2026 Sub 10:30 Challenge: Indoors

In the wake of the passing of Mike Newman, Illinois Running News is honored to carry forward one of the state’s most beloved traditions: the Sub 5/Sub 6 Challenge. This challenge has long been a staple of the Illinois distance running community, celebrating the pursuit of breaking the 5-minute mile for boys and the 6-minute mile for girls. With the blessing of Noah Lawrence, who played a key role in creating and shaping the original concept, Illinois Running News is committed to preserving the spirit and integrity of the challenge. Our goal is to continue highlighting the athletes chasing these milestone barriers while honoring the legacy that Mike Newman helped build within the Illinois running scene. We continue the same rules that Mike Newman created for the list!

“As track season approaches, I had an idea which I think could foster some excitement among our JV athletes and push us all to be better.  Basically, the goal would be for each coach to maintain a list of the number of athletes on your team that break 5:00 for the 1600 over the course of the season.  This would be an informal competition to determine which team is the "deepest."

​I would send out an email to check in on March 1st, April 1st, May 1st, and finally the week of Sectionals (May 23rd) and will compile the results and update every one of the current and final standings.  As it is a low-stakes competition, this would simply be self-reporting.  You can count any kid that breaks 5:00 either in a meet or a time trial.

I think it could be a fun way to motivate our JV guys to hit that barrier and to make them feel they are an important contributor to the team. In the spirit of full transparency, we had 32 guys run sub-5 last track season, which bested our previous mark of 27 set the year before.  I know some of you have smaller numbers of guys on the team, so perhaps we could also have a category celebrating the team with the highest percentage of team members who break 5:00.”

Noah Lawrence, Hinsdale Central HS , Hinsdale IL - 2014

Sub 5 - Sub 6 Challenge: 2026

Challenge Guidelines

1– All performances must be done between December 1, 2025 until June 15, 2026. Personal Bests from previous seasons cannot be used.

2- You can break either 5:00 or 10:30 for Boys, 6:00 or 12:45 for Girls, in either a meet or a time trial. Coaches: you are on the honor system on this. If a time is performed in a relay, the performance will be allowed.

3- I will publish a final list will be published at the beginning of July.

4- ONLY COACHES from the individual schools may submit performances. We will not accept performances from athletes, parents, or media.

5- What was a tremendous help the past three seasons was the use by Coaches of Google Charts to keep track of their athlete’s performances. Coaches would send in the link for the Google Document. All I would need to do is check the school’s document for updates.

I ENCOURAGE YOU TO USE GOOGLE DOCS TO PLEASE UPDATE ME THIS WAY.

When you set up your document, please set up the fields in this order:

Name | Grade | Time |  Meet  | Date

Example:

FIRST NAME LAST NAME | 12 | 4:30.0 | IHSA State Meet – Charleston IL | 5/29

If you use Athletic.Net to keep track of your athlete’s performances, please let me know and I will pull the performances from there.

6- Indoor lists will be published at the end of March. A complete list of Illinois schools will be listed after the season (June 21).

How to Submit Performances / Contact Info

To submit performances for the

Sub 5 / Sub 6 Challenge,

please e-mail to: illinoisrunningnews@gmail.com

**Due to time constraints we have only mentioned the teams with 4 athletes that have achieved the Sub 10:30 barrier. Our list in the summer will include every athlete in the state that breaks the barrier!**

Plainfield South

1 Alex Batsala 11 9:09.27 Batavia Distance Madness 3/13/2026

2 Austin Cory 12 9:19.25 Batavia Distance Madness 3/13/2026

3 Dylan Buturusis 11 9:20.56 Batavia Distance Madness 3/13/2026

4 Ethan Ensign 11 9:26.97 Illinois Indoor Championships 3/28/2026

5 Phoenix Viger 9 9:36.23 Illinois Indoor Championships 3/28/2026

6 Kellan Hernandez 11 9:37.09 CYUP Misfits Invite 1/18/2026

7 Brady Prokop 12 9:50.08 HF Boys ABC Invitational 3/6/2026

8 Aiden Nissen 11 10:13.40 Clash at the Coliseum 2/28/2026

9 Asim Saba 11 10:13.99 Clash at the Coliseum 2/28/2026

10 Logan Capalbo 10 10:14.78 Plainfield South Invitational 2/21/2026

11 Atticus Stevens 11 10:15.37 Plainfield South Invitational 2/21/2026

12 Joshua Rico 9 10:16.38 Plainfield South Invitational 2/21/2026

13 Cruz Garcia 11 10:25.31 HF Boys ABC Invitational 3/6/2026

14 Carter Morgan 10 10:26.95 F/S City Championship 3/17/2026

Winnetka (New Trier)

1 Martin Issa 10 9:38.82 Batavia Distance Madness 3/13/2026

2 Tim Vaughan 11 9:45.65 Illinois Meet of Champions 3/8/2026

3 Sebastian Vining 10 9:46.94 Illinois Meet of Champions 3/8/2026

4 Nicolas Hampton 10 9:49.59 Clash at the Coliseum 2/28/2026

5 Carter Hollis 9 9:54.49 Batavia Distance Madness 3/13/2026

6 Henry Stallsmith 9 10:08.96 CSL South Invite at Evanston 3/20/2026

7 Maxwell Overstreet 9 10:09.47 Proviso West Boys Indoor Quad 3 2/20/2026

8 Tristan Daley 11 10:09.95 Rantoul Invite 3/14/2026

9 Lucas Rincon 10 10:11.47 Proviso West Boys Indoor Quad 3 2/20/2026

10 Alexander Strano 11 10:19.3h Evanston Richards Phillips Relays 3/14/2026

11 William Chiang 10 10:22.98 CSL South Invite at Evanston 3/20/2026

12 Owen McLaughlin 12 10:27.04 CSL South Invite at Evanston 3/20/2026

Batavia

1 Aaron Kernler 11 9:45.59 DuKane Boys Indoor Conference 3/21/2026

2 Edward Polaski 11 9:48.23 Coach DiDomenico Invite 3/6/2026

3 Gavin Warpinski 12 9:50.73 DuKane Boys Indoor Conference 3/21/2026

4 Peter Day 11 9:57.02 Batavia Distance Madness 3/13/2026

5 Seamus Samsami 12 9:58.96 Boys Open Meet 2.27.26 2/27/2026

6 Luke Gianfrancesco 12 10:00.46 Batavia Distance Madness 3/13/2026

7 Cody Rummel 12 10:01.71 Boys Open Meet 2.27.26 2/27/2026

8 Will Polaski 11 10:10.20 Batavia Open Coed Meet 2/21/2026

9 Ryan Widmer 12 10:27.05 Coach DiDomenico Invite 3/6/2026

Plainfield North

1 Aidan Connors 12 9:01.61 Illinois Indoor Championships 3/28/2026

2 Thomas Czerwinski 12 9:15.19 Southwest Prairie Conference 3/20/2026

3 James Maso 12 9:50.81 Coach Basting Invitational 3/7/2026

4 Logan Dodson 11 9:44.36 Illinois Top Times 3/28/2026

5 Liam Beavers 11 9:53.54 Clash at the Coliseum 2/28/2026

6 Dominic Frigo 11 9:58.65 Clash at the Coliseum 2/28/2026

7 Zach Bucsanyi 11 10:08.37 Proviso East Pirate Classic 3/28/2026

8 Cal Anderson 12 10:09.15 Clash at the Coliseum 2/28/2026

9 Mitchell Rudland 10 10:16.76 Proviso East Pirate Classic 3/28/2026

Downers Grove North

1 Isaak Stein 11 9:37.48 WSC Boys Silver Championships 3/20/2026

2 Joshua Farrero 12 9:39.59 WSC Boys Silver Championships 3/20/2026

3 Raymond Curran 11 10:01.12 Proviso West Boys Indoor Quad 3 2/20/2026

4 Charles Novotny 11 10:01.49 Boys Open Meet 2.27.26 2/27/2026

5 Ryan Morton 11 10:09.85 Bob Nihells Boys Indoor Classic 3/14/2026

6 Luke Figliomeni 11 10:18.96 Bob Nihells Boys Indoor Classic 3/14/2026

7 Brendan Eddington 9 10:21.84 Bob Nihells Boys Indoor Classic 3/14/2026

8 Ethan Turner 10 10:23.43 WSC Boys Silver Championships 3/20/2026

Naperville Central

1 Manny Najera 11 9:35.99 Batavia Distance Madness 3/13/2026

2 Derek Williamson 11 9:37.01 North Central College Invite 2/19/2026

3 Toby Silder 10 9:47.44 Batavia Distance Madness 3/13/2026

4 Jack Anderson 10 9:50.57 Batavia Distance Madness 3/13/2026

5 Gavin George 12 9:54.00 North Central College Invite 2/19/2026

6 Chase Gewin 10 10:07.49 Huntley Boys Invitational 2/27/2026

7 Alex Hostetler 10 10:14.40 Huntley Boys Invitational 2/27/2026

8 Nicholas Norberg 10 10:18.51 DVC Boys Indoor Championship 3/20/2026

Arlington Heights (Hersey)

1 Gabriel Gronski 11 9:39.10 Stan Reddel Invite 3/6/2026

2 Nathan Marotta 12 9:41.30 Nagel-Saylor Indoor 3/21/2026

2 Brandon Rugg 12 9:50.59 Stan Reddel Invite 3/6/2026

3 Luke Carlson 10 9:50.69 The Circuit Chicago 2/21/2026

4 Johan Gonzalez 9 10:00.45 Hononegah Boys Indoor #2 2/28/2026

5 Santiago Arroyo 9 10:02.75 Hononegah Boys Indoor #2 2/28/2026

6 Maxwell Sternburgh 11 10:11.70 Hononegah Boys Indoor #2 2/28/2026

7 Connor Rugg 9 10:20.27 Hononegah Boys Indoor #2 2/28/2026

Deerfield

1 Jamie Chandler 12 9:02.03 Illinois Indoor Championships 3/28/2026

2 Andrew Calderon 11 9:36.84 Clash at the Coliseum 2/28/2026

3 Ethan Reich 11 9:48.20 Boys Sequoit Showdown 2/14/2026

4 Béket Shifirn 10 9:51.45 CSL South Invite at Evanston 3/20/2026

5 Hugo Albrecht-Buehler 12 10:09.86 Jerry Lowe Boys Invitational 2/7/2026

6 Jasper Fine 11 10:09.87 Plainfield South Invitational 2/21/2026

7 Ben Borucki 10 10:16.42 CSL South Invite at Evanston 3/20/2026

Mt. Prospect (Prospect)

1 Luke Robinson 12 9:23.37 Nagel-Saylor Indoor Invitational 3/21/2026

2 Quinn Davis 12 9:34.27 Batavia Distance Madness 3/13/2026

3 Brody Cushing 12 9:42.02 Nagel-Saylor Indoor Invitational 3/21/2026

4 Pierce Baker 10 9:55.19 Clash at the Coliseum 2/28/2026

5 Jack Aldworth 10 9:56.42 Stan Reddel Invite 3/6/2026

6 Patrick Rosean 10 10:01.28 Clash at the Coliseum 2/28/2026

7 James Hanna 12 10:08.99 Stan Reddel Invite 3/6/2026

Naperville (Neuqua Valley)

1 Jesse Gudauskas 11 9:15.10 Clash at the Coliseum 2/28/2026

2 Grayson Meek 10 9:43.01 HF Boys ABC Invitational 3/6/2026

3 Anish Bhagwat 12 9:56.46 HF Boys ABC Invitational 3/6/2026

4 Reyaansh Bhagat 11 10:03.45 Clash at the Coliseum 2/28/2026

5 Joseph Clifton 10 10:09.39 DVC Boys Indoor Championship 3/20/2026

6 Tyler Rozycki 11 10:10.84 DVC Boys Indoor Championship 3/20/2026

7 Aidan Pour 11 10:15.90 HF Boys Open 2/21/2026

Naperville North

1 Simon Reckamp 12 9:25.59 Illinois Indoor Championships 3/28/2026

2 Lukas Keane 12 9:39.57 Batavia Distance Madness 3/13/2026

3 Jackson Truty 12 9:49.19 Stan Reddel Invite 3/6/2026

4 Shreyas Meyer 9 9:54.45 Stan Reddel Invite 3/6/2026

5 Brian Hatlestad 12 10:07.08 North Central College Invitational 2/19/2026

6 Carston Harris 12 10:11.21 Bob Nihells Boys Indoor Classic 3/14/2026

7 Aidan Malana 12 10:13.50 Boys Sequoit Showdown 2/14/2026

Chicago (Lane)

1 Quinn Anderson 11 9:11.27 *2026 CPL Varsity Indoor Champs 3/21/2026

2 Samuel Assefa 11 9:15.29 *2026 CPL Varsity Indoor Champs 3/21/2026

3 Kenneth Kristofic 9 9:54.79 *2026 CPL N/W Last Chance Invite 3/14/2026

4 Alexander Fitzpatrick 12 9:57.44 Proviso West Boys Invitational 2/28/2026

5 Demetrios Goritsan 9 10:07.79 *2026 CPL N/W Last Chance Invite 3/14/2026

6 Miles Trost 10 10:09.63 Proviso West Boys Invitational 2/28/2026

Elmhurst (York)

