SOPHOMORES
- - -
Photo Credit: Anthony Torns
Southlake Carroll (TX)
- - -
Leonard opened his sophomore season with a strong start.
At the Southlake Carroll meet in mid-August, he scored a personal best and first-place finish in the 3,200m in a time of 9:12. He followed with a three-mile best of 14:32.30 the very next week.
This past Saturday at the Woodbridge Cross Country Classic, Leonard upended that personal best and lowered it to 14:16, which was nearly 30 seconds faster than his time the year before.
Leonard's freshman season may have prepared him for these early wins.
For example, he placed sixth overall at the Texas UIL Class 6A State Championships in November and was fourth at the Texas Distance Festival last March with a 5K PR of 14:33. That performance was 10th-best in the country for the 2023 outdoor season.
Photo Credit: Christian Lisle
2. Luke Snyder
Rittman (OH)
- - -
Luke Snyder likes to win.
He racked up 10 wins as a freshman and over 13 races, he was no worse than seventh, with a second-place 5K finish at the OHSAA State Championships.
He finished strong with a 61st-place finish at the NXR Midwest Regionals, where he was the only runner from Rittman and the second freshmen-finisher.
As for his freshman outdoor campaign, he garnered 13 first-place wins, four second-place finishes and three thirds.
Entering 2023, Snyder is off to the races.
Since his first meet at the Keystone Icebreaker in Lorain, Ohio, he has ran every weekend since. In his fourth meet as a sophomore, Snyder ran a career 5K best of 15:02 at the Wooster XC Invitational.
Additionally, this past weekend, he placed eighth for seeded boys at the Trinity/Valkyrie Invitational running a 15:03 5K.
Photo Credit: Shawn Conlon
Tippecanoe (OH)
- - -
As the top sophomore to watch out in the Class of 2026, Kimmel is a powerhouse.
This weekend in Louisville at the Trinity/ Valkyrie Invitational, he was second with a personal 5K best of 14:42, one second behind Floyd Central's senior Will Conway. That time is currently U.S. No. 9.
For this meet, Kimmel ran nearly 80 seconds faster than his freshman run and was one of five runners to dip under 15 minutes. As a freshman, Kimmel finished his season with a 25th-place finish at the OHSAA State Championship. He was the only ninth-grader in the top 50, clocking a time of 16:01.
Kimmel also proved successful outdoors, winning a district title in the 3,200m. He went on to finish 11th at the distance at his state championships in 9:16.44.
Related Links: