* Steven West wins the boys gold championship race at the Garmin RunningLane XC Championships last December.
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It's hard to believe we're just over a month away from the start of the 2023 cross country campaign.
As we inch closer to those August and September opening races, we take a look back at some of the top races from 2022.
One of the most memorable moments of last fall came in one of the final races of the season at the Garmin RunningLane XC Championships as a new face found himself in the national spotlight.
In a boys 5k gold championship race contested in sloppy, less-than-ideal conditions at Huntsville's John Hunt Park, Steven West, at the time a Sandia High School (NM) senior and New Mexico state cross country champion, shocked the field as he beat out some of the country's top-ranked distance talents en route to a win.
West celebrated as he crossed the finish line in 15:09.30 and grabbing the title as an under-the-radar candidate.
Traveling out to Alabama from New Mexico, West took down numerous other state champions from Pennsylvania, West Virginia and South Carolina, among others.
And it was a monumental race for West, who entered the race as an uncommitted senior. Since that win, he's signed to the University of New Mexico, where he'll compete collegiately beginning this fall.
Continue to visit MileSplit in the coming weeks as we begin to release pre-season coverage ahead of 2023 cross country competition.
Related Links:
Steven West Felt A Rush. Then He Chased After It.
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