How Many Boys Will Break 15 Minutes At MileStat.com Invite?

WATCH LIVE: MileStat.com XC Invitational

A total of 5 sub 15 minute, 34 sub 16 minute, and 182 sub 17 minute high school cross country 5K runners are set to race amongst an entire meet over 5,000 runners and 200 schools at the 2023 MileStat.com XC Invitational. This will undoubtedly be the deepest field in the meet's rich history spanning over two decades. 

Last year's elite boys race saw a course and meet record victory by Charlie Ortmans of The Potomac School at 14:40 and four other runners remarkably joining him under 15 minutes on the Pole Green Park 5K course in Mechanicsville. There is potential to see even more than 5 under 15 minutes this season including 2 of the runners who broken 15 minutes in last year's race in local Richmond area runners Berkley Nance of Mills Godwin at 14:51 and Quinn Parrish of James River at 14:51. 

Nance earlier this season ran 13:58 for 3 miles to finish fifth at the super competitive Woodbridge Classic in California and last March ran 14:47 indoors for 5K in Boston at the New Balance Nationals Indoor meet. He also clocked PR's of 4:15 in the 1600 and 9:10 for two miles on the track last spring. 

Meanwhile Parrish is still looking to find his top form from last fall with a third place finish of 16:08 at Oatlands last month and 15:46 season best performance at Great American one weekend ago. Parrish last spring though popped a 9:06 3200 meter PR at the Arcadia Invitational in California and also ran 15:07 on the track for 5K at New Balance Nationals Outdoor in June at Franklin Field. 

One of the biggest out of state draws in the meet will be from Pennsylvania in Butler senior and Notre Dame commit Drew Griffith, who has been undefeated so far this season and has a 5K personal best of 14:49 from last fall. Griffith in the 2022 cross country season won the Foot Locker Northeast Regional and finished 8th for All-American honors in the national race at Balboa Park in San Diego. Over the track season, Griffith ran 8:52 for 3200 meters and 4:08 for 1600 meters.

North Raleigh Christian Academy's Tyler Surface is already sharp and ready to go sub 15 this weekend as he has already done it twice this season on the same course at WakeMed Soccer Complex in Cary, North Carolina at the adidas XC Challenge (6th, 14:58) and most recently last Saturday at Great American (9th, 14:56). He has experience racing at the MileStat.com XC Invitational finishing 11th last year in a time of 15:30, but obviously has improved since then including a 15:00 5K performance on the track as well during the indoor season.

Similar to Tyler Surface, the top runner for the team favorites Calvert Hall College from Maryland in senior Cameron Davis broke 15 minutes this season twice in the same races at adidas XC Challenge (7th, 14:59) and Great American Festival (10th, 14:56). Davis and Surface will be racing close and pushing one another this weekend for the third time in the last four weekends on Saturday at the MileStat.com Invite. 

Beyond the five entered athletes who have already celebrated a performance with the 14 minute mark still reading on the clock is a pack of runners chomping at the bits to join them with personal bests in the low 15 minute range.  

One particular runner that should be ready to roll is Knights Crossing Invitational champion and Oatlands Invitational runner-up Bazil Mathes of Monticello. Mathes rolled to his 15:04 best to break and shatter the Knights Crossing Invitational meet record and Green Hill Park course record previously held by Blacksburg's Conner Rutherford.

Rutherford went onto break 15 minutes at the MileStat.com XC Invitational as well as win the Nike Cross Southeast Regional last season. Mathes has incredible range and speed as shown with dropping a 1:53 800 meter time last spring from the University of Virginia commit. The defending VHSL class 3A state champion Mathes also broke 9 minutes for 3200 meters at the Dogwood Track Classic last spring in 8:58 with a runner-up finish. 

Another returning VHSL state champion in the field and one of the top returnees from last year's race in 2022 class 5 state champion Brady Brennan of Brooke Point is back to see if he can topple his 15:07 PR run from last October's MileStat.com XC Invite. Brennan finished 6th with the 15:07 performance at Pole Green before ending up as the class 5 state champion at season's end.

Earlier this season, Brennan opened his season at Pole Green Park albeit different course with a 15:46 runner-up finish at the Pole Green Classic. He finished third last week at Octoberfest in 15:08 on a three mile course contested at Great Meadow. 

Woodbridge's Hayden Goodman finished ahead of him at Octoberfest in the runner-up spot with a time of 14:55 for three miles and boasts a personal best of 15:28 that is ready to be destroyed this season. That PR performance came in a victory on a hillier and tougher Panorama Farms course at the VTCA Fall Classic last month. Goodman might be one of the best new candidates to join the sub 15 club in the field. 

Both William Pardue of Jefferson Forest and Alex Jordan of Jefferson Forest are returning top 10 finishers from the 2022 MileStat.com XC Invitational when they rolled to lifetime best 5K times of 15:10 for Pardue in 7th place and 15:15 for Jordan in 8th place.

Pardue went onto to break 9:10 twice for 3200 meters during the track season and currently has a modest season best 5K time of 15:43 from the Park Invitational last week and finished 5th at the Oatlands Invitational in 16:09. 

The Jefferson Forest senior Jordan actually has already broken 15 minutes for 5K but not in cross country yet and instead on an indoor track with a 14:58 performance at New Balance Nationals Indoor last March. Last year's 4A state runner-up Jordan had a solid start to his season at Knights Crossing with a 15:23 season best run, but is looking to bounce back from an off day at Great American last weekend when he ran 16:23 to finish 23rd in the varsity blue division race. 

Beyond the aforementioned top 10 fastest entrants, expect some new names and performers to break through on Saturday as the PR and season best that typically is found with the great competition and typically good course and weather conditions this time of year annually for the MileStat.com Invitational. 

Sub 17 Entrants for 2023 MileStat.com XC Invitational