Just south of Shilo, Coaches Trista McGinley-Crane (Coach “Mc”) and Coach Michael Power’s athletes are tearing up the course at Bentonville High School. Power, with 20 years of coaching experience, lives up to his name. He is a nine-time NCAA All-American, two-time SEC cross country champion, SEC champion in the indoor mile, 3000m, and outdoor 5000m, and a member of Australia’s 2000 Olympic team in the 5000 meter. He also finished second at the 1999 NCAA Cross Country Championships and was third in the 1998 NCAA Outdoor 5000m.
Coach Mc’s personal knowledge about the sport of distance racing is nothing to sneeze at either. She ran NCAA Division II at Henderson, and is a four-time Boston qualifier with a smokin’ PR of 3:14 in the 2026 Boston Marathon.
Power and McGinley-Crane bring combined decades of coaching experience to raise top competitors at Bentonville. The underclassmen to be on the lookout for from the Tigers come with grit and determination.
From the girls’ team:
Flannery O’Daniel (sophomore): During the 2025-2026 cross country and track seasons, O’Daniel ran a 17:35 5K, finished runner-up at the 6A Arkansas State Championships, and broke five minutes in the 1600 multiple times, with a personal best of 4:52. Coach Mc believes that O’Daniel has a shot of breaking 17 this year.
Claire Lorimer (sophomore): She ran an 18:11 5K as a freshman, finished 12th at the 6A Arkansas State Championships, and ran 5:09 in the 1600 meters during last year’s track season.
Evelyn Spahn (freshman): Spahn finished fifth at the 6A West Conference meet and has a 12:22 personal best in the 2-mile.
Ami Robinson (freshman): She finished runner-up at the 6A West Conference meet and has a 12:27 two mile personal best.
Coach Mc says these four girls have been working extremely hard at practice and that she has “no doubt all four of these athletes will experience huge things as juniors and seniors.”
From the boys’ team:
Ethan Lechuga (freshman): Lechuga comes into the season with 10:34 PB for 3200 meters from 2025, and holds the title of Junior High Runner-Up in cross country and Conference Champion in the 1600 meters with a time of 4:49.
Lechuga has tremendous potential, according to Powers: “He enters high school after a standout middle school career and has already shown he can compete at a high level.” Ethan’s work ethic and maturity have stood out this summer as he trained with Power’s top training group. Power continues: “Ethan has the potential to develop into a key contributor on our varsity squad. If he continues progressing at his current rate, he could become one of the program’s top athletes over the next several years.”
Dathan Haberstroh (sophomore): He holds a country personal best of 15:46 and a 4:37 1600 meter time. Dathan comes off a strong summer and is “positioned to contribute meaningful depth and experience” to his team. Coach Power and his fellow coaches feel that in the next three years, Haberstroh will become a “major contributor to Bentonville’s success at both the state and regional levels.”
Dathan Haberstroh
The Bentonville Tigers return to the November 6th at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs for the Arkansas State Cross Country Championships to defend their title streak. Should they win, Power will lead his team to a decade of Championships.
You can watch the Tigers compete at 2026 Coach T–Marcus Invitational in Denton, Texas on September 5. The Tigers plan to run at the Sugar Creek Showdown and at Chili Pepper as well.
