NEW ORLEANS – Indiana State cross country and track and field alumnus Rick Sluder was named the 2025 USTFCCCA National High School Cross Country Coach of the Year, as announced by the organization earlier in the week.
Sluder currently serves as the head cross country coach at Columbus North (Ind.) HS, where he led the Bull Dogs to the 2025 IHSAA Boys Cross Country State Championship. Columbus North's 58 points at the IHSAA Cross Country Championships, which was contested at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course, was the lowest score at the state meet since 2003 and the 71-point margin of victory was the highest since 2010.