They were deep, talented and successful. This was Cathedral High School girls cross-country in 2025 – a season in which a tradition-rich program built on its history with an eye on the future with a strong season and postseason. “It was a really good season,” Brian Gross said. The Irish in Gross’ third season as girls cross-country coach ran with a mix of experience and youth in 2025, and a strong team continued its tradition of strong performances in the sectional and regional meets. “I'm just so excited the way they responded to the challenge,” Gross said. The Irish girls finished fourth at the Section 17 meet at Mount Vernon High School in West Fortville to qualify for the regional meet as a team with 82 points, with Franklin Central winning the sectional with 31 points. Junior Lorelei Zenil finished ninth at the sectional in 20:01.0, with sophomore Adalyn Bolin finishing 13th in 20:17.7, sophomore Addison Field finishing 18th in 20:37.4, senior Kendall Moe finishing 19th in 20:51.6, senior Brooklyn Bolin finishing 23rd in 20:59.3, freshman Claire Farrell finishing 26th in 21:11.2 and senior Camille Spencer finishing 42nd in 22:43.4. They finished 13th at the Regional 4 meet at Blue River Cross-Country course in Venue with 317 points. Zenil finished 47th at regional in 19:41.0, with Adalyn Bolin finishing 66th in 20:01.1, Field finishing 69th in 20:04.0, Brooklyn Bolin finishing 95th in 20:30.8, Farrell finishing 101st in 20:40.6, McDaniel finishing 131st in 21:18.0 and Spencer finishing 134th in 21:23.9. The Irish also turned in third-place finishes at the All-Catholic and City meets. “We had a really good mix – and we have a lot of strength in our top three positions,” Gross said, who also credited assistant coach Hannah Stein for her role in a program that continues to develop. “She has been taking more and more a hands-on role with the girls and she has built a relationship with them,” Gross said of Stein. “She ran in high school. She ran in college. It's helpful for the girls to have someone who's had those experiences. “I'm really excited the way she has grown that and she has developed that piece as well.” Zenil, Bolin and Field not only led the Irish much of ’25, they form the core of a young team with potential moving forward. “The three of them are all around the same times and they're all pushing each other,” Gross said. “It’s a race every week to find out who the No. 1 is going to be because you never know. It’s helping all three of them. It’s a really cool thing.” Field and Boling ran varsity as freshmen, with Zenil emerging as a strong runner as a junior after being an alternate at sectionals as a sophomore. “It’s really exciting stuff,” Gross said. “She just has no idea how strong she is. She's learning and it's really cool to see that. I couldn't be more proud of her.” Moe transferred from Hamilton Heights as a senior and ran consistently at No. 4, with Spencer remaining what Gross called “the heartbeat of the program for four years.” “She did everything right, just consistent,” Gross said of Spencer. “She's always been a little plagued by injury. She wrapped up her regular season in a boot, but she was able to race at sectionals and regionals, which I was so happy about. She did all the recovery stuff right. “She was going and running on the treadmills and swimming and doing all that stuff to keep herself in contention, and she was able to race and represent us at sectional and regions – so very proud of that.” Bolin ended her career with a personal best at regionals. “She busted that out by 12 seconds,” Gross said. “That was really cool to see. You don't really get to pick the way you end your season. I wouldn’t have picked it any different way for her.” Farrell and fellow freshman Lola Skilling also turned in strong seasons, with Gross saying the duo was “right in the mix the entire year.” “It was pretty cool to see them as well and know that we will get reinforcements in the future,” Gross said. Young runners such as Olivia McDaniel and Maeve Jensen also should contribute to a young, ascending team with high aspirations in 2026. “We recognize the tremendous amount of talent we have there and where they’re going,” Gross said. “In a lot of ways, where we want to take them, this is going to be a practice run. We wanted to get some of these younger runners some experience because we’re hungry for it. This team wants to do it. That sophomore class right now, they want to end up at state. “Getting them through the sectional, getting into a very competent regional, getting them that experience is going to go a long way and it revealed to them, ‘Hey, this is what you want to do. This is what it’s going to take.’ “We’ve got it where we want it. Now, we have to take advantage of it. It’s all about having a great offseason, having a great track season and then getting themselves ready for the summer. The opportunity is there.”