The 5-foot-7, 125-pound senior took sixth at the national Brooks XC Championships and fifth at the Brooks South Regional this past season, concluding the year ranked No. 9 nationally in both the MileSplit50 and the Dyestat 100. He also broke the tape at the Class 3A state meet, clocking the fastest all-class time of the day in 15:01.2 and leading the Jaguars to fourth place as a team. A Brooks XC Second Team All-American and First Team All-Region honoree, he was the state’s top finisher at the Trinity/Valkyrie Invitational, taking third in a personal-best 14:38.5.
Van Laningham has maintained a weighted 4.63 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a written letter of athletic aid to run at the University of Wisconsin this fall.
A Best of Show winner in the 2024 Kentucky Duck Stamp Competition, Van Laningham is a member of his Antioch United Methodist Church youth group and has completed a service-mission trip to South Dakota, where he repaired houses. He has also donated his time as a Freshman Mentor Program leader at this school.
