According to the rankings below, the defending 6A state champions-- Bentonville Tigers-- will be strong again. The Tigers will be led by Flannery O'Daniel, who had a sensational freshman season. O'Daniel ran a 17:35 at the Chile Pepper Classic last October. That is No. 2 all-time in the MileSplit Arkansas database behind Maggie Bishop's 17:25.40 at the same meet in 2024.
But it takes more than one outstanding runner to win a state championship, and legendary Bentonville coach Randy Ramaker certainly didn't the cupboard empty for new head coach Trista McGinley-Crane. Claire Lorimer (18:11), Madysen Hantuba (18:13), Mya Hurley (18:38), and Emerson Archer (18:155) all rank in the top 16 of 6A returner rankings.
With only one senior (Hantuba) in their top five, the Tigers will not only be one of the best teams in Arkansas, but could make some noise at the national level.
At the top of the 6A returner rankings is Jonesboro's Lauren Thompson, who had a season best of 17:24 in 2025. Not far b...