By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – When listing the important physical properties for improvement, Bedford North Lawrence senior Eli McFarland mentioned “sleep.” Whoever heard of a teenager that didn’t love to sleep? They should all be rested and ready to go. “To sleep, perchance to dream,” Shakespeare penned in Hamlet. The Stars are dreaming of better days ahead.
BNL runners, with a semi-mild summer of training behind them, are definitely wide awake and ready. And the Stars are motivated to erase the memory of a sectional disappointment as they prepare to take off in the 2026 season, chasing postseason success.
With three returning individual regional qualifiers as the foundation, BNL will look to move up and compete for titles. Finishing seventh in a 10-team sectional field, on their home course, was not what the Stars envisioned last year. That’s history.
“Getting to the regional as a team is always the goal,” BNL coach Nick Boyd said. “We were not very happy with the sectional performance last year, but it’s a new year, a new day. The first goal is to be a team that takes care of each other, make the school a better place. So be good students and good people.“
BNL will count on leadership, in terms of racing positions and character, from its returning regional runners. McFarland, plus juniors Hayden Rich and Sam Strauser, have the experience of their postseason races.
”I’m counting on that to help me race better,” McFarland said. “It gives me confidence because I know I’ve done it before, and I know I can do it again. With being a faster runner this year, I can certainly do it again.
“First and foremost, we want to have fun and be an inclusive team. We want to win meets and advance to the regional as a team. We’re working together. It’s been a great summer for training. Consistency, drops in the bucket, that’s what it takes.”
The rest of the top five will be determined by times and finishes, with senior Jasper Baurichter expected to be among the contenders.
”Sam and Hayden have really worked hard, so we’ll see what happens,” Boyd said. “The fall will tell how summer paid off. They took it upon themselves, and that’s what it takes. Having leadership from your upperclassmen means the world in building and maintaining a program. They’ve done a great job of leading. They’re leading as good people, which is what you want.
”Every meet is a stepping stone. There are certain meets everyone loves to race. It’s easy to run those meets. The stepping stones will be how we race the meets you don’t love. If we can prepare for those meets, we will be OK.”
The Stars will open the campaign in the Valley Kickoff at Terre Haute on Saturday.
