New Albany High School has established an early-season lead in the MHSAA 4A rankings. After a fifth-place finish at the MHSAA 4A State Championships last year and a fourth-place finish in 2024, it is clear that this squad is seeking a podium spot this year. Take a look below at how their top five is stacking up this year.
Pos.AthleteSeason best
1
Coen Foster
Foster led the team last year, and this year he is looking to lead his squad to a state title.
16:23.47
2
Shepherd Hardin
Hardin has made massive improvements since last year and is now a part of one of the best teammate duos in the state.
16:38.08
3
Collin McElwain
McElwain is known for making serious improvements during the last few weeks of the season, meaning it is only up from here for him.
18:13.82
4
Benjamin Roberts
Roberts stood just outside New Albany's scoring five last year, but he's come into 2026 as a key component of this scoring roster.
18:23.64
5
Bentley Hogue
Hogue stepped up big for New Albany at the end of the last cross country season and will no doubt be looking to do that again this year.
18:39.49
They opened the 2026 season at the
Myrtle Invitational. Leading the way for this 2026 squad are junior Coen Foster and sophomore Shepherd Hardin. They ran times of 16:23 and 16:38 to go 1-2. Behind them, Collin McElwain, Benjamin Roberts, and Bentley Hogue finished close together, ranging from 18:13 to 18:39. New Albany went on to win this meet in dominant fashion with a score of 31 points.
Just a week later, this squad went on to compete at the
NMPHC Cross Country Classic. In a meet with almost double the entrants, New Albany placed fourth overall and was the highest-ranked MHSAA 4A school. At this race, they were once again led by Foster and Hardin, who claimed fourth and sixth overall. Their third and fourth runners also ran faster than at the Myrtle Invitational, lowering their virtual team score in the Milesplit Rankings.
In the virtual team rankings, New Albany leads the way with 37 overall points ahead of
Senatobia High School with 47 points.
Moving on from the overall picture of the team, let's dive into each of the top five runners.
Foster leads the squad and has seen great improvement over the last two years. He has jumped from an 18:04 in 2024 to a 16:23 after just two meets in 2026. That's a drop of over a minute and a half and has turned him into the front-runner for New Albany.
Hardin has had the most influential breakout among New Albany's top five. At the NMPHC Classic, he ran almost two minutes faster than his time from that same course last year. He currently has a personal best of 16:38 and has given Foster some much-needed company at the front of the squad. If Hardin continues progressing at this rate, I would not be surprised to see these two runners finish side by side later in the season.
McElwain has the most untapped potential among this entire top five when it comes to New Albany's peak scoring potential. He hasn't beaten his personal best from last year, meaning his times in the rankings don't show just how fast he could be this season. He already ran twenty-one seconds faster than he did last year at NMPHC, meaning he has improved in the off-season. If he runs like he did last year, where he improved massively at the end of the season, then I would not be surprised to see him improve from his current season best of 18:13 into the mid-17s.
Benjamin Roberts - Junior
Roberts has lots of momentum right now, and there's no telling when he's going to slow down. He went from a 19:04 opener at Myrtle to an 18:23 at NMPHC, dropping over forty seconds in one week. His time at NMPHC already lowered his all-time personal best by ten seconds. For reference, he also ran almost a minute faster than his time at NMPHC last year. Another interesting fact about Roberts that might be fueling his improvement is that he was one of the only athletes who was not in the scoring five last year. He sat just outside their scoring five at the state meet and was their sixth man. In 2026, he is now one of their strongest runners and is clearly looking to make an impact for his team this year.
Just like Roberts, Hogue has some serious momentum already this season. After opening with a 19:04 at Myrtle, he dropped twenty-five seconds to run 18:39 at NMPHC. Hogue did not run Myrtle or NMPHC last year, so we can't compare it with his performances around this time of the year. One way to measure his improvement is to compare this season's opener with his 2025 opener at
TCPS Twilight. By that measure, Hogue opened this season more than two minutes faster. Last year, Hogue made big leaps in his performance and actually went from being outside the top five to becoming the vital fifth man at their state meet.
New Albany's future looks just as promising as its present. With a young squad that is set to lose only senior Collin McElwain after this season, the Bulldogs have a strong opportunity to contend for consecutive state titles in 2026 and 2027. If they win this year and their returning runners continue improving, then there is no telling how fast this squad could become.