Bismarck’s Jake Leingang has a great year in cross country and track and field on the state and national levels.

If your running partners, figuratively speaking, are Corey Ihmels and Louie Koch, you’re in pretty good company.

Ihmels and Koch could say the same thing about Jake Leingang, who joined them in an elite circle a few weeks back.

Leingang became the third runner to capture three individual state cross country championships last fall, running the 5-K DIckinson course in 15:09.27. He joined Ihmels (1989-91), who is from Williston and Koch (1979-83) who ran for Raleigh St. Gertrude’s.

However, Leingang’s accomplishments transcend North Dakota’s borders, which makes the Bismarck High School senior an obvious choice as my top Class A high school sports story for 2012.