The 5-foot-9, 145-pound senior took fifth at the Brooks XC Championships and 7th at NXN Nationals to become a dual First Team All-American this past season. Fries also broke the tape at NXN Heartland Regional and concluded the year ranked No. 7 nationally in both the MileSplit50 and the Dyestat 100. He won the Class AAA state title prior to the extended postseason and clocked a personal-best time of 14:22.2 last fall to win the Augusta Twilight XC Meet last fall.
Fries has maintained a weighted 4.74 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a written letter of athletic aid to run at Stanford University this fall.
Vice President of his school’s Honor Society and a member of its Principal’s Advisory Council, Fries has volunteered locally as part of the Unified Special Olympics participant, which pairs youth athletes with intellectually challenged peers in celebration of sport. He has also donated his time as a peer tutor and as a youth coach for the Tonka Track and Field League.
