Preseason 5k Rankings: Top Returning Boys Class Of 2026

Everything to help prepare you for the upcoming 2023 cross country season from rankings to predictions to runners to watch!

Preseason Rankings

Class Leaders By Division

Division	Runner	School	Time
Division I Class AAA	Owen Clemons	Cleveland	15:01
Division I Class AA/A	Wyatt Boling	MLK	16:38
Division II Class AA	Radek Molchan	Knox Catholic	15:36
Division II Class A	Yianni Sinis	Tipton-Rosemark	16:40
Home School - HXN	Nathan Smith	Augustine	16:58

Click Above ^ To Full Class Rankings (Note: Ryder Ortner has transferred from USN to Father Ryan).

Head Of Class... Again

A year after the Class of 2025 took over the national leaderboard for freshman, the Tennessee Class of 2026 nearly matched their predecessors a season later. Cleveland's Owen Clemons took the top spot in the nation with his 15:01 at Saturday Light Fever (his second 5K of the day), Radek Molchan of Knox Catholic ranked 13th with a 15:36 at Southern Showcase, and Brentwood's Kehler Vaughn comes in just three spots behind in 16th with a 15:38 at Jesse Owens. Only Texas had more runners in the national top 20 than Tennessee. 

Kehler Vaughn after his first 5k as a freshman at the Voyles Classic.

Class Of 2026 Overall

Continue To Full Class Of 2026 Rankings >>>

Catch up with all our previous coverage in this series below.