Josh Hardin

Check out the top rankings in the 5000 Meter Run for VA.

Timpview's Aidan Troutner (UT) ran the 20th all-time fastest boys 5K at the NXN National Championships en route to victory in 2017.

Here are the best performances ever from the Dogwood Track Classic

Here are the all-time rankings on the boys side for 5K

Check out the Virginia boys' all-time performances at McAlpine Park.

Here are the boys top 100 all-time performances at Dogwood.

Here are the top 1,000 boys times ever records at Oatlands.

Here are the top 1,000 times from Great Meadow's non-state course.

Here are the top 100 boys all-time performances from Dogwood Track Classic.

Only two events are being contested on Friday at the Nike Indoor Nationals as the meet has extended from its usual Saturday-Sunday two day format to accomodate the weight throw and 5000 meter run. The weight throw has stacked fields with the US leaders for both boys and girls and many of the US top 10 performances also present. Meanwhile, the 5000 meter run is definitely missing many of the considered elite distance runners in the country, but will be a good opportunity for a next tier of runners to step up and become Nike national champions. Pictured right: Chelsea Oswald of Ohio, a Foot Locker finalist this past fall, is one of several contenders in a fairly wide open girls 5000 meter race on Thursday evening at the Reggie Lewis Center.

Photo by Victor Arrieta One month ago, Josh Hardin was fourth in his regional meet in a time of 16:14. The Potomac Falls senior certainly timed his peak perfectly as four weeks later, Hardin is now headed to the Nike Cross Nationals this week in Portland, Oregon after finishing third at the Nike Cross Nationals Southeast Regional with a personal best time of 15:14. Hardin, an 8th place finisher at the state meet in the AA race, was the top finisher from Virginia in the race this past Saturday in Cary, North Carolina and defeated two state champions in the process in Group A champ Ben Veilleux and Group AA champ Andrew Colley. MileStat.com's Brandon Miles caught up with Hardin as he prepares for a experience and race of a lifetime this weekend at NXN.

Photo by Ted Plunkett The Potomac Falls boys just missed qualifying as a team to the state cross country meet last year, yet find themselves as a darkhorse this year to contend for the AA state title and at least for a top three finish at Great Meadow with all their top runners back from a solid 2007 team. Josh Hardin leads the defending Dulles District champions as he was 26 second winner over teammate Ryan Hagen at last October's district meet. Hardin finished his outdoor season with a 5K personal best performance of 15:33 at Nike Outdoor Nationals. The Panthers have three runners behind him who have ran well under 17 minutes for 5K in Hagen, Robert Mott, and Brian Robinson which could lead to a sweep of the top four individual places at the district meet this season.

 After taking a narrow early season defeat to AA squad Potomac Falls at the Frank Keyser Invite earlier in the season, the Thomas Jefferson boys will be looking to even the score with a win at the Oatlands Invitational. Thomas Jefferson competed without their top runner Brian Landry against Potomac Falls, and showed their true potential with Landry in the lineup at Knights Crossing two weeks ago with a convincing win and nearly five under 17 minutes for 5K. Landry will also find himself in the same race this Saturday with two fellow contenders for the Northern Region title in Thomas Edison's Leoule Degfae and T.C. Williams' Bradshaw Kenimer. Kenimer (pictured above by Ted Plunkett) is looking to defend his Oatlands title from a year ago and re-assert himself as the Northern Region title favorite.

Chantilly junior Lia DiValentin continued her strong start to the fall cross country season with a 13 second win at the Judges Classic over some of AA's top younger distance runners. Potomac Falls sophomore Christina Lee attempted to give DiValentin a challenge, but had to settle for third in 19:20 as Millbrook freshmen Presley Parkes scooted in for second at 19:13. After clocking in at 19:00 on a fair Kernstown Battlefield 5K course in Wincester, DiValentin now appears to be the only unbeaten in AAA as the other top returnees in the classification were dealt early season defeats already. Meanwhile, freshmen Parkes led the Millbrook girls (79 pts) to a team title as the #3 ranked squad in AA proved themselves to be a team worthy of state podium consideration in subduing a challenge from a tough Potomac Falls squad (86 pts).   After picking up a big confidence booster win last Saturday over AAA school Thomas Jefferson, the Potomac Falls boys were brought back to reality in regards to the fact that it will be no easy feat to get out of the Region II Meet as Sherando, the 2006 AA state third place squad, scored a four point win with a total of 86 points over their regional rival Potomac Falls with 90 points. The power of the pack defeated Potomac Falls with only 27 seconds separating Sherando's top five, while 1:48 passed before Potomac Falls' fifth man came across after Potomac Falls top finisher in individual runner-up Joshua Hardin (16:27). Josh Wilson of James Wood won the varsity boys' race in 16:20. Judges Classic Photo Gallery by Robert Lee

  The two Virginia schools in Potomac Falls and Thomas Jefferson Science & Tech dominated the Frank Keyser Invite in Maryland as both teams were well ahead of the third place finishing team, but the bigger surprise came in the AA team Potomac Falls scoring a narrow upset over the annual AAA powerhouse Thomas Jefferson squad. A mere one point separated the two teams with Potomac Falls at 61 and Thomas Jefferson at 62 points. Potomac Falls was led by the race champion in Josh Hardin as the junior clocked a time of 16:05 on the challenging 3 mile course to win by five seconds. Thomas Jefferson competed without their top runner Brian Landry. If they had Landry, currently ranked #7 in Virginia, in their lineup at Frank Keyser, the team outcome could have been different. Nonetheless, Potomac Falls stock should rise knocking off the #6 ranked team in Virginia. The same two teams took the top two places in the girls' team scores as well but with the teams switching orders. The Thomas Jefferson girls had all five of their top five runners among the top 10 individuals for a very dominant team performance, while Potomac Falls was paced by individual champion Christina Lee (pictured above by John Herzog). The Potomac Falls sophomore scorched the competition and course as 36 second winner in 18:46 for three miles.

The John Handley boys pulled off a shocker last week in upsetting defending A state champions and Nike Team Nationals Southeast Region #3 ranked team in Clarke County. Handley, a team projected to the qualify for the state meet out of AA\'s toughest region in Region II in the preseason, has projected themselves even further than previously predicted as a team that can run with the state\'s best. At Saturday\'s Judges Classic, the Handley boys will get another chance in front of the home crowd to show last weekend\'s performance was no fluke as they will be a team to be reckoned with this fall.