Flagstaff High School (AZ) junior Yohanes Van Meerten has been one of this fall’s biggest breakout stars. Born in Ethiopia and adopted into the U.S. at the age of one, he showed promise in a sophomore campaign that was truncated by Arizona transfer eligibility rules. A 14:28 5000m performance at Nike Outdoor Nationals gave the nation a taste of what was to come when he returned to the grass this fall.

Van Meerten set a course record at the Mt. Sac Invitational, covering three miles in 14:10.10, and ran 14:25.70 for a runner-up finish at the Desert Twilight meet in September. Most recently, he took third at NXR Southwest, qualifying as the top individual in 14:34.28. Van Meerten sat down with CITIUS MAG to break down his lessons learned from that race in Mesa, give insights on his stellar junior season, and talk about his running inspirations.

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Paul Hof-Mahoney: It’s been an incredible 2025 season for you so far, how are you feeling right now coming off of a 3rd-place finish at NXR Southwest?

Yohanes Van Meerten: I felt like it was a pretty good race. Wasn’t really the race plan I was trying to go for, but overall still very happy that I got to NXN because that was kind of the main goal. Overall, I feel like it was a great race.

It looks like you were leading at two miles and then that last mile is where the battle really started. That region is just so tough this year, what was the race plan for you going in?

I’m more of a run-and-gun type of person, it’s hard for me to close that last mile any race. My main goal, I was just trying to get up there. For Desert Twilight last year, that was more of a run-and-gun race and that’s what I thought this was gonna be like too because it’s just such a stacked region. We came through at like 4:45 or something and that’s kind of when I was like, “Oh this is going to be a strategic race.” I tried to take the lead and was trying to get Oliver [Horton] or some other guys to go with and spread out the lead a little bit, but it didn’t really happen.

Going around that second mile, I was still feeling pretty decent. I probably shouldn’t have been leading that whole race, but now