Gatorade 2023 - 2024: Player of the Year

Boys Cross Country - Texas

athletes playing Boys Cross Country
The POY Logo
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY

Caden Leonard

Runner
SOUTHLAKE CARROLL HS
SOUTHLAKE, TEXAS
SOPHOMORE
Height: 6-FOOT-1
Press Release

Peak Performance

1st - 15:00.01

Class 6A state meet

21st

Doug Speck Sweepstakes Race at the Woodbridge Classic

21st

Nike Cross Nationals Final

3rd - 14:55.8

NXR South
“Caden Leonard lifted his team to a bronze medal at the Nike Cross Nationals Final with a Third Team All-American performance on the heels of taking the individual bronze at the NXN South Regional. His state title-winning run was the jewel of the Dragons team championship.”
Rich Gonzalez
PrepCal Track
excellence star

Athletic Excellence

The 6-foot-1, 140-pound sophomore peaked admirably this past season, breaking the tape at the Class 6A state meet in a time of 15:00.1 and leading the Dragons to the team title. Cementing his campaign as the top sophomore in the nation, Leonard notched identical 21st-place finishes at both the Doug Speck Sweepstakes Race at the Woodbridge Classic and the Nike Cross Nationals Final, the latter of which earned Carroll third place as a team. In qualifying for NXN, he clocked a personal-best 14:55.8 to walk away with bronze and First Team All-Region recognition at NXR South.

a graduation cap

Academic Achievement

Leonard has maintained an A-minus average in the classroom. He will begin his junior year of high school this fall.

first place ribbon

Exemplary Character

Leonard has volunteered locally on behalf of the Young Men’s Service League, a non-profit organization that initiates and encourages young men and their mothers to pursue philanthropic involvement in their community. He has also donated his time to the local branch of the Special Olympics and has served in youth ministry at White’s Chapel Methodist Church.