* Luke Surface ran 15:12 as an eighth-grader at the adidas XC Challenge
Photo Credit: Dan Loughlin/MileSplit North Carolina
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What a weekend it was for the next generation of long-distance stars! There were national records, huge upsets, and a lot of blistering performances from the nation's underclassmen.
Following another weekend of top-tier racing, check out this week's quartet of future stars!
MILESPLIT MILESPLIT:
North Raleigh Christian Academy (N.C.)
Class of 2030
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The future of North Carolina distance running looks to be in good hands thanks to middle school phenom Luke Surface. The eighth-grade standout finished runner-up at the adidas XC Challenge, where he was just two seconds shy of winning the Championship Boys race. Surface clocked 15:10.2, making him the first middle schooler ever to break 15:20, establishing a new national middle school record.
Penn Charter (Penn.)
Class of 2029
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Just a freshman, Skelly made a statement at the 71st Annual George School Invitational. Skelly built a 16-second lead on the chase pack, ultimately crossing the line in 16:53.7, a new lifetime best. The freshman is now the fifth Pennsylvanian girl to break 17:00, and the first freshman in state history to accomplish the feat. The young star also led her squad to a dominant team win, winning 32-78 over Abington Heights 02.
Gonzaga Preparatory (Wash.)
Class of 2029
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When he's not winning national titles on the wrestling mats, Parr-Coffin is running sub-15 as a high school freshman. At The Mook XC Invite at Alderbrook, Parr-Coffin nearly left Tillamook with the win. Running 14:29.6, the freshman came within just half of a second of his first win over 5k, but that'll have to wait another week. The future star became the first Washington freshman to run sub-15, and now holds the No. 2 spot on the state's all-time list.
JSerra (Calif.)
Class of 2028
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At the 44th Annual Woodbridge Classic, there were a whole bunch of upperclassmen towards the top half of the results. However, the first underclassman to charge across the finish line was none other than JSerra's front runner. Streadbeck finished 16th in the Bob Day Girls Sweepstakes race, running 16:36.10 as the 20th-ranked squad pulled off the biggest upset of the season so far. The Lions took down Union Catholic Reg. (N.J.) and Buchanan (Calif.) pretty handily, winning 123-182-223 over the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the COROS MileSplit50.