8-Year-Old Danville Boy Places 7th In National Cross Country Meet

DANVILLE, CA — When your age is close to your national ranking and both are under 10, you have some major bragging rights.

Craig Thompson, an eight-year-old from Danville attending Greenbrook Elementary School, placed seventh in the country in a national cross country championship. Thompson is part of the Mt. Diablo Heat, a regional, pre-high school cross country club for boys and girls ages 7-15 that recently scored exceptionally well in the National Championships in Texas.

Additionally, at the 2022 USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships, 12-year-old Dylan Wong of Diablo Vista Middle School placed 18th.

Mt. Diablo’s Group 1, composed of seven and eight-year-olds, was the top-scoring team at the championships, meaning their combined time in a 2K race was the lowest of any in their age group, and three boys, including Thompson, placed in the top 20:

• Craig Thompson, 8, of Greenbrook Elementary School, ran the 2K in 7:18 and placed 7th overall
• Ethan Hernandez, 8, of Sunset Elementary School in Livermore, ran the 2K in 7:29 and placed 12th overall
• Cyrus Walker, 8, of Our Savior Lutheran School in Livermore, ran the 2K in 7:29 and placed the 13th overall

Other Tri-Valley boys also placed well:

• Jonah Kalman, 8, Dublin Elementary School, 8:00, 50th overall
• Ean Hernandez, 8, Sunset Elementary School in Livermore, 8:00, 51st overall
• Isaac Murdock, 8 Golden View Elementary School, 9:51, 194th overall

At the Junior Olympics, Tri-Valley boys in other groups also performed well:

• Eli Hernandez, 10, Sunset Elementary School, 10:17, 2nd place overall (All-American)
• Jack Arneson, 9, San Ramon Valley Christian Academy, 11:10, 20th place overall (All-American)
• Dylan Wong, 12, Diablo Vista Middle School, 10:06, 18th place overall (All-American)

See here for full results.

The national championships capped off an impressive winning streak for Group 1. At the qualifying Pacific Association Championship in Fulsom, the team placed first, second, third, fourth and fifth - a perfect score. At the Region 14 championship, the team once again placed first, second, third, fourth and fifth.

The team won their first National Championship by just four points.

“When they looked up and announced that Mt. Diablo beat these boys, their jaws dropped, they all hugged each other, they were jumping up and down - they could not believe it,” Coach Katherine Loberg told Patch. “This is a really unique group of boys. They’re unique because of their talents, but also unique because of how they’re really coming together and realizing they’re stronger as a team.”

“I feel overjoyed that our team ran so well throughout the season and were able to work together to win the team National Championship,” said Nick Thompson, Craig’s dad. “It is great to be recognized as an All American for the second year in a row and this year to have 2 of my Group 1 Boys teammates also be All Americans.”

Despite the team’s impressive success, Loberg says she tries to emphasize fun and camaraderie. The group practices four times a week, and participates in quirky activities like a hundred-meter dash inside inflatable costumes around Halloween, a holiday lights run where kids dress in light-up vests or reindeer costumes and look at holiday light displays, pool runs, games like tag or capture the flag, lots of running on trails, and even a Mt. Diablo summit run.