Coe-Brown Northw00d Academy senior and Northwood resident Aidan Cox earned All-American status by finishing fifth in the 5,000 meters at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in Boston, Mass., on Saturday.

Cox, a University of Virginia commit who set the NHIAA state record in the 3,000 and a Division II in the 1,500 a month ago, clocked a 14 minute, 21.98 second 5K. He also holds the NHIAA state cross country record with a 5K time of 14:58.8.

Running in the faster of the two heats of the nations top high school distance runners, Cox ran in third place the majority of the race, sticking with the lead pack that was eventually whittled down to just six runners around 10 laps into the 25 lap race. Around 3,000 meters that group split into a lead pack of three, followed by Cox in the chase pack, who settled into fifth place where he would finish. 

Tyrone Gorze of Central Point, Ore., won the race in 13:56.82, setting a new high school 5,000-meter record. Cox’s time is the ninth-fastest high school time posted in US history.

Two days earlier, Cox joined Coe-Brown teammates Tyler Tkaczyk, Gavin Demas and Jamie Lano on the 10th-place distance medley relay team, a race that Gorze also won.

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