Daniel Vertiz

Southlake's Reed Brown (TX) coasted to a 15:01.80 en route to victory at Foot Locker Nationals in 2016, posting the 36th fastest time run at Balboa Park.

Timpview's Aidan Troutner (UT) ran the 20th all-time fastest boys 5K at the NXN National Championships en route to victory in 2017.

Check out the top 500 performances at the Foot Locker/Eastbay South Regional by Texas boys.

Will Grundy releases his opinion of Texas boys All-Time Top 10 distance runners. Let us know what you think.

The Lukas Verzbicas phenomenon is no one-off. It's sky is raining elite prep runners who are triathletes first and runners second. The latest is track speedster Daniel Vertiz, and we had a few words with him. (via Slowtwitch.com)

Edward Cheserek, St. Benedict’s Prep, NJ & Futsum Zeinasellassie, North Central School, IN

Event 6 Boys 2 Mile Run =============================================================== BROOKS PR: 9:00.62 2/27/2011 AMMAR MOUSSA Name Year School Finals =============================================================== Finals 1 Vertiz, Daniel SR 8:59.15 2 Leingang, Jake JR 8:59.66 3 Fahy, Darren SR 9:01.63 4 Diaz, Jonah SR 9:03.44 5 Smorageiwicz, Tony SR 9:04.18 6 Luna, Luis SR 9:07.83 7 Bishop, Kevin SR 9:07.88 8 Graham, Thomas SR 9:08.29 9 Gardner, Andrew JR 9:12.18 10 Martinez, Danny SR 9:12.37 11 Rog, Conner SR 9:15.59 12 Armstrong, Anthony SR 9:17.12 13 Yorks, Izaic SR 9:17.66 14 Engels, Craig SR 9:18.30  

Loads of great performances at the Brooks PR Invite!  Check them all out inside! (Photo by Leo Collins)

Predictions below are made for fun and entertainment purposes.  Enjoy and feel free to add comments with your own predictions and words of encouragement for the athletes competing this weekend!

The boys race at Foot Locker Nationals has the potential to be a very special event.  The course record of 14:36 at Balboa Park has been held by Reuben Reina since 1985.  This record is in serious jeopardy as both Edward Cheserek (NJ) and Futsum Zenasellassie (IN) have been consistently under 15 minutes this year.  Photos by Victah Sailor/Photorun.net.  Center Photo by Don Rich.

Twenty-two of the nations' top teams and forty-five of the best individuals will make the trek to Portland, Oregon for Nike Cross Nationals. The teams are comprised of two winners from nine different regions and four “At-Large” berths, decided on by a team of Nike consultants. 

US#1 Julie Macedo and US#8 Haley Pierce battled each other relentlessly in Delaware this past weekend, with Haley collapsing and Julie finishing 2nd after staggering close to the finish.  US#4 Grace Tinkey is back and won a state title with the only sub-18 time on the day.  US#6 Erin Finn won her state title in MI and looks poised for a great championship season ahead.  US#7 Katie Knight blasted a 17:10 5k in WA to win a state title and run the fastest time in the state by far.  Full updates on each athletes recent accomplishments are below.  Be sure to click on each athletes name to see times, articles, photos and interviews of each athlete if available.  

US#1 Julie Macedo continues to win, this time taking her conference title with a time of 17:37, as she continues to dominate the national scene.  US#2 Molly Seidel won her 4th straight state title in WI with a time of 13:39.  US#9 Abbey Leonardi won her 4th straight ME crown with a time of 18:27.  US#15 frosh Jordyn Colter won her first CO state title in a dominating way with a time of 18:24.  More state action will heat things up this weekend as we get closer to the championship finals.  Full updates on each athletes recent accomplishments are below.  Be sure to click on each athletes name to see times, articles, photos and interviews of each athlete if available.

Mt. SAC was this past weekend and Sarah Baxter (Simi Valley CA) proved herself in a big way, entering the rankings at #12 after winning the Team Sweeps race with a time of 16:59, the fastest on the day.  Erin Finn (West Bloomfield MI) ran an impressive 17:43 to win by a huge margin at her league meet.  Kelsey Braithwaite (Box Elder UT) moved up to #17 after winning a state title and breaking a 12 year old record with a time of 17:36.4.  Full updates on each athletes recent accomplishments are below.  Mary Cain (Bronxville NY) moved to #19 with her top-10 all-time finish at Bowdoin Park with a 18:05.96 clocking.  And Abbey Leonardi (Kennebunk ME) ran 18:05.59 to set the course record at her Regional meet despite muddy conditions, moving up one spot to #9.  Be sure to click on each athletes name to see times, articles, photos and interviews of each athlete if available.

Many athletes were idle, but there were a few big changes in the rankings this week.  US#1 Julie Macedo (DE) continues to assert her dominance as she won the Joe O'Neill Invite by 42 seconds over US#9 Haley Pierce (DE) with a time of 16:55.26.  US#19 Kelsey Braithwaite (UT) moves into the rankings with her course record setting performance to win the 4A title in 17:36.4.  Also in the rankings for the first time is US#20 Amanda Fox (IL) who ran 16:35.8 for 3 miles at her conference meet.  A lot is going on this weekend with 5 state championships taking place and the big Mt. Sac Invite in CA.  Full updates on each athletes recent accomplishments are below.  Be sure to click on each athletes name to see times, articles, photos and interviews of each athlete if available.

Many athletes were idle, but there were a few big changes in the rankings this week.  US#1 Julie Macedo (DE) took the week off, but will race at the Joe O'Neil Invite in DE this weekend.  Molly Seidel (WI) continues to improve as she put an incredible 13:10 4k clocking on the board with a win at the Lakelands Conference Champs.  Another big mover in the girls rankings was Jillian Fanning (NY) who jumped to US#5 with her performance at the Manhattan Invite.  Jillian led US#1 Fayetteville-Manlius to the win with her 14:03 clocking.  Also making the at US#20 was Brianna Nerud (NY) who defeated Haley Pierce (DE) to finish 2nd in Manhattan with a time of 14:22.  Frosh Alana Hadley (NC) made the list at US#24 by winning the UNC Charlotte Invite with a time of 17:30.  Full updates on each athletes recent accomplishments are below.  Be sure to click on each athletes name to see times, articles, photos and interviews of each athlete if available. 

Julie Macedo (DE) blasted a 17:26 5k in PA to run the 3rd best time on the Paul Short Invitational course to settle into the #1 spot.  Grace Tinkey (GA) goes to the number two spot while Molly Seidel (WI) retains the third spot.  Haley Pierce (DE) rockets up the rankings as she proves she is healthy with a win at the Great American XC Festival.  Other newcomers to the rankings include New Yorker Mary Cain at #18, Maria Hauger (MN) at #22 and Sarah Fakler (AZ) at #23.  Full updates on each athletes recent accomplishments are below.  Be sure to click on each athletes name to see times, articles, photos and interviews of each athlete if available.

US#1 Edward Cheserek (NJ) set a new course record of 14:53 at Holmdel Park NJ. US#7 Anthony Armstrong and US#9 Amy-Eloise Neale top Sunfair in WA. (Photo by MaroonNews)

US#2 Futsum Zeinasellassie blasted a CR 14:36 for 5000 meters! Angel Piccirillo #2 AT @ Spiked Shoe. Fay-Man girls perfect in opener!  US#1 Frazier opens season quietly in NC. (Photo by Bob Piccirillo)