Photo courtesy of Carina Semling
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A future star could be described as an individual who has shown high potential in a particular field whilst being of a certain youth and not being an established star yet.
Cotter Eighth grader Erik Semling certainly fits those characteristics and some might say he is already a star among his peers.
Semling recently finished off his eighth-grade cross country season at the Footlocker Midwest Regional in Kenosha, Wisconsin where he ran in the middle-school boys 3K race where he won in dominating fashion with a time of 9:43, winning by 30 seconds.
This capped off a remarkable eighth-grade season that saw Semling run one of the best middle-school campaigns in Minnesota history.
Semlings accomplishments this season include a new state record in the 5K for a Minnesota middle-school boy, being the only boy in Minnesota stat history to run under 16-minutes for the 5K as a middle-schooler, win three meets including a Section 1A title, and finish top-ten at the Minnesota state championships and at his race at NXR Heartland.
All-Time Minnesota Middle-School 5K Times
| RANK | TIME | ATHLETE/TEAM | GRADE | MEET DATE PLACE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15:43.50 | Cotter Schools | 2028 | |
| 2 | 16:05.80 | Rock Ridge High School | 2023 | |
| 3 | 16:06.10 | Chanhassen High School | 2020 | |
| 4 | 16:09.10 | Chanhassen High School | 2020 | |
| 5 | 16:14.20 | Prior Lake High School | 2024 |
On top of his Minnesota success and his success at regional meets, Semling is among the best of the class of 2028 nationally. This season he ran the #2 time in his class (Class of 2028), only behind Kaidin McGuire of Texas. Last year he ran the #3 time in his class as a 7th-grader.
Class of 2028 - Top 5K Times of 2023
| RANK | TIME | ATHLETE/TEAM | GRADE | MEET DATE PLACE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15:41.21 | TX Bay Area Roadwarriors Club | 2028 | Top Speed Elite XC Meet 2nd F |
| 2 | 15:43.50 | MN Cotter Schools | 2028 | |
| 3 | 15:44.38 | TX Bay Area Roadwarriors Club | 2028 | Top Speed Elite XC Meet 3rd F |
| 4 | 16:01.95 | OK Deer Creek High School | 2028 | OSSAA State XC Meet 15th F |
| 5 | 16:14.25 | GA Carrollton High School | 2028 |
If he wasn't impressive enough all-time in Minnesota or compared to the other runners in his class, Semling is also a historically great 8th-grade cross-country runner.
With his time of 15:43.50, Semling ranks #17 all-time for 8th-grade boys cross country runners for the 5K. Ranking #1 is current Indiana sophomore runner Cole Johnston with a time of 15:24.30.
| 15 | 15:42.60 | NY Sachem East | 2016 | Brown Invitational 12th F |
| 16 | 15:43.30 | FL Belen Jesuit Preparatory School | 2027 | Team Southeast Regional 30th F |
| 17 | 15:43.50 | MN Cotter Schools | 2028 | |
| 18 | 15:44.38 | TX Bay Area Roadwarriors Club | 2028 | Top Speed Elite XC Meet 3rd F |
| 19 | 15:45.00 | ND Grand Forks Central High School | 2020 | Hillsboro Invitational 1st F |
Semling has certainly cemented himself as a runner who could be considered a future star nationally and a current star in Minnesota.
We can't wait to see how he continues to grow in the years to come!
