Mississippi's next generation of distance runners continued to make its presence felt as we dive into September. Two middle school athletes competed near the front of major varsity races, climbed the overall state rankings, and helped their teams deliver memorable performances.
In this edition of Mississippi Future Stars, we highlight Coastal Mississippi Wildcats eighth-grader Chloe Parker and Jackson Academy seventh-grader Millin Moomaw. Parker has quickly emerged as one of Mississippi's best runners after recently relocating with her military family, while Moomaw has continued a remarkable rise that began during his sixth-grade season.
Both are already competing well beyond their grade levels, and their early performances suggest they could become familiar names near the top of Mississippi's rankings for years to come.
Chloe Parker (Mississippi Coastal Wildcats)
Parker may be new to the Mississippi running scene, but she did not arrive without experience.
As part of a military family, Parker recently moved to Mississippi after competing for Humphreys High School in South Korea. Because those performances were not recorded through MileSplit, her Mississippi profile initially appeared to belong to a newcomer with little racing history. Her earlier results, however, show that she had already developed into a talented young distance runner before arriving on the Gulf Coast.
Parker began racing at a young age and progressed to the 5K distance during the 2024 season. That year, she ran a personal best of 19:31.8 as a sixth-grader. She took another step forward as a seventh-grader in 2025, competing in five 5K races for Humphreys. She won each of those races, eventually lowering her personal best to 19:02. If that performance were included in Mississippi's top returner rankings, Parker would have entered the season as the fifth-best returner in the state.
When Parker moved to Mississippi, she wasted little time making an impact with her new team. She opened her 2026 Mississippi season with a 19:31.30 at the Cory McGee Open. One week later, she delivered an even stronger performance at the Port City Classic.
Facing a varsity field in Gulfport, Parker won the race in 19:23.04. She was followed closely by teammates Fiona Fox and Ellie Legg as the Coastal Mississippi Wildcats captured the first five finishing positions and recorded a perfect team score of 15 points. After Port City, Parker made her way to Choctaw Trails for the first time in her career.
At The Opener, Parker faced her strongest competition yet but once again proved that she is not just a front-pack runner, but also a tactical and competitive racer. Going out conservatively behind one of the top runners in the state, Grace Hoeniges, she looked strong and comfortable while giving chase. By the end of the race, Parker had climbed to the front and confidently took the win in 19:09 for another personal best.
Through her first three Mississippi races, Parker has hit a new season best every time. Her performance at The Opener ranks her as the fourth-fastest runner in the state and the fastest eighth-grader in Mississippi. In her short time competing this season, she has also already climbed to fifth all-time among Mississippi eighth-grade girls in the 5K.
With a 19:02 personal best already on her résumé from South Korea and a 19:09 performance in the grueling heat at The Opener, Parker's future is looking incredibly exciting. She has a realistic opportunity to challenge for Mississippi's overall lead and continue climbing the state's all-time eighth-grade rankings as the season progresses.
Millin Moomaw (Jackson Academy)
Moomaw is a seventh-grader at Jackson Academy who has already established himself as the fastest seventh-grader in the state and one of the fastest in the country.
His rise began during the 2025 cross-country season. Competing as a sixth-grader, Moomaw consistently raced against older athletes and produced several strong performances over a variety of distances.
He recorded a 10:55.34 for 3000 meters at the Jackson Academy--Jackson Prep Invitational and later ran 18:06.70 for 5K at the Kirk Academy Invitational. His breakthrough came at the Watson High School Cross Country Classic, where he lowered his 5K best to 17:30.56.
That performance made Moomaw the fastest sixth-grade boy in Mississippi by nearly a minute and a half. He finished the season with the top time in his class, running more than 1:27 faster than the next-ranked sixth-grader.
Moomaw carried that momentum into the 2026 track season and continued showing impressive range. He lowered his 1600-meter best to 5:01.09 and repeatedly ran near or below 10:45 in the 3200. At the MSAIS State Championship, he finished the season with a 10:30.96 personal best.
Those track performances provided a strong indication that another cross-country breakthrough could be approaching.
Moomaw opened the 2026 season with an 11:00.10 at the Early Bird 2 Miler. He then stepped up to the varsity 5K at the Southern Heatwave Classic, where he produced one of the weekend's most impressive performances by a young athlete.
The seventh-grader ran 17:20.20 to place ninth overall in a field featuring many of the top high school runners from the Jackson area. He finished ahead of numerous experienced varsity athletes and scored as Jackson Academy's first runner.
His performance lowered his 5K personal best by 10.36 seconds and currently ranks him as the 41st-fastest runner in the state. More impressively, he leads both the national and state seventh-grade rankings by an enormous margin. Nationally, he is the fastest seventh-grader in the country for the 5K distance by 21 seconds, while in Mississippi, the next-fastest seventh-grader is nearly three minutes behind him.
Shortly after the Southern Heatwave Classic, Moomaw stepped onto the big stage at the Memphis Twilight Classic. There, he ran 17:34 for an 82nd-place overall finish. Looking at both of his performances this season, Moomaw's potential for the rest of this year and his career is scary exciting.
Last year, he ran 18:59 at the Memphis Twilight Classic. In just one year on the same course, despite considerably hotter conditions than in years prior, he ran 1:25 faster than he did in 2025. If we apply that level of improvement to his fastest race of the 2025 season, the Watson Classic, where he ran 17:30, then you can do the math. If he continues progressing at this rate, there is a chance he does not just break 17 minutes, but obliterates it and gets dangerously close to the 16-minute mark.
For reference, the fastest seventh-grader ever in Mississippi for the 5K distance was Taylor Brown of Tupelo High School, who ran 17:00 in 2019. In September, Moomaw is already only 20 seconds off that mark and appears to be in shape to run much faster than the current state record.