Medium School Boys
Gabe Winter has had a great season so far. The Mooreville middle-schooler has placed in the top ten in all but one race this season. Winter has two wins to his name as well. These came at the 2022 Itawamba Invitational and 2022 Spartan Invitational.
*Gabe Winter at the 2022 Tupelo Invitational
Photo credits: Drew Lewis, MileSplit Mississippi
Winter is a proven competitor, which bodes really well for him heading into this big race.
Ryan Thompson of West Lauderdale is a dark horse for this race. While Thompson has not raced since the middle of September, he had a great start to the season. His last race was the 2022 Panther Invitational, where he won the junior high 3k with a time of 11:28.
Next is David Merrell of Saint Patrick. Merrell raced at Watson this past weekend, where he placed in the top 30 with a time of 12:01 for the 3k.
Medium School Girls
Kayleigh Armstrong is poised to have a great performance. Armstrong has placed in the top 10 of every race this season. She even won the 2022 5 Star City XC Invitational's 2.5 Mile race. Perhaps her most impressive statistic is her 3200m personal best of 13:38.
Another athlete of note is Chloe Rice of South Pontotoc. Rice has proved that she can compete with the top pack as she has placed in the top 15 of every race she has competed in. Rice also has a 3200m personal best under 14 minutes with a 13:56.
Rice's teammate, Harper Rush, should also be mentioned as she has placed high all season and boasts a 3200m personal best of 14:14.