junior campaign with a 15:55.93 personal best and a 36th place finish at the DII state meet. He was also the Cincinnati Hills League champion and took fourth place at the district meet.

Luke McLane, Covington Catholic

He was one of the fastest sophomores in the Bluegrass in 2024, his 16:05.2 personal best ranking fourth among runners in the class of 2027. McLane was also the 10th sophomore finisher at the Nike southeast regional. The Colonels have won six straight Class 2A team titles across the cross country and indoor and outdoor track seasons. With Mayer and McLane leading the way, that streak should continue.

Brendan Ramdass, Villa Madonna

He was a crucial piece of the Vikings' 2024 Class 1A team state championship, taking 14th place at the state meet. Ramdass has five top 10 finishes as a junior, including a thrid place result at the Class 1A, Region 4 meet, and a 16:43.7 personal best.

Ryne Reynolds, Little Miami

Little Miami had its most successful season in school history, culminating in a district team title, a runner-up finish at the region meet and a third place finish at state. The Panthers had a clear top five, but a different runner stepped up each week. Reynolds won one race, at Thomas Worthington, and finished in the top 10 at 11 others. He was Little Miami's second runner across the line at state, taking 22nd place. His personal best is 15:09.41.

Paul Van Laningham, Cooper

The senior won the triple crown during the 2024-2025 school year. He claimed the 3A cross country title in a new course record of 15:19.87, won the indoor 1,600-meter run in 4:13.04, then won the outdoor 1,600-meter urn in an overall state meet record of 4:06.48. His 5K personal best is 14:56.2 from the Nike regional meet, two weeks before he took 33rd place at Nike Cross Nationals. He is the heavy favorite to repeat as state champion.

Caden Winship, Mason

He led the way as the Comets delivered longtime coach Tom Rapp one final OHSAA team championship. He should be a contender for the individual state championship in Tim Pitcher's first season. Winship was the 2024 Greater Miami Conference champion and the district champion, the latter race giving him a 15:07.79 personal best. He finished in the top 10 of every race he ran in Ohio, including a sixth place finish at state.

Ronan Wolfer, Loveland

Wolfer was incredibly consistent as a junior. All but one of his finishing times was between 15:57.81 and his season's best of 15:32.26. He won the Tigers' home meet and was the Eastern Cincinnati Conference champion, and took 21st place at the DI state meet. His personal best of 15:28.2 is from his sophomore year.

Liam Woodward, Summit Country Day

He has had one of the most decorated careers in school history and can only add to it in the coming months. Woodward only ran six races in 2024, but ended the season by coming oh-so-close to his personal best with a 25th place finish at the DIII state meet. He was the district champion and finished in the top five in four races. His personal best of 16:07.4 is from his sophomore season.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati high school cross country top 2025 preseason boys runners