Newbury Park boys cross country squad named USA TODAY HSSA Boys Team of the Year
The Newbury Park boys cross country team from California, was named the 2022 USA Today High School Sports Awards Boys Team of the Year during the live show on July 31.
The USA Today High School Sports Awards is the largest high school sports recognition program in the country. Over 800 athletes were honored and winners for 29 sports and other special awards were announced during the live show, which was hosted by former NFL tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Vernon Davis.
After sweeping the top four spots in record fashion at CIF Division 1 state cross country championships, Newbury Park shattered national records at the Garmin RunningLane Nationals
Led by two pairs of brothers — the Sahlmans and the Youngs — the Newbury Park boys blasted state and national records on their way to high school cross country lore.
The Panthers swept the top four spots and scored a state-record 16 points at California’s large-school championship meet; their team-time of 73 minutes, 23 seconds was a runaway course record. They set their sights even higher entering the Garmin RunningLane Nationals in Huntsville, Alabama — hunting the national individual 5K record of 14 minutes, 10 seconds. Three of Newbury Park’s runners — national Boys Athlete of the Year finalist Colin Sahlman, and twin brothers Leo and Lex Young — decimated that mark, which had stood for 20 years. Colin’s younger brother Aaron Sahlman finished sixth in the race and just missed being the fourth panther to better the record.
That performance by the Panthers in one of the nation’s biggest races have distance running historians collectively ending the argument: The 2021 Newbury Park High School boys cross country team is the greatest not of the past decade … not of the past century … but of all time. All four brothers were also among the 24 nominees for the All-USA Today High School Sports Awards Boys Cross Country Team.
The other finalists for Boys Team of the Year were the St. Mary’s Prep baseball team in Orchard Lake, Michigan, which sported a 44-0 record and a roster with nine Division I college recruits in route to the state’s Catholic League championship; and the football team from Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, which captured its third straight Texas Class 6A championship and behind Clemson-bound quarterback Cade Klubnik and title-game MVP receiver Jaden Greathouse.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Newbury Park boys XC named USA TODAY HSSA Boys Team of the Year
