National Boys Performer of the Week (09/04-09/10)

National Performer of the Week
Maxx Bradley

* Ethan Edgeworth (left) won the season's second NPOTW poll; Bazil Mathes is one of five nominees for this week's National Performer of the Week

Photo Credit: MileSplit

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Cold Springs (AL) senior Ethan Edgeworth won the Scottsboro Invitational last Saturday in a then nation-leading time of 14:45.24. Edgeworth pulled away from the field, winning by roughly 55 seconds, breaking the previous course record of 14:52.02.

In the process, the future Tennessee Volunteer also lowered his PR by 23 seconds, breaking 15 minutes for the first time. Last week, Edgeworth collected nearly 60-percent of the votes, winning the season's second National Boys Performer of the Week. 

Now, it's time to vote for this week's NPOTW, with five new boys up for the honor.

The poll will end on Friday and winners will be announced next Monday. 


Here are the nominations for the National Boys Performer of the Week Poll:

Manny Putz, Onalaska (WI): After having to watch the spring track season from the sidelines, the Wisconsin junior hasn't missed a beat in his first weekends of racing since last November. Over the weekend, Putz competed a state over in Iowa, running the Luther All-American Invitational. Putz outlasted the field of 250 athletes, winning in 15:19.40, a new course record. This bests his time on the same course from a year ago by 27 seconds.

Clay Shively, Trinity Academy (KS): The Northern Arizona commit etched his name in the Kansas record books yet again, but this time on the grass. Saturday night, Shively led three boys sub-15 at Olathe Twilight in Olathe, KS. Shively clocked 14:42.60, setting a new five-second PR. Shively also snatched the Kansas state record and the Kansas soil record all in one go. This was Shively's first win of the season, and a dominant one at that. 

Bazil Mathes, Monticello (VA): In his season debut, Mathes opened up in a 15:04.30 as he won the Knights Crossing XC Invitational. To this day, no high schooler has ever ran sub-15 at Green Hill Park in Salem, VA. However, Mathes is now the closest to ever achieve the feat, with his mark from Saturday bettering the course record by two seconds. Mathes also shaved 22 seconds off of his previous PR as he topped the massive field of over 450 runners.

Sam Scott, Minneapolis Southwest (MN): Scott kept his senior win streak alive, this time winning the Hopkins Bauman/Rovn Invitational at Gale Woods Farm in Minnetrista, MN. It took the senior just 15:03.09 to make his way across the challenging terrain. Only one athlete has ever broken 15 at Gale Woods Farm, and only four have ever done it on Minnesota soil, meaning Scott is pretty close to etching his name in more Minnesota record books. This was Scott's fastest time of his career, bettering his previous PR of 15:08.69, that was ran on the same course in October of 2022.

Benjamin Anderson, Mountain Vista (CO): The Liberty Bell Invitational is a demanding course due to the varying the terrain, and of course the up-hill finish. However, the most prominent challenge is the fact that it's ran at an altitude of 5400 feet. A year ago, Anderson clocked 15:00 to finish 5th, but this year he wanted the win, and oh, did he get it. He took the win in 14:48.90, besting his previous PR by 12 seconds over the weekend. Anderson now sits behind Colorado legends Parker Wolfe, Cole Sprout and Christian Groendyk in the course record books, and is now one of the only athletes under 14:50 at this point in the season.


NPOTW Week 1: