It takes a special athlete to be a contender at the high school level when they are in the eighth grade. Last season there were 189 boys that ran a 5K at the high school level. Some other may have run a 5K but it was not in a high school race setting. With those 189, there are already 8 of them that have broken the 18 minute barrier.
The incoming freshman are led by Sean Simons of Corbin. Sean had an incredible 8th grade year after placing 14th at the state meet in class AA. He ran virtually all high school meets last year helping Corbin to a top 10 team finish. He continued his roll into track season as he placed 7th in the 3200m at the class AA outdoor state meet. His track region is one of the toughest in the state with the like of Boyle County and Mercer County, but he managed to place in the top 7 in both the 1600m and 3200m in the spring.
On a repeat discussion from the rising sophomore boys, George Rogers Clark has another young athlete that will be entering high school this year. Cody Cooper comes from a long line of runners as his older sister Makenzie Cooper has been a standout for GRC for the past couple years. Now it is little brothers turn. He competed at both the middle school and high school level last outdoor season with the highlight being his 10th place finish in the 800m at the KTCCCA Middle School State Championship.
Brady Masters might be the name to keep your eye on the most this season. He has the #3 incoming time for a freshman in the 5K, but he is the leading 4K runner at the middle school level by 15 seconds. He was the middle school state champion at the KTCCCA Meet of Champions and ran away from the field. He ran both high school and middle school races in cross country last season but purely middle school meets in track season. His experience at the high school state meet last season (placing 62nd in class AAA state cross country) will give him a leg up on the other youth as they enter the world of high school cross country.
Some other names to keep an eye on this season based on middle school 4K times include:
Samuel Lanham of Marshall County - KTCCCA Meet of Champions Runner Up, KTCCCA Middle School State Championships 5th place in both the 800m and 1600m.
Jake Pyles of North Oldham - KTCCCA Meet of Champions 3rd place, KTCCCA Middle School State Championships 4th place in the 1600m
Blake Whiteley of St. Xavier - KTCCCA Meet of Champions 4th place, KTCCCA Middle School State Championships 1600m State Champion and 800m State Runner Up
Dalton Lesher of Bullitt East - KTCCCA Meet of Champions 43rd place, KTCCCA Middle School State Championsips 3200m State Runner Up
Logan Stafford of Montgomery County - KTCCCA Middle School State Championships 1600m State Runner Up
5000 Meter Run
| Rank | Time | Athlete/Team | Grade | Meet Date Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16:57.41 |
Corbin
|
2022 |
|
| 2 | 17:28.85 |
George Rogers Clark
|
2022 |
|
| 3 | 17:31.72 |
Madison Central
|
2022 |
|
It takes a special athlete to be a contender at the high school level when they are in the eighth grade. Last season there were 189 boys that ran a 5K at the high school level. Some other may have run a 5K but it was not in a high school race setting. With those 189, there are already 8 of them that have broken the 18 minute barrier.