NCXC 2026 Preview

 NC Preview 2026

Sweet 16 is what the Gryphons will be gunning for in 2026 after a commanding performance at the East Conference Championships. Glebe has won the last 15 NCSSAA XC Titles and they continue to look hungry for more.  With strong teams in all 6 races, Glebe certainly has the depth to defend their title again.  While Nepean could threaten for the Girl's Title, and Paul Desmarais has a couple of strong teams to challenge for the Boy's Aggregate, neither has the depth to challenge the Gryphons over both categories. 

Novice Girls

Glebe has looked dominant all season long.  After helping secure Junior Titles at the Gryphon Open and Rebelles Invite, the Gryphons posted the lowest scores of the day at both the Turkey Trot and Kingston Invitational.  Glebe has packed all 4 scorers within 15 seconds several times this season and only have a 30 second 1-5 spread.   East Runner up St. Peters and West Champs Nepean have very similar squads that pack tight. St. Peter has a low stick in Dill, but the large gap back to 2-4 may be their undoing.  Nepean did not have a single digit scorer at West, but only had a 13 second spread 1-4 at West.

Lepp (John McCrae) has been untouchable all season and is a heavy favorite to top the podium at Mooney's Bay.  Rivard (Franco Ouest) has been the closest Novice runner to Lepp, just over 30 seconds back at West.  East Champ Gomes has only had the one race, but looked comfortable winning East, but will need more in the tank to catch Rivard and Pius X's Novak. Glebe may have one crack the top 5, but it is unlikely Nepean will put a scorer in the top 10, so it may take a top 5 finish to earn a trip to the Big Nickel.

NC Blogger's Picks:

1. Glebe (33),  2. Nepean (92), 3. St Peter (110)

1. Lepp (John McCrae), 2. Rivard (Franco Ouest), 3 Gomes (Samuel Genest)

others to watch:  Novak (St. Pius X), El Helbawi (Hillcrest), Hurst (Glebe), Brown (West Carleton), Lowrey (Sacred Heart) 

Junior Girls

Led by individual favorite and u16 National medalist (Steeplechase) Gerth, Glebe looks to defend the Novice title they won last year and try to improve on their 4th place OFSAA finish from 2025.  While they don't pack as tight as their Novice counterparts, they did only have a 30 second spread from #2 Honeywell-Dobbin to #5 Luit-Hiridjee at East.    Colonel By has a great 1-2 punch with Allina and Cote-Hughes, but a significant gap back to their 3-4 which will make it tough to close the gap.  There was a tight battle in the West between Sacred Heart and Maplewood (71-74).  Ganton (Maplewood) will score low, which might give them the edge over Sacred Heart in the larger field, but the 5 minute gap back to their fourth scorer will make it unlikely for them to steal a spot from Colonel By.

Gerth has been strong all season with wins at the Gryphon Open and Rebelles Invite, before winning the East and is a strong favorite heading to Mooney's Bay.  A great race should develop for the next few spots as Allina, Rea (Paul Desmarais), Houle (Riverside South) and Ganton all have legitimate claims on a podium spot.  Allina and Rea have traded places several times this season with 12 seconds being the largest gap when Rea came out on top at the Turkey Trot. Ganton had finished behind these girls at Gryphon, Rebelles, and the Turkey Trot but bested Houle at West.  Dustin was well back at West but also finished ahead of Houle at Rebelles.  It should make for an interesting race!  With Gerth and Allina likely on qualifying teams and Cote-Hughes the next to likely cross the line, a top 10 finish could put one in the mix to earn a spot at the O-Show.

NC Blogger's Picks

1. Glebe (51), 2. Colonel By (92), 3. Maplewood (147)

1. Gerth (Glebe), 2. Rea (Paul Desmarais), 3. Allina (Colonel By)

others to watch: Ganton (Maplewood), Houle (Riverside South), Dustin (Earl of March), Cote-Hughes (Colonel By)

Senior Girls

Glebe looks to complete the sweep of the Girl's races with East Champ McInnis leading the charge.  Nepean has won the last 3 Senior Girls titles however, and they do not intend to give it up easily. They bumped up their top 2 Junior runners, Bilcock and Hennigar to strengthen their squad.  The Knights had all 4 scorers within a minute at West, led by silver medalist Eccles, and with the addition of the two Juniors may pack tight enough to hold off the pesky Gryphons.  The Gryphons hopes rest in getting their 2-3 Ravard and Vickers as close to Fee as possible if they want to pull out the victory, which may be a big ask.  East Runner Up Colonel By is the only team with a chance to unseat  one of these two teams, but will need a big run from their back-end, Amberg and Belhadj, or hope for the return of Edwards to help their cause.

Bronze as a Novice, Silver as Junior, McInnis looks to step it up one more notch to the top of the podium this year.  McInnis was edged by Lebel (Colonel By) at the Gryphon Open in the first race of the season, but has got her revenge in the last two meetings, winning the East and the Turkey Trot. Lebel continues to run strong and is a strong contender for the podium along with Merrett (Merivale) and Munro (Hillcrest), the latter of which is the only other athlete to best Lebel, which she did at the Rebelles Invite.  Behind these four, Eccles (Nepean), Arabackyj (De La Salle) and Daniels (The Element) have potential to run well and upset the order of things.  It's tough to count out a former OFSAA medalist, Harris (John McCrae) and last year's JG Champion, Alabed (Ashbury), but they will have to channel their inner Champions to qualify.

NC Blogger's Picks:

1. Nepean (45), 2. Glebe (61), 3. Colonel By (95)

1. McInnis (Glebe), 2. Lebel (Colonel By), Merrett (Merivale)

others to watch: Munro (Hillcrest), Eccles (Nepean), Arabackyj (De La Salle), Daniels (The Element), Graham (South Carleton), Alabed (Ashbury), Harris (John McCrae)

Novice Boys

Those who have followed closely know we love to egg on Immaculata and the Saints have used what they consider ranking slights as a personal challenge.  They have often used that fire to upset opponents in the past.  There is no lowballing this team however, as the Immaculata Novice Boys, led by the Obaseki twins packed all 4 scorers in the top 6 at East.  Like in the Simpson's episode Homer at Bat, there would have to be several bizarre incidents to several different runners to derail this team.  (SPOILER - even with the bizarre incidents, Springfield NPP still won the ball game).  The battle for second should prove very tight between West Champs Earl of March and East Runner Up Glebe.  Both teams packed all four scorers in just over one minute and Bowling (Earl of March) and Sheikhi (Glebe) will be very close to each other with only 4 seconds separating them when Sheikhi got the nod at the Rebelles Invite.  Only Merivale has a chance to up upset one of these teams, but getting them both might prove too much for the Marauders.

Look for an East Conference sweep of the podium at NC with the Obaseki twins repeating their 1-2 finish, followed by Healy (Lisgar).  In fact, the East might take the top 5 positions unless West Champ Nielsen (West Carleton) was holding back.  But with Immaculata likely taking 4 spots in the top 10, and Glebe or Earl taking up another team spot, a top 10 finish should be enough to earn an individual spot on the start in line in Sudbury.  

NC Blogger's Picks:

1. Immaculata (17), 2. Glebe (77), Earl of March (91)

1. Obaseki T. (Mac), 2. Obaseki J. (Mac), 3. Healy (Lisgar)

others to watch: Nielsen (West Carleton), Puzio (Mac), Sheikhi (Glebe), Bowling (Earl of March)

Junior Boys (coming soon)

Senior Boys (coming soon)