1 Harrison Manternach 11 9:24.93 York Boys Meet 3/14/2026

2 Patrick Hill 10 9:36.05 Stan Reddel Invite 3/6/2026

3 George Knott 10 9:53.71 Stan Reddel Invite 3/6/2026

4 Jacob McKillop 9 9:59.36 York Boys Meet 3/14/2026

5 Michael Gurgone 10 10:07.60 Proviso West Boys Invitational 2/28/2026

6 Ryker Harges 12 10:09.47 Proviso West Boys Invitational 2/28/2026

Hinsdale Central

1 Michael Gamboa 12 9:42.58 WSC Silver Conference 3/20/2026

2 Henry Miller 11 9:24.65 York Boys Meet 3/14/2026

3 Cole Levin 12 10:14.86 H-F ABC 3/6/2026

4 Walter Tims 11 10:23.02 Art Pahl Invite 2/28/2026

5 Elliot Kotleba 11 9:41.03 WSC Silver Conference 3/20/2026

6 Akhil Chintalapally 10 10:16.52 WSC Silver Conference 3/20/2026

Wheaton North

1 Matthew Joyce 12 9:57.69 DuKane Boys Indoor Conference 3/21/2026

2 Judah Clark 11 10:02.34 (Burlington) Central Boys Invite 3/13/2026

3 Jack Sanders 12 10:06.95 DuKane Boys Indoor Conference 3/21/2026

4 Nathan Carroll 10 10:12.71 Proviso West Boys Invitational 2/28/2026

5 Simon Botts 9 10:20.76 (Burlington) Central Boys Invite 3/13/2026

6 Reid Goerzen 10 10:24.68 North Central College Invite 2/19/2026

Chicago (DePaul)

1 Sebastian Macias 12 9:39.13 The CIRCUIT Chicago 2/21/2026

2 Taylor DeVar 9 10:05.84 CCL Indoor Championships 3/20/2026

3 Owen Lea 10 10:08.14 Illinois Meet of Champions 3/8/2026

4 Sebastian Macias 12 10:17.22 Illinois Meet of Champions 3/8/2026

5 Noah Kraszewski 10 10:20.66 The CIRCUIT Chicago 2/21/2026

Edwardsville

1 Colin Thomas 12 9:21.97 Clash at the Coliseum 2/28/2026

2 Will McGinness 10 9:47.47 Illinois Top Times 3/28/2026

3 Jake Burris 9 10:03.42 Hononegah AAA Indoor Classic 3/14/2026

4 Colin Luitjohan 11 10:18.90 First to the Finish Charger Invite 3/7/2026

5 Jackson Elliott 12 10:27.06 First to the Finish Charger Invite 3/7/2026

Glen Ellyn (Glenbard West)

1 Matt King 12 9:24.45 WSC Boys Silver Championships 3/20/2026

2 Sam Roser 11 9:50.04 Coach DiDomenico Invite 3/6/2026

3 Elliott Locke 12 9:53.73 Batavia Distance Madness 3/13/2026

4 Cole Mocko 10 9:55.25 WSC Boys Silver Championships 3/20/2026

5 Judah Cabral 11 10:26.78 Coach DiDomenico Invite 3/6/2026

Oak Park-River Forest

1 Yonny Rafter 12 9:45.69 Illinois Indoor Championships 3/28/2026

2 Ryan Wangerow 11 9:56.13 WSC Boys Silver Championships 3/20/2026

3 August Singer 10 10:14.39 WSC Boys Silver Championships 3/20/2026

4 Max Malcolm 12 10:25.46 Proviso West Boys Invitational 2/28/2026

5 Emmett Washburn 10 10:26.35 WSC Boys Silver Championships 3/20/2026

St. Charles North

1 Samuel Hill 11 9:09.37 Batavia Distance Madness 3/13/2026

2 Christian Enger 11 9:45.59 DuKane Boys Indoor Conference 3/21/2026

3 Matthew Russell 12 9:54.05 York Boys Meet 3/14/2026

4 Logan Hitchings 11 9:57.13 York Boys Meet 3/14/2026

5 Miles Dill 10 10:00.70 Huntley Boys Invitational 2/27/2026

Wheaton Warrenville South

1 Joey Mowrer 11 9:45.43 Batavia Distance Madness 3/13/2026

2 Logan Noel 10 9:49.11 DuKane Boys Indoor Conference 3/21/2026

3 Jack Barbieri 11 9:55.85 Clash at the Coliseum 2/28/2026

4 Sam Walker 12 10:10.16 North Central College Invite 2/19/2026

5 Troy Thalmann 12 10:15.59 Clash at the Coliseum 2/28/2026

Bethalto (Civic Memorial)

