Southlake Carroll's Caden Leonard, a cross country star who recently won the 6A state championship in the 1,600 meter race, ran at the prestigious Nike Indoor Nationals last weekend alongside some of the top runners in the country.
Leonard placed 12th with a time of 4:12.25.
The Carroll junior was named the 2024-25 Texas Gatorade Player of the Year in boys cross country in February -- the second year in a row that he's received this award given annually to a high school boy and girl in each sport.
Leonard, the no. 1 ranked junior in the country, led Carroll to its second straight University Interscholastic League Class 6A state championship in the fall, running a 14:50.1 -- ten seconds faster than his time in the same race his sophomore year. Leonard also won the NXN South Regional race and finished in third place at this year's national championships.
Leonard clocked a personal best at the District 4 5K championship this year, where he won with a time of 14:33.5. He's also a two-time Nike All-American.