Ozark cross country enters the 2026 season under new leadership as Kyler Turner begins his first year as head coach of the Tigers.

Turner is focused on building a team that competes hard, supports one another and embraces the challenges that come with the sport.

“This season, you can look forward to a team that competes hard, supports one another and fully embraces difficult things,” Turner said. “Our goal is to continue building a strong team culture while improving each week and putting ourselves in a position to compete at our best during the championship portion of the season.”

Leadership is already beginning to emerge throughout both the boys and girls teams.

On the boys side, Garrett Stafford, Andrew Ashley, Greyson Euliss, Carter Johnson, Kole DeLong and Jaxon Braswell are among several runners who have started to establish themselves as leaders through the way they work, compete and support their teammates.

Allie Mills and Grace Smith have stepped into strong leadership roles for the girls, with several others continuing to develop into those positions.

“What excites me most is that our leadership is not coming from just one or two athletes; it is starting to develop throughout the team,” Turner said.

The Tigers hope to continue improving throughout the season with their sights set on success at the conference and district levels and earning opportunities to compete at the state meet.

“We want every athlete, from our newest runners to our experienced varsity leaders, to grow in confidence, resilience and belief in what we can accomplish together,” Turner said. “Ultimately, we hope to compete for conference and district success, qualify athletes and our teams for the state meet, and represent Ozark with pride throughout the season.”