JESUIT'S BRADY MULLEN (RIGHT) COMPETES AT THE NIKE SOUTH REGIONALS
[EDITOR'S NOTE: We are counting down the Top 15 stories in 2024. Today, we are on No. 11. If you miss an article, you can catch up by checking out the links at the bottom of this article.]
In the heat of battle, there are some stories that simply get missed...or under covered. It happens. One of those stories in 2024 was the fact that Louisiana had two runners--Jesuit's Brady Mullen and Parkview Baptist's Aiden Monistere-- to compete at NXN-Nike Cross Nationals in Eugene, Oregon.
It was their performance at Nike South Regionals, which was held five days after the 2024 LHSAA State Cross Country Championships, that allowed two of Louisiana's best ever to punch their ticket to the Super Bowl of high school distance running.
It's believed that the only other runner in Louisiana history to qualify for NXN is former John Curtis star Devyn Keith, who finished No. 84 in 2015 with a time of 16:05.
PARKVIEW BAPTIST'S AIDEN MONISTERE TALKS ABOUT QUALIFYING FOR NXN
If only one runner in Louisiana has ever qualified for the "big dance," how in the world did we have TWO runners to qualify this year?
It sure wasn't luck of the draw?
No. 1, Mullen and Monistere have been blessed with incredible God-given talent, but when it comes to qualifying for a national championship of this magnitude, it takes more than that. It takes discipline. It takes sacrifice. It takes resolve. And it takes all of those things every single day.
For Mullen, who barely missed out on qualifying for NXN after his state-championship junior campaign in 2023, it was extra sweet.
READ MORE: LOUISIANA'S BEST PREPARE FOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS!
At NXN, competing against the best in the nation, Monistere finished No. 25 with a time of 15:57 on a wet and muddy course. Mullen finished No. 36 with a 16:05.
With Mullen and Monistere graduating in May, it begs the question. Who will be the next Louisiana distance runner to qualify for NXN? And when will Louisiana have a year when it can send two--or even three-- runners to the national championship?
JESUIT'S BRADY MULLEN (RIGHT) COMPETES AT THE NIKE SOUTH REGIONALS
[EDITOR'S NOTE: We are counting down the Top 15 stories in 2024. Today, we are on No. 11. If you miss an article, you can catch up by checking out the links at the bottom of this article.]
In the heat of battle, there are some stories that simply get missed...or under covered. It happens. One of those stories in 2024 was the fact that Louisiana had two runners--Jesuit's Brady Mullen and Parkview Baptist's Aiden Monistere-- to compete at NXN-Nike Cross Nationals in Eugene, Oregon.