The 5-foot-9, 140-pound senior raced to his third consecutive Division 2 individual state championship this past season with a course record time of 14:51. Alaska’s returning Gatorade Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year, Merchant also won the Region 3 championship, the Grizzly Invitational and the ACS Invitational.
Merchant has maintained a 3.69 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a National Letter of Intent to compete in cross country and track and field on scholarship at Northern Arizona University this fall.
Merchant has volunteered locally on behalf of Anchorage Rescue Mission and youth running programs.
