5K PR: 15:50
Grade: Senior
Classification: MHSAA 6A
2021 ranking: No. 6
Accolades: 2022 MHSAA 6A 1600m Champion | 2021 MHSAA 6A Cross Country Runner-up | 2022 MHSAA 6A 3200m Runner-up
MileSplit Mississippi has officially dropped which Mississippi High School Boy will be filling in the No. 1 spot for the 2022 All-MileSplit Mississippi Cross Country Preseason rankings.
And to no one surprise, it is the 2022 MHSAA 6A 1600m Champion out of Tupelo High School, Jaheim Bridges.
As mentioned, Bridges is coming off of the first-ever state title of his career, winning the 1600m at the 2022 MHSAA 6A Track and Field Championships in an outdoor PR of 4:26.3
Bridges also earned PRs of 1:58.6 in the 800m and 9:42.8 in the 3200m.
RESULTS: 2022 MHSAA 6A Track and Field Championships
Last cross country season, Bridges showed a lot of potential with his win at the 2021 Pontotoc XC Invitational in 15:57. He also had multiple big-time runner-up finishes, including the 2021 MHSAA 6A Cross Country Championships, where he finished second to 2022 Oxford graduate Luke Johnson in 15:56, just two seconds behind Johnson.
RESULTS: 2021 MHSAA 6A Cross Country Championships
Lastly, Bridges had a phenomenal performance at the 2021 Mississippi XC Meet of Champions, running a PR of 15:50 to finish in third place overall to Keegan Leverett and Sam Arnold, two of the best distance runners in the last decade, and taking down studs such as Johnson, Grayson Childress, and Cooper Parmer.
As one can see, Bridges is definitely the class of the field, as he has the most elite resume going into the 2022 cross country season.
According to the 2022 Tupelo High School cross country schedule, Bridges and company has a pretty stacked schedule, with meets such as the Tennessee River Classic, the Memphis Twilight, Saltillo, Jesse Owens, and Watson all on his regime.
Can Bridges be the first sub-15:30 5K runner since East Central's Christian Balcer in 2020?
Could Tupelo be the first ever school to have two sub-15:30 5K runners in the same meet?
We will find out this year!
Next All-MileSplit Mississippi team drop: Wednesday, August 24, 2022