Ten National and State Champions Names to Jim Ryun High School Dream Mile

An all-star list of the country’s top prep distance stars have been confirmed for the inaugural Jim Ryun High School Dream Mile for boys and girls at the adidas Grand Prix on Saturday, June 12, organizers announced Thursday. Included in the list are 10 national or state champions in either track or cross-country. The races are named in honor of Ryun, the first high school runner to ever break four minutes in the mile.

“These kids are already stars at their own high schools, but now they have the chance to race against the country’s top competitors on the same stage as today’s track and field superstars,” Ryun said. “We’ll hopefully see if this race can help determine ‘who’s next’ among this new generation of distance athletes.”

Boys confirmed for the event include:

• Lukas Verzbicas, a sophomore from Orland Park, Ill., dominated in 2009 as the Foot Locker Cross Country champion and as the Nike Indoor Nationals Champion at two miles and 5000 meters. He is the current national high school record holder at 5000m indoors.
• Jake Hurysz, a senior from Mebane, N.C., won the 3200m at the Arcadia Invitational in eight minutes, 49.76 seconds, and was the 2009 North Carolina State Cross Country Champion.
• Kirubel Erassa, a senior from Loganville, Ga., won the 5000m at this year’s Nike Indoor Nationals.
• Craig Lutz, a junior from Flower Mound, Texas, was the 2009 Nike Cross Country Nationals Champion.
• Pat Schellberg, a senior from Morristown, N.J., kicked off 2010 with victories in both the Millrose Games and Penn Relays High School Boys Mile races.
• Isaac Presson, a senior from Asheville, N.C., was runner-up to Schellberg in last month’s Penn Relays High School Boys Mile.
• Kemoy Campbell, a senior from Manchester, Jamaica, was the 2010 Jamaican National High School Champion at 1500m. He also holds the Jamaican national junior record at 5000m.

Girls confirmed for the event include:

• Cory McGee, a senior from Pass Christian, Miss., is a 17-time Mississippi State Champion in cross-country and track and the 2010 Millrose Games High School Mile Champion.
• Emily Sisson, a senior from St. Louis, Mo., was the 2009 Missouri State Champion at the 1600m and 3200m distances, in addition to finishing second in the 3000m at the 2009 USATF Junior Championships.
• Kelsey Margey, a sophomore from Greenlawn, N.Y., was the runner-up in the 800m at the 2010 Nike Indoor Nationals.
• Eleanor Fulton, a junior from Highlands Ranch, Colo., was both the 2009 Colorado State 5A Champion at 1600m and the fifth-place finisher at the 2009 Nike Cross Country Nationals.
• Maddie Meyers, a sophomore from Seattle, Wash., was the fifth-place finisher in the 2009 Nike Indoor Nationals Mile in addition to winning the 2009 Washington State High School 1A cross country title.
• Natoya Goule, a senior from Manchester, Jamaica, won the 800m and 1500m at this year’s CARIFTA Games.

More athletes will be announced in the coming weeks. Click here to visit the Jim Ryun Dream Mile Information Page.