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On Friday evening, Charlotte Sweeney, a U.S. District Judge in Denver, Colorado, temporarily ruled that high school Class of 2022 student athletes, who began Division One competition at the start of the 2022-23 academic calendar year, can receive a fifth year of eligibility within the NCAA. The preliminary injunction stems from an eligibility-based rule change that was announced by the NCAA in late June. Known as the "five-for-five" rule, the NCAA did not grant a fifth year of eligibility to seniors who originally expired their athletic eligibility at the conclusion of the 2025-26 academic calendar year. The NCAA fully intends to appeal. Sweeney's ruling has the potential to create logistical chaos among collegiate compliance departments over the next year. Athletes who were once expected to be out of eligibility could theoretically return for a fifth year of competition as soon as this fall. However, with the ruling coming in late July, the collegiate careers of once-departed NCAA track and field and cross country athletes hang in limbo. With stricter roster limits now in place, and rosters at/near finalization for the fall of 2026, the challenges to reintroduce athletes who were once thought to be out of eligibility are significant. Questions also remain as they pertain to transfer scenarios and those aforementioned roster limits. It's also possible that an appeal by the NCAA is successful, although current sentiment and speculation from coaches around the country is that the ruling will hold. "I don’t think it’s as big of deal in distance running as it is in Football, Basketball, Baseball," one coach told The Stride Report via text. "Could see it having more of an impact on the Track. With some light impacts on XC." "There won’t be that many," another coach told The Stride Report in regards to returning fifth-year athletes. "A few for sure but not program changing. It’s going to be hard because school starts in two weeks, it's not exactly easy to get people into a grad school program in two weeks." The following memo was recently released by the NCAA's Chief Legal Officer, Scott Bearby... "Colleagues, The District Court of Colorado's decision (Wisne v. NCAA) is egregiously wrong. The court's decision to certify a nationwide class and grant sweeping injunctive relief with virtually no evidence, and without witness testimony or even so much as a hearing, invites further chaos in college sports and irreparably harms thousands of student-athletes already on campus. The Court has not yet entered an order specifying what it is purporting to enjoin—a requirement under the law. We will seek that clarification immediately. But to be clear, one federal court cannot enjoin a settlement approved and entered by another court. The House injunction remains in effect according to its plain terms. The Colorado court plainly lacks the authority to undermine the House injunction, which all of the plaintiffs in the Colorado case are bound by, including the roster limits and revenue share cap. We intend to appeal the Colorado order and will seek to restore the status quo as soon as possible to protect participation opportunities for the countless student-athletes who chose where to attend school based on the understanding that the rules adopted by the NCAA's member institutions would be applied as written. Schools and coaches must make their own independent decisions, but an injunction is intended to be short in duration and the NCAA intends to appeal it on an expedited basis. The membership made a considered decision about the timing of the Age-Based Eligibility Rule in order to protect competitive opportunities for thousands of student-athletes already on campus. Every federal circuit to address similarly flawed legal claims and similarly deficient evidentiary record has reversed."

Earlier today, the University of Virginia announced that Vin Lananna, the program's Director of Cross Country and Track & Field, will be stepping down from his role with the Cavaliers. In turn, he has been named as the next Chief Executive Officer for the USA Track & Field Foundation. In his place, Associate Head Coach Trevor Dunbar has been named as the Cavaliers' Interim Head Coach. Lananna was first hired by the University of Virginia in 2019. During his tenure, he recruited and developed some of the best men's distance talents in the country such as Gary Martin, Shane Cohen, Nathan Mountain, Yasin Sado, Conor Murphy, Wes Porter, Derek Johnson, Will Anthony and numerous others. In the winter of 2025, Martin anchored the Virginia men to a DMR national title. In the spring of 2024, Shane Cohen secured individual gold over 800 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Under Lananna, the Virginia men won the 2025 ACC XC Championships, their fifth in program history. That same season, the Cavaliers went on to place 7th at the NCAA XC Championships. With Lananna stepping aside, Dunbar will now take over the Cavaliers' track and field and cross country program in an interim capacity. For years, multiple coaching sources throughout the NCAA have told The Stride Report that they expect Dunbar to fully take over UVA's track and field and cross country programs once Lananna stepped down. However, an interim label, as well as a press release stating, "The Virginia Department of Athletics will conduct a national search for the program’s next head coach," leaves far greater ambiguity regarding Dunbar's long-term role. Dunbar's wife, Coach Joelle Amaral Dunbar, currently oversees the women's distance group at the University of Virginia.

Written by Aimee Morganti, edits & additional commentary via Garrett Zatlin Ole Miss has announced that Cory Leslie, who spent almost five years at the helm of the Under Armour's Mission Run Baltimore Distance professional team, has been hired to lead the Rebels' distance program. This decision stems from a ripple effect of coaching changes that saw Brandon Hazouri, who was initially hired at Ole Miss, be retained at Wake Forest due to a last-second promotion to lead the Demon Deacons' women's team. Leslie will replace the Rebels' former distance coach, Adam Smith, who was hired in early July to be William & Mary’s next Director of Cross Country and Track & Field. Throughout his last five years in Baltimore, Leslie had plenty of success with Under Armour athletes. During his tenure, his now-former men’s team made their mark on the international scene by producing two Olympians, three World Outdoor Championship qualifiers, four World Indoor Championship qualifiers, five World XC Championship qualifiers, two Commonwealth Games qualifiers and two Pan-American 1500-meter medallists. The program has successfully elevated many international athletes' careers, including Canada’s Foster Malleck and Great Britain’s Adam Fogg. As an athlete, Leslie took 7th place in the 3000-meter steeplechase at the 2016 USA Olympic Trials. He began his coaching career at Furman University as an assistant coach in 2012 where he stayed for four years. Leslie concluded his time with the Paladins having seen the team make two NCAA Championship appearances, win six Southern Conference team titles and produce 16 Southern Conference individual champions on the track. Leslie was also an assistant coach at George Mason University and Arizona State University before spending a year as the Sun Devils' head cross country coach. A year later, he became the Director and an assistant coach for Tinman Elite until he joined Under Armour’s Mission Run Baltimore distance team in September of 2021. Cory Leslie coaching Under Armour pro athletes during a race at the University of South Carolina // Photo via Jan Figueroa Over the last decade or two, the Ole Miss men and women have developed a strong reputation of middle distance and long distance success. Former Rebel Sintayehu Vissa was crowned the 2022 NCAA 1500-meter champion while her teammate, Mario Garcia Romo, recorded a 1500-meter runner-up finish at the same meet. Those two former Rebels went on to sign professional contracts with On and represent their respective countries of Italy and Spain over 1500 meters at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. This past spring, Ole Miss had 12 middle distance and long distance athletes qualify for the 2026 East Regional Championships over five different events. At the 2025 NCAA XC Championships, the Ole Miss men finished 22nd overall, a three-spot improvement from their 2024 NCAA XC Championships finish. The Rebel women last qualified for the NCAA XC Championships in 2023 where they placed 21st, led by Ryann Helmers' 23rd place All-American finish.