Madison resident Liam Mullett, a junior at The Pingry School, has been named a “High School Top Performer” by The Star-Ledger after his winning time of 16:00 in the 5K cross-country race at the Shore Coaches Invitational on Saturday, October 6. His time was a 20-second personal best on the Holmdel Park course, the site of last year’s NJSIAA Meet of Champions.

Liam’s effort was even more remarkable given that the day’s temperatures were north of 70 degrees—tough racing conditions that, for the first time since 2003, prevented any runner from breaking the 16:00 barrier in this meet. In his interview with Jim Lambert of The Star-Ledger, Liam noted that “hopefully this means I’m strong enough to run with the fastest guys in the state and will be in the running for a top spot at the Meet of Champions.”

A former soccer/baseball player who’s now in just his second season of cross-country, Liam realized he had a special gift for running after posting a 4:55 mile as an eighth grader. He is now the defending NJSIAA Non-Public B State Championship gold medalist. Liam also posted a third-place finish last fall in the Skyland Conference Championships and a twenty-sixth place finish at the season’s NJSIAA Meet of Champions. His time of 16:20 at the M of C broke a Pingry school record that had been on the books for nearly two decades.

During the spring 2012 track season, Liam’s times in both the 1600 and the 3200 helped lead his Pingry team to the NJSIAA Non-Public B State Championship.

Watch Liam’s post-race interview from Saturday, and then read more about him here.