* Keegan Smith set a Tennessee state record en route to his NXR Southeast title
Photo Credit: Dan Loughlin/MileSplit North Carolina
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A handful of postseason qualifiers played host to a number of all-time performances, including a few state records.
The National Performer of the Week poll will close at 5 p.m. CT on Thursday, November 28, and the winner will be announced shortly after.
Take a look at five of the top-performing boys from last weekend.
This Week's Nominees:
Griffin Kushen, Tesoro (Calif.): The senior added a CIF SS title to his resume, running 14:38.5 in his 16-second win, making a statement ahead of his third appearance at the CIF Cross Country Championships. Last November, Kushen was sixth overall, and this year he is one of the top contenders throughout Division II.
Kaden Evans, American Fork (Utah): Another year, another superstar runner out of American Fork. Evans broke the Utah state record over the weekend at the NXR Southwest Championships, running 14:24.37. Evans has now cemented himself as one of the greatest Utah distance runners in the state's successful history. He's now sitting at No. 25 on the all-time high school list.
Keegan Smith, Knoxville Catholic (Tenn.): Are you not entertained? The Boulder-bound senior broke a number of records over the span of 14:23.3. That's how long it took Smith to cover the 5k course at WakeMed Soccer Complex, breaking the course and Tennessee state record along the way. Smith is now the 19th-fastest high schooler in U.S. history.
Evan Noonan, Dana Hills (Calif.): For the second consecutive week, Noonan was the first runner across the finish line, this time running 14:42.9 at the CIF SS Championships. Noonan won comfortably by 12 seconds, and will look to defend his D3 title from a year ago and secure his spot on the NXN starting line.
Kyle Steadman, Mountain View (Utah): He didn't get the win, but the senior ran his way to a huge lifetime best of 14:27.66, his third time under 15:00 this fall. Steadman is now the second-fastest Utah high schooler over 5k, ahead of notable distance greats Conner Mantz, Daniel Simmons, and Casey Clinger.
NPOTW's Previous Winners:
Week 1: Ruel Newberry, Denton-Guyer (Texas)
Week 2: Luke Alverson, James Clemens (Ala.)
Week 3: Alex Bruns, St. Xavier (Ohio)
Week 4: Tayshaun Ogomo, Herriman (Utah)
Week 5: Jackson Hogsed, Lambert (Ga.)
Week 6: Caden Leonard, Southlake-Carroll (Texas)
Week 7: TJ Hansen, Freeland (Mich.)
Week 8: Ethan Zuber, Ankeny (Iowa)
Week 9: Soheib Dissa, Newtown (Conn.)
Week 10: Grady Lenn, De Pere (Wis.)
Week 11: Ryan Sykes, Horace Greeley (N.Y.)