They laid a foundation and had fun doing it. Cathedral High School boys cross-country registered a solid season in 2025, with a young team performing in strong fashion and setting a tone for the future. That sort of season was needed and the Irish delivered. “A huge step forward for the boys,” Brian Gross called the ’25 season. The Irish in Gross’ second season as boys cross-country head coach ran well in the postseason, with solid finishes at the sectional, city and All-Catholic meets with a team that featured strong upperclassmen and a strong freshman class. The Irish finished seventh at the Section 17 meet at Mount Vernon High School in West Fortville with 217 points, with Lawrence North winning the title with 31 points. Senior Jackson Klitzman led the Irish at sectional with a 28th place finish in 18:00.0, with junior Luke Mervilde finishing 42nd in 18:33.0, freshman Kellan Cunningham finishing 51st in 19:00.0, freshman Kade Miller finishing 54th in 19:04.5, junior Charlie Taylor finishing 58th in 19:23.4, senior Alex Batt finishing 59th in 19:33.5 and freshman Cole Bakemeyer finishing 71st in 21:03.5. Klitzman and Mervilde qualified for the Region 4 meet at the Blue River Cross Country course, with Klitzman finishing 206th there in 19:00.02 and Mervilde finishing 209th in 19:14.6. “He really turned it on this year and had a lot of success,” Gross said of Kiltzman. “He was generally our No. 1 for most of our races.” Gross added of Klitzman and Mervilde, “The two of them had a great sectionals race and put themselves in a great spot at the end of the season.” Junior Ben Sage typically ran as the Irish’s No. 2 runner most of the season before sustaining a late-season injury with a season-ending stress fracture. “He was doing his very best and that was disappointing, but we weren’t able to run him at sectionals,” Gross said, adding that Batt showed tremendous growth through his career and was key to consistent, strong team finishes in 2025. Also key to the Irish’s 2025 success: A chemistry and a camaraderie that developed over the course of a season in which the program improved and grew. “They’re a funny bunch,” Gross said. “They’re a bunch of knuckleheads and we had a good time this summer with them. They worked extremely hard and they brought a couple more boys along the way. After the summer, more wanted to join because it was a fun group. “They’re bringing a positivity and energy to the program that we just needed. That’s the No. 1 takeaway from the season for me, just the fun they had and how well they performed at city.” Cunningham, Miller and Bakemeyer form the core of what Gross said should be a strong roster moving forward with “a lot of young talent.” Miller joined the team after his family moved in August, giving the Irish a strong trio that should improve as they gain experience. “We consistently of our Top 7 had three freshmen represented,” Gross said, adding that the program added 13 freshmen overall in 2025 after adding three freshmen in 2024. “They were small but mighty [in 2024], but getting 13 boys in who were all vying for varsity spots was very cool,” Gross said. “It really is a much younger team and it just bodes well going forward. “We’re hoping to yield another strong freshman class that brings a little bit more excitement and talent in there, and we have a number of upperclassmen we’ll be relying on as well. All in all, there’s just a lot of promise for the future.” Sage, Mervilde and Taylor also form the core of what should be a strong senior class that should lead a balanced team in what Gross should be a developing and exciting 2026 season. “We just have a lot of guys who know how to work hard, who embody what we’re trying to do really well,” Gross said. “We’re blessed to have them as rising seniors with this very talented crew sophomore underneath them. “We have a good program here. We're going to be competitive. We’re going to be going after it, but also we’re going to focus on developing upstanding men and women. I think that message is getting through.”