IDABEL WARRIORS CROSS COUNTRY 2026
Coach: JOHN HARJO
Idabel enters 2026–27 with a deep, program‑wide cross country group on both the boys and girls’ sides, and very little attrition. The Idabel Girls XC team did not lose any runners to graduation and returns everyone, while the boys program replaces two graduated veterans with a wave of new multi‑sport athletes from track. Harjo, now in his 16th–17th year at the school, notes that the Warriors aren’t in a true rebuilding year but are integrating “a lot of new faces,” with both squads benefiting from a strong summer in the weight room and Warrior Summer Pride.
For the girls, leadership comes from returners Casey Allen, Josie Farley, Kassandra Armenta, Lilliana Lopez and Cadrie Stephens, all of whom also run track. Allen has not missed a day of Summer Pride and is described as a classroom standout and everyday worker who “will show up every single day and leave it all out on the course or the track,” with Harjo saying, “this will be her best year yet.” Farley is labeled “a current star just waiting for her moment,” heading into the season healthy after battling injuries last year and poised for a breakout after a big summer of mileage. Lopez was a “virtual unknown” as a freshman who made a huge splash and kept improving; coaches are excited to see what she does as a sophomore, while Armenta is praised as a “student coach” who embodies trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship through her organization and leadership, even stepping into meet‑operations roles when injured.
On the boys’ side, the Warriors offset the loss of two veterans with an influx of track standouts and a strong returning core. New to XC are Joseph Hoskins, Aydien James and Cassidy Pondexter, plus sophomore Carter Allen. James was the top 800‑meter runner and relay contributor who “caught the running bug” and now puts in extra distance work; Hoskins is a clutch 400–1600 runner and hurdler praised as a great all‑around person, student and teammate; and Pondexter brings sprint and relay experience. Allen was a strong middle‑school distance runner who sat out as a freshman but spent the summer lifting and running to prepare for XC.
The boys return Jaxson Taylor, Leemon Mitchell and Colby Scott to anchor the lineup. Taylor is a multi‑sport athlete in football, XC, powerlifting, track and baseball who still makes every Saturday meet, even after long Friday road trips. Mitchell, a career XC runner since eighth grade, has made “tons of improvement” in his distance work and offseason lifting, which has boosted his confidence heading into his senior year. Scott, the lone state qualifier last year as a freshman, is the Warriors’ top runner and “young buck” leader; he’s described as a naturally gifted athlete whose big off‑season in basketball, track and the weight room should help him “drop dramatically” in time as he leads Idabel’s charge this fall.
