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Noah Breker and Abbey Nechanicky put together two of the greatest individual cross country seasons by a Minnesota runner we've ever seen in 2022. As such, both Breker and Nechanicky finished the season ranked inside the top ten of the MileSplit50 rankings which rank all runners nationally.
Breker finished the season as the #8 runner after an excellent season that saw him break the Minnesota state record for the 5K and finish as the runner-up at Champs Sports Nationals.
Here's what his MileSplit50 ranking said about him:
Roy Griak champion. Top-10 finisher at both Team Nationals and Champs Sports. What else is there to say about Breker? A lot could be said about the season the Robbinsdale Armstrong senior put together, but it all boils down to the fact that Breker made a name for himself on the national stage this fall. He ran a new 5K PR of 14:51 to break the Minnesota state record and beat out top talents in elite invitatinoal fields, including at Roy Griak and the national championships. Though he didn't win his state meet, Breker bounced back to perform perhaps better than expectations against the country's best distance runners.
There wasn't much that Noah Breker didn't do this season. He started his season off with a St. Olaf High School Showcase win, won the Roy Griak boys gold race, won the Northwest Suburban Conference title, qualified for Team Nationals as an individual, became Minnesota's first Champs (Footlocker/Eastbay) National Qualifier since 2008, finished as runner-up at Champs Nationals and broke the Minnesota boys XC 5K state record.
Breker had a truly historic season that was only interrupted by illness and injury at the Sections and State meet. His 5K time of 14:51.00 was a new state record by 3 seconds, improving on Seth Eliason's record from 2016.
Along the way, Breker also broke the Gale Woods Farm course record and ran the fastest 5K time on Minnesota soil ever with his time of 14:57.20. Overall, a truly historic season for Breker. He is also the only Minnesota high school boy ever to run a sub-15-minute 5K more than one time.
Related: MileSplit50 National Boys Individual Final Rankings
Nechanicky finished the season with a final ranking of #6 nationally after finishing 4th overall at Team Nationals and leading the Wayzata girls to a 9th place finish.
She ran one of the best high school seasons ever seen in Minnesota, going undefeated from her first race at the St. Olaf High School Showcase all the way to the Team Heartland Regional. She then finished her season at Team Nationals with a 4th-place finish only behind Irene Riggs, Brooke Wilson, and Bethany Michalak.
This season Nechanicky broke the Wayzata school record for the 5K, set the Gale Woods Farm record, broke the 17-minute mark in the 5K six times, broke the Heartland regional meet record, won the Class AAA state title, and ran the fastest high school girls 5K on Minnesota soil ever.
Nechanicky now owns the 2nd fastest 5K time by a Minnesota girl ever with a time of 16:43.70, only behind Analee Weaver's time of 16:42.60, and has the #2, #3, #4, #5, and #7 5K times ever by a Minnesota high school girl.
She also led the Wayzata girls to an undefeated season that culminated in the Class AAA state title and then their first berth to Team Nationals since 2018 when they finished 3rd overall.
Related:
- Polls: Minnesota Boys XC Runner of the Year (Final)
- Polls: Minnesota Girls XC Runner of the Year (Final)
- Noah Breker Shares Thoughts on Champs Nationals
- Breker Finishes 2nd at Champs Sports Nationals
- Introducing Your MN Boys Runner of the Year Candidates
- Introducing Your MN Girls Runner of the Year Candidates