Indiana Boys Performance of the Week
Make sure to cast your vote for this week's performer of the week here! Every week we will be conducting a poll beginning Monday and ending Thursday to highlight performances from the previous week. This will give us an opportunity to showcase some of the best talent in Indiana. Though some athletes will likely run times every week that are worthy of being in the poll, our goal is to showcase a vast array of athletes that win or have notable performances from all parts of the state. Once an athlete earns a performer of the week title they will be ineligible for the following weeks, this will allow for new names to pop up each week to celebrate various accomplishments.
Each week's poll can be found in the "More Articles in Series" link below. A brief summary of each week's winner can also be found under the poll.
Boys Performer of the Week from 9/2-9/8: Jackson Nolan - Evansville F.J. Reitz
Jackson Nolan would earn the first boys performance of the year with his victory at the Rick Weinheimer XC Classic held at CERAland Park in Columbus. Nolan was coming off an impressive performance at the Kentucky Run for the Gold invitational where he would finish 3rd with a 15:23 to some of Kentucky's top talent. He would help the team to the title at this meet as well. At Columbus Jackson would be just off breaking the 15 minute barrier with his 15:02 performance. His time puts him as the second fastest 5K for Indiana boys this season behind Noah Bontrager's recent 14:59 at the Marion Invitational.
Boys Performer of the Week from 9/9-9/15: John Libs - Noblesville
John Libs would earn the second boys performance of the year with his victory at the Marion Invitational at IWU. This would be John's first victory in his high school XC career after becoming the Hamilton County runner-up and Rick Weinheimer third place finisher earlier this year. He would run a 15:08 at Columbus North this year before helping his team to a victory with his 15:30 at Marion. As of this week his time ranks him as the fourth fastest boy so far this year.
Boys Performer of the Week from 9/16-9/22: Max Malloy - Elkhart Memorial
Max Malloy would take this week's honors for the third boys performance of the week this year with his victory at the New Prairie AAA race. He would run a 15:42 to knock off Shane Conroy and Mason Nobles. This would be his fifth top 3 finish of the year and third victory with the other two taking place at the Early Bird at Ox Bow Park and the NIC Stomp. The senior looks to make a strong run for the podium this year after missing it during his Junior year cross country and track seasons.
Boys Performer of the Week from 9/23-9/29: Mason Nobles - Valparaiso
Mason Nobles would earn the fourth boys performer of the week this year with his win at the Highland Invitational. He would run a 14:55.9 on a reportedly short course at the Highland Invitational. Although his time won't count towards 5K rankings it was still an impressive performance, especially with a winning margin of close to 30 seconds. Mason was 32nd at the XC state finals as a sophomore before having a sub par day at last year's state meet where he finished 55th. With the trajectory we have seen this season Mason should have a great chance at not only making the XC State podium for the first time in his career but also a potential top 10-15 performance.
Boys Performer of the Week from 9/30-10/6: Kraedyn Young - Jennings County
Kraedyn Young earns the final regular season performance of the week for the boys. Kraedyn has had several great races this fall highlighted by his PR of 15:07 on the incredibly fast Columbus North course. This past week Young would earn a title at the Hoosier Hills Conference meet with a time of 15:43. Young is looking to make a strong case for a top 25 all-state finish this fall after placing 44th at the cross country state finals last fall where he ran to a 15:53.9.