1 Max Weber 12 9:08.80 2026 Knight Indoor Invitational 2/13/2026

2 Jacob Cranford 12 10:05.09 SIU HS Indoor Invitational 3/7/2026

3 Logan Kearbey 11 10:18.08 2026 Knight Indoor Invitational 2/13/2026

4 Boden Duffy 9 10:23.07 SIU HS Indoor Invitational 3/7/2026

Berwyn-Cicero (Morton)

1 Miguel Flores 11 9:08.16 Illinois Indoor Championships 3/28/2026

2 Orlando Sandoval 12 9:14.61 New Balance Nationals Indoor 3/15/2026

3 Alex Rodriguez 12 9:14.25 Illinois Indoor Championships 3/28/2026

4 Gianni Calderon 12 10:13.42 Argo Indoor Invite 3/14/2026

Downers Grove South

1 Conrad Saner 11 9:16.70 Bob Nihells Boys Indoor Classic 3/14/2026

2 Ethan Traugott 12 10:02.09 Bob Nihells Boys Indoor Classic 3/14/2026

3 Jakub Kranz 10 10:08.14 WSC Gold Boys Indoor Champs 3/20/2026

4 Henry Baker 10 10:18.81 North Central College Boys Invite 2/19/2026

Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East)

1 Brendan Hanrahan 10 9:25.73 Illinois Indoor Championships 3/28/2026

2 Nathan Schroers 11 9:39.41 Illinois Indoor Championships 3/28/2026

3 Edward Matteson 9 9:47.86 Illinois Indoor Championships 3/28/2026

4 Ian Schroers 9 10:00.59 SWSC Indoor Boys Conference 3/20/2026

LaGrange (Lyons)

1 Colin Shea 11 10:13.89 Proviso West Boys Invitational 2/28/2026

2 Sean Tilles 12 10:17.17 WSC Boys Silver Championships 3/20/2026

3 Luke Borling 9 10:18.01 WSC Boys Silver Championships 3/20/2026

4 Evan Ruse 10 10:18.18 Batavia Distance Madness 3/13/2026

Roselle (Lake Park)

1 Nick Zegger 12 9:48.24 DuKane Boys Indoor Conference 3/21/2026

2 Nick Sheklarevski 12 9:56.40 Greg Foster Invitational 2/21/2026

3 Tim Dellaria 10 10:15.27 Proviso West Boys Quad 4 3/6/2026

4 Rishab Kulkarni 11 10:27.99 Boys Open Meet 2.27.26 2/27/2026

Minooka

1 Ryan Resar 10 9:41.66 Southwest Prairie Conference 3/20/2026

2 Alex Null 12 10:14.97 Southwest Prairie Conference 3/20/2026

3 Cayson Traxler 11 10:29.05 HF Boys Open 2/21/2026

4 Nathan Janulis 11 10:29.61 HF Boys Open 2/21/2026

Niles (Northridge Prep)

1 Peter Kipp 12 9:37.31 2026 ICOPS Invitational 2/28/2026

2 Josh Allen 11 9:52.80 Illinois Meet of Champions 3/8/2026

3 Mike Reiff 12 10:01.99 Hononegah AAA Indoor Classic 3/14/2026

4 John Masaka 11 10:16.38 Hononegah AAA Indoor Classic 3/14/2026

Orland Park (Sandburg)

1 Mateo Ramiro-Garcia 12 9:33.32 3A Boys ONU HS Classic 2/27/2026

2 Brayden Gaffud 11 9:48.04 SWSC Indoor Boys Conference 3/20/2026

3 Mitchell Cerva 10 10:12.77 3A Boys ONU HS Classic 2/27/2026

4 Gavin Crotty 11 10:18.09 SWSC Indoor Boys Conference 3/20/2026

Palatine

1 Alexander Krieg 12 9:24.91 Stan Reddel Invite 3/6/2026

2 Christopher Quick 12 9:51.29 Batavia Distance Madness 3/13/2026

3 Evan Salgado 10 9:55.31 Nagel-Saylor Indoor Invitational 3/21/2026

4 James O'Sullivan 12 9:56.16 Stan Reddel Invite 3/6/2026

Palatine (Fremd)

1 David Moore 11 9:06.89 Illinois Indoor Championships 3/28/2026

2 Jack Jennings 11 9:23.17 Batavia Distance Madness 3/13/2026

3 Nakul Shah 11 10:23.13 Nagel-Saylor Indoor 3/21/2026

4 Carter Bartkus 11 10:23.26 The CIRCUIT Chicago 2/21/2026