From Not Making Nationals to NXN Runner-Up in One Season | The Yohanes Van Meerten Story

Every few years, a high school runner comes along who forces the entire country to look toward one place.

This fall, that place was Flagstaff, Arizona, and the runner was Yohanes Van Meerten.

Yohanes is a prominent high school distance runner from Flagstaff High School in Arizona, who just finished an outstanding junior season. We’re not kidding when we say outstanding: he was the runner up at Nike Cross Nationals, the highest finish ever for an Arizona athlete at the meet.

He also won the Arizona state championship, setting an overall course record and becoming the first runner in state history to run a 5,000m race in under 15 minutes. 

He set a course record at the Mt. Sac Invitational, running three miles in 14:10.10. His outdoor PRs include 4:26 in the mile, 9:14 in the 3200m, and 14:28 in the 5,000m.

Yohanes was born in Ethiopia and adopted into the U.S. at age one. His story is unique as he emerged as one of the top national high school runners during his junior year, following the impressive 14:28 performance in the 5000m at Nike Outdoor Nationals last spring.

He’s Arizona’s fastest. He’s one of the nation’s best. And he’s just getting started. 

Yohanes is here and ready to tell his story.

Tap into the Yohanes Van Meerten Special.

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