8 Stars To Watch At The 2026 Liberty Bell Invitational

Unlike everyone else on this list, Lange is just a sophomore heading back to Liberty Bell for just the second time in her career, with her last trip resulting in a fourth-place finish and her first trip into the 16s. Lange ran 16:58.2 in 2025 to become the first-ever Colorado girl to break 17:00 as a freshman, besting Emily Cohen's (Cherry Creek) previous class record by 28 seconds. She also became just the 18th freshman in high school history to break 17:00, joining a very coveted club that even some of the greatest prep runners in history aren't a part of. She'll look to challenge Reuter and lower her PB even farther into the 16s, potentially even ahead of Ella Hagen's (Summit) sophomore state record of 16:45.1.

The last time Hassan took his talents to Littleton, he won the junior varsity race by 42 seconds, which at the time was a 56-second PB. Crossing in 15:30.4 was only the beginning for Hassan, who went on to run 14:50.1 at Nike Portland XC and 14:37.7 at NXR Southwest later on in the season. The junior cemented his legitimacy with a stellar track campaign, one that saw him run 4:00.9 and become the fastest sophomore miler in U.S. history. He also ran 8:43.03 to break Lex Young's previous record of 8:43.71, now the fastest sophomore over 3200m ever. He's already gotten into the win column this fall, winning the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede over Castle View's Evan Dann, who he will see tomorrow.

The only out-of-state athlete on this list, Madsen is the second-fastest Wyomingite in state history, and is a mere 15 seconds away from becoming the second one to break 17:00. Last year marked her second trip to the meet, ultimately running 17:32 in her 13th-place finish. The Wyoming state champion and eighth-best returner, she could play spoiler in what Coloradoans are hoping is a historic day for the sport. She's already off to a strong start in her final cross country season after placing fourth at the John Martin Invitational, where she ran 17:52.3.

Just like his brother, Dann is one of the top runners across Colorado, and he has the resume to more than back it up. After running sub-15 for the first time in his career at this meet a year ago, Dann had a track season that culminated in a 14:24 5000m and an 8:49.04 3200m, two of the top times in the nation and two that put him in really good position to make yet another jump. At the 2025 Cheyenne Mountain Stampede, Dann opened up his sophomore season with a 16:52.4, but ran 15:27.8 less than two weeks ago for his season opener, making him an underrated sleeper this weekend.

After not racing at Liberty Bell her junior year, Cooper is back for one last go around as a senior, hoping to get back into the low 17s after running 17:08 as a sophomore. That's not to say Cooper isn't capable, because she undoubtedly is, especially after her consistency a year ago and her 17:20 SB. Her most recent track season saw her earn a pair of All-State finishes, and has already gotten rid of the preseason nerves after opening up her season at the Cherry Creek Steve Lohman Invitational. The senior ran 18:33.4 in her fifth-place finish, and will see a few familiar faces on the line in less than 24 hours.

When Johns stepped up to the line last weekend at the John Martin Invitational, he had a 15:07 PB and had run 15:59 in his season opener at the meet the year prior. Heading into this weekend, he owns a PB of 14:56.2, and could run under 15:00 for the second consecutive week if things go his way. Last week in Fort Collins, Johns led his Lambkin teammates to a 2-3-4 finish, finishing runner-up behind Antheney Herre (Loveland Classical) who won in 14:49.5. Johns will have a chance to avenge last week's finish against Herre and a stacked field this weekend.