He leads the state leaderboards in three events

Cashton Martinez (Hillwood MS, 2030) is the fastest middle school 800m runner in the country. His 1:55.89, run at the Argyle Middle School Zone Meet on Mar 25, sits first nationally and is nearly two seconds clear of the next athlete on the board. 

Martinez also holds the Texas middle school state lead in the 400m at 50.13 (from the NISD/CISD/KISD/AISD Night of Champions on Apr 1), which ranks fifth nationally. And in the 1600m, he went 4:31.69 at the Argyle Middle School Track Meet on Feb 25 and sits seventh nationally. A year ago his outdoor bests were 55.88 in the 400m, 2:06.52 in the 800m, and 4:58.81 in the 1600m. His trajectory should continue to be one to watch.

The 400m field behind Martinez is deep. Jakob Valencia (Katy Haskett MS, 2030) is second in Texas at 50.84 from Katy ISD JH Boys Wk 3 on Apr 9, and ranks 13th nationally. Marvin Oghobasse (Katy Nelson MS, 2030) is third in Texas thanks to his 51.49 from the same meet. Brayden Berry (McCowan MS, 2031) is fourth at 51.81. Austin Juarez (Prosper Rogers MS, 2030) at 51.90 and Jeremih Cortesi (Reynolds MS, 2030) at 51.95 round out the top six.

The 800m board after Martinez has a five-plus second gap to second, but then the competition heats right back up. Roberto Salinas-Morales (Small MS, 2031) ran 2:02.04 at the AISD MS Zone Championships - second in Texas and fifth nationally. At the GVAC Championship on Apr 14, Ivory Sheffield (Pieper Ranch MS, 2030) ran 2:04.30 for third and 14th nationally - a massive PR over his previous MS outdoor best of 2:13.53 - and Logan Henderson (New Braunfels MS, 2030) ran 2:04.66 for fourth (18th nationally) right behind him. Colsen Ing (Tison MS, 2030) is fifth at 2:04.80 from the Acton/GMS Track Meet on Mar 3; Oliver Miller (Katy Beck MS, 2030) rounds out the top six at 2:04.89 from Katy ISD JH Boys Wk 4 on Apr 16, a PR over his previous MS outdoor best of 2:14.41.

The 1600m field has its own range, though Martinez's 4:31.69 from February leads the state by more than six seconds. Jayson MacIntyre (Katy McMeans MS, 2030) is second at 4:37.73 from Katy ISD JH Boys Wk 4 on Apr 16. Jacob Soto (Trinity Christian Willow Park, 2030) holds third at 4:40.60 from the Lena Nelson MS Relays on Apr 7. Miller doubles in the event in fourth at 4:41.29 from Katy ISD JH Boys Wk 4 on Apr 16, 45th nationally. Pedro Hernandez (Hal Peterson MS, 2030) rounds out the top five at 4:42.19 from the SWAC District Championship on Apr 30.