Fall 2026 Preview: Montgomery County Cross Country!

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY 🏃‍♀️

Several of Montgomery County’s top girls cross country runners are set to return for the Fall 2026 season! Click this link or scroll down to read more about MoCo’s top talent on the race course!

Just six of the top 15 4A state championship meet finishers and two of the eight MoCo runners in the top 50 of the 3A class graduated, leaving plenty of talent left in MCPS schools.

Most notably, rising Wootton sophomore Eleanor Finnegan ran the third fastest five kilometer race of any high schooler in Maryland and the top of any public school student in her freshman season. She also finished second in the 3A state championships and first in the 3A regional championship meet on October 30.

Wootton’s girls’ team as a whole will be an interesting story to watch unfold this season. Including Eleanor Finnegan, the Patriots core consists of three sophomores and two seniors who, in 2025, led Wootton to a fourth place finish in the 3A class in 2025.

Two of the three 4A state medalists will also return this fall. Gold medalist Nya Stoian and bronze medalist Madeline Kelly are back for their senior seasons representing Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Clarksburg.

Stoian won the three mile state championship race after a trio of first place five kilometer finishes, including in the 4A west regional championship. After the Maryland season was over, the then junior set her personal best finishing second in the NXR southeastern regional invitational in North Carolina. Now in her senior season, she will have a big impact on the Barons’ team as a whole. Kelly had lots of success in three mile races, earning three first place finishes including at the Frank Keyser invitational in Boonsboro.

Aside from Bethesda-CC, the Whitman Vikings were the top 4A team finisher of any Montgomery County school, taking the bronze spot as a team. They’re set to return four of their top athletes including rising junior Kinjal Kapoor, sophomore Emily Cornelius, junior Maya Gros-Slovinska, and sophomore Carolina Santos Pineiro who finished seventh, 15th, 31st, and 38th respectively. This core returning will help propel the Vikings to another strong team finish this upcoming season.

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY 🏃‍♂️

Montgomery County is set to be led by Dimitrios and Ioannis Rementelas, twins from Sherwood entering their junior season. Not only did the two finish first and second in last year’s 3A state championship meet, but they posted the fastest two times by any public school runners in 2025. Dimitrios ranked third in Maryland overall with his best time coming in the Montgomery County championship while Ioannis finished 11th in the state, finishing his county championship race in 15:48.

The next best athlete from MoCo is Northwood’s Bereket Eshetu. The rising junior had success in his sophomore campaign. An early season highlight saw a podium finish was in a meet at Magruder in mid-September where he placed third in 17:20. Eshetu’s next five kilometer race came a month later in the county championships and saw his personal best set at 15:59, allowing him to finish fifth overall.

In the 4A class, the Blair Blazers were the top MoCo team last season, finishing second overall behind Urbana with 81 points, but this season they could fall off the top of the team standings. Each of the Blazers’ top seven finishers, Benjamin Burckle, Erich Ramos, Evan Blenkinsop, Satchel Jelen, John Taylor, Stuart Mallon, and Aiden Liu, have graduated. The B-CC Barons could also struggle to stay towards the top of the standings. The team finished third in the 4A class with 94 points at the state championship meet, but they will compete this fall without Tobin Connelly, Michael Habib, and Daniel Skendaj, who finished ninth, 19th, and 23rd respectively. B-CC will now be led by rising senior Alec Mostofi who finished in 14th place last year.

Churchill’s Patricio Pardo was the top finisher in the 4A state championship last year that wasn’t a senior, finishing fifth in his freshman season. Juniors Ian Fisher (Northwood), Avery Smith (Sherwood), and Brandon Kneisler (Wootton), were underclassmen last fall who each finished in the top 30 in the 3A state championship. The three have serious potential to jump to the very top of the 3A rankings.

PROGRAMMING NOTE 💭

Stay tuned to County Sports Zone for more preview articles for Montgomery County high school sports in the coming weeks! Practices kick off on August 12 before the regular season gets underway on September 4.

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