They were good and they’re getting better. Cathedral High School girls cross country turned in another strong season in 2026, with a balanced – and young – team experiencing postseason success. That made for not only a memorable season in the present but a strong possibility for the future. “It has been a strong bunch,” Brian Gross said. Irish girls cross country in Gross’ fourth season as head coach qualified for the sectional meet as a team, also turning in strong finishes at the regional and city meets. They did this with just one senior in the top seven, and a core of strong underclassmen. They finished one spot better at both the sectional and regional meets than they did in 2025. “We’re right there,” Gross said. “We're constantly having more and more of them show up and we had a few who hadn’t previously showed up and really contributed a lot. “It makes us very excited for what they're going to be able to do next year.” The Irish finished 13th at the Region 4 meet at Ceraland Park in Columbus with 378 points. Senior Lorelei Zenil finished 60th at the regional meet in 19:55.90, with freshman Adalyn Bolin 71st in 20:10.40, junior Laila Meier 105th in 20:58.90, junior Maeve Jensen 112th in 21:09.50, sophomore Claire Farrell 117th in 21:13.80, junior Luella Oesterle 118th in 21:15.00 and sophomore Ella Johnson 125th in 21:26.10. “Most of these girls end up doing track on the other end,” Gross said. “We’re making sure we're keeping a clear focus on what's going to happen over these next three seasons. As cool as it is to have potential, we want them to maximize it as much as possible.” Zenil was among three seniors in the program in 2026. She was the lone senior on varsity, and Gross said she “ended up being our strongest runner” in ’26. “Two years ago, she kind of came out of nowhere,” Gross said. “She was the second alternate for sectionals. We ended up having to put her in. From that point on, she really took off and ended her season on great note.” And while Gross called the end of the season “bittersweet” with the loss of seniors such as Zenil, Sylvia Knapp and Lauryn Klitzman – who formed the first four-year class of his coaching tenure – it’s a group that helped set a foundation for a bright future. “A lot of traditions younger runners take for granted, a lot of the things that they do, they do because this group instilled it,” Gross said. “They set the tone.” Zenil’s sub-20 at the sectional marked the Irish’s lone such time of the season. “Those times were a little bit slower than we want them to be,” Gross said, “but I'm really trying to teach the girls to be patient in this process and let's focus on where we're going, not just necessarily what the time says right now.” Cathedral finished fourth at the Section 17 meet at Mount Vernon with 114 points to qualify as a team for the regional meet. Zenil finished 15th at the sectional meet in 20:05.46, with Bolin 23rd in 20:34.89, Farrell 25th in 20:51.17, Meier 27th in 21:01.54, Jensen 28th in 21:06.47, Oesterle 33rd in 21:23.57 and Johnson 35th in 21:33.80. The Irish finished second at the City Meet at Brebeuf Jesuit behind Bishop Chatard with 55 points. Zenil finished seventh at the city meet in 20:13.00, with Farrell ninth in 20:15.00 and Bolin 10th in 20:16.00. The Irish also had five Top 10 finishers in the freshman city meet. “It was a really cool, good performance at the city championship,” Gross said. “That was the first really cooler Saturday morning we had all season. [The season] was a hot one. It was a little bit of a slog. Once those temperatures came down, the times went right with them. “That was a lot of fun and really exciting for them.” While the Irish lost a runner who opted not to run this season, Oesterle returned to form after injuries as a sophomore and Meyer – a rower who hadn’t previously run cross country at the high-school level – contributed significantly upon joining the program “really out of nowhere.” Oesterle and Meyer both finished consistently in the Irish’s top five runners. “We have so much talent across the board,” Gross said. “Every year it feels like you're building a snowman that’s melting. You end up working with the pieces that you get and you're sometimes a little bit surprised about who ends up where. “They're doing the right things. If we can keep them healthy and keep them moving, we can really be looking at an outstanding team when it comes to next year.”