The following article was written by Kenny Wilcox and features the upcoming 2026 National High School Trail Running Championships to be run on July 25, 2026. Featured photo of Wilcox courtesy: Peter Maksimow/ATRA.
In anticipation of the 10th running of the National High School Trail Championships (NHSTC) on July 25, in Salida, Colorado, we thought it would be fun to take a dive down the race’s deep history. Buckle up, it has been an amazing ride!
Back story
The idea for a high school trail championships was born several years before it ever became a reality in 2017. As the coach of the Salida High School cross country teams since 2006, I had become accustomed to watching many of our athletes excel on the trail. It was common for us to take trips to the nearby Colorado Trail, Continental Divide Trail and Rainbow Trail. Perhaps it was no coincidence that I started coaching the same year that Salida Mountain Trails completed their first trail. Like most really great things, it took a few years for our local trail system to take off.
As the Salida Mountain Trails grew so too did my understanding of how well our athletes could navigate challenging terrain. Taylor Stack and Taryn Ceglowski (now Taryn Brown) were two of those Salida High School athletes. Taryn will be forever etched in our history as the first NHSTC female champ and until 2024 she also held the 3A state record for the 800 in 2:09:19. Taylor went on to be a multi-time All-American and steeplechase national champion while competing for Western Colorado in 2021. Present day, Taylor is running for Brooks and is often one of the top Americans in the Golden Trail World Series. With runners like Taryn, Taylor and many others, inspiration to start a trail championship for high school athletes was inevitable.
Having lived in Salida since 2002, I knew that morning July weather here is reliably calm, sunny and yet delightfully cool for running. Guess what? It rained the entire night and morning of our first race. Lake-like bodies of water formed overnight near the starting line. Incredibly, those who raced during that inaugural year voiced how much they enjoyed the experience, and many returned for year two. We were literally off and running!
Stats from the race
From the race archives compliments of Coach Ted Leblow of Central Grand Junction HS:
• Eighty-five different Colorado high schools have participated at least once with at least one athlete
• High school runners from 14 different states have participated with Texas and New Mexico tied for the most from out of state
• 2 high schools have participated every single year (Salida and Central Grand Junction)
Past nine years of individual and team champ history
Year Individual Girls Champ Individual Boys Champ Girls Team Champ Boys Team Champ
2017 Taryn Ceglowski-Salida James Gregory-Fort Collins Steamboat Springs HS Fort Collins HS
2018 Soleil Gaylord-Telluride James Gregory-Fort Collins Steamboat Springs HS Central Grand Junction HS
2019 Joslin Blair-Eagle Valley Tyman Smart-Central Grand Junction Eagle Valley HS Fort Collins HS
2020 Joslin Blair-Eagle Valley Sullivan Middaugh-Battle Mountain Valor Christian HS Niwot HS
2021 Aubrey Surage-Lewis Palmer Sullivan Middaugh-Battle Mountain Lewis Palmer HS Fort Collins HS
2022 Keeghan Edwards-Unattached Will Brunner-Battle Mountain Lewis Palmer HS Mountain Vista HS
2023 Ella Hagen-Summit Benjamin Anderson-Mountain Vista Northfield HS Eagle Valley HS
2024 Ella Hagen-Summit Jacob Schwarting-Centaurus Cheyenne Mountain HS Eagle Valley HS
2025 Ella Hagen-Summit Dylan Blair-Eagle Valley Summit HS Eagle Valley HS
Now, almost ten events under our belts, I know it will be just a matter of time before an individual and or team from out of state will break Colorado’s hold on the available top spots. Two young men have come close. Sean Korsmo of Bismark, North Dakota and Asher Oates of Thompson Station, Tennessee both found runner-up positions in 2020 and 2025 respectively. Korsmo was less than two seconds behind Sullivan Middaugh during the “Covid summer” when we had to start in waves of 10 racers at a time.
As of this writing, competitors from Arizona, California, Kentucky, Iowa, Tennessee, Wyoming and Virginia are on the start list so perhaps this could be the year someone or several someone’s put an end to Colorado’s dominance.
You would think that 5.4 miles of trail running would be plenty of time to sort out a champion, but on more than one occasion the result has come down to the wire. In 2020, Joslin Blair edged out Madeline Burns of Durango by just .12 of a second. The Middaugh brothers must have been watching because the next year Porter Middaugh’s dive on the finishing grass in Riverside Park put him just .02 seconds behind big brother Sullivan.
A stat that eludes me, at least for the time being, is the number of NHSTC competitors that have gone on to represent the United States as U18 or U20 participants in international competition. Notably, Joslin Blair was the 2018 International U18 Mountain Running Cup girls’ champion, and Dylan Blair was the 2025 International U18 Mountain Running Cup boys’ champion. Interestingly enough, Dylan won the international race before he broke through with his first victory at the NHSTC and he did so in record-setting fashion.
We eagerly anticipate seeing familiar faces and new faces later this month. The Arkansas River, right by the finish, is already in place for your post-race ice bath! And for any of you who can no longer rightfully claim to be a high schooler, the Beas Knee Citizens’ race held at the start of our morning is just for you!
For race details, go to: nationalhighschooltrailchampionships.com
Rub a Little Dirt On It,
Kenny Wilcox
