* Caden Leonard (center) is one of the top returners amongst sophomores this year
Photo Credit: Chance Kirby / MileSplit
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We are entering the final countdown to the start of the 2024-2025 cross country season. As we reflect on last year's competition, there were sophomores who stood out on both the cross country course and the track.
One athlete to look out for this fall is Caden Leonard of Southlake Carroll (TX).
After he finished third at the NXR South Regional Championships with a lifetime best of 14:55 for 5K, he finished 21st at NXN. He ended his spring season with four sub-9 minute 3,200m performances and his best one was at the UIL Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He clocked 8:51.57 to finish as the runner up at those championships and as a result, his combined best was 23:47.37.
Daniel Skandera was another athlete who dipped under a combined time of 24-minutes. The standout from Alabama went 15:05 for 5K and 8:53 for 3,200m to run a collective time of 23:58.71.
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