For the Lexington High School cross country program, the recipe for success starts with a plate of pasta. 

The Wildcats' boys' and girls' cross country teams are often among the best in the state. Their consistency isn’t built overnight but crafted from a culture based on camaraderie. 

At Lexington, the bonding comes in the form of offseason training, cross-team cooperation and pre-meet pasta dinners. 

“We do a lot of fun things,” Lexington cross country program director Sam Oxley said. “It’s just a really positive culture that we’ve got going on. It’s really hard to sustain if you aren’t intentional about it, but we keep it in the forefront of our minds.”  

Lexington’s varsity teams get a lot of attention, and they should. Both the boys and girls finished top-five in the state final meet last season, with the boys placing second overall. 

They run in the biggest events, put up the best times and race the toughest competition. But for Oxley, prepping the younger runners is a key aspect of sustained success. 

“Sometimes we get so fixated on that top varsity group, the top-seven or 10 runners that are going to win and lose races for us, but we still have to look forward to the future and that next generation,” he said. “They're going to have to be the next generation of leaders and again pass that torch to whoever's coming after them. So we're definitely working on winning at the top, but we want to develop as well.”

Working towards winning and developing is definitely a challenging task, Oxley said. But the talent Lexington has this season makes it a bit easier. 

On the boys side, top runners such as Josh Voegele and Jackson Cannon are not just helping Lexington win races, they’re taking an active role in encouraging the younger athletes. 

“I've witnessed them getting in the middle of the huddle before the JV races and just hyping up the guys,” Oxley said. “The girls are doing the same thing, being very positive and very encouraging.”

Voegele and Cannon were a part of that group that finished runner-up in 2025. They’re going for it all in 2026. 

The varsity boys have already shown strong results in the few races Lexington has run this season. 

In their first meet of the season, the Wildcats traveled to Spartanburg to compete in the Eye Opener. The Wildcats placed second overall, finishing only behind North Carolina’s Christ School, the No. 1 ranked team in the entire Southeast region. 

Voegele finished third overall. Colin Williams, Lucas Miedema, Alex Gibbs and David Voegele all finished top-50 in a field of over 400 racers. 

Lexington hosted the Pelican’s Invitational for their second meet of the season. The Wildcats won this event over several local teams, sweeping the top-nine spots. 

Most recently, the team competed in the Lake Murray Invitational hosted by Chapin. Lexington again placed first overall as Voegele picked up his second win of the season too. 

“I think we’ve gotten better each and every race,” Oxley said. 

The girls have also had some solid outings and are improving as the year goes. 

They finished eighth at the Eye Opener, first at the Pelican’s Invitational and third at the Lake Murray Invitational.

While the team is still figuring out its best group of runners, Jada Metz, Elanorah Patangan and Callie Kesterson have had standout times this season. 

“There's a lot of talent with these girls, and they're starting to gel,” Oxley said. 

The Wildcats will have a bit more time to get in top shape as they have some other events coming up before the postseason. 

Lexington will travel to Charlotte and compete in the Wendy’s Invitational. There they’ll compete against top teams from other states in the region. 

After that, the Wildcats will make a trip to Richmond for the Virginia XC Showcase. It’s tabbed as one of the fastest races in the nation and also happens to be right by Oxley’s hometown. 

“It's kind of like a homecoming for me,” he said. “It's a really fast and flat course and just a really good opportunity for us to see what we can do right before our postseason starts.”

From there, it’s a full sprint into the postseason. Both the girls and boys teams want to fight for a region title, and go on to contend at states. 

The boys in particular have their minds set on not repeating the same outcome they experienced last season. 

“They’re motivated and hungry to really go after that state championship,” Oxley said. “So, that's the goal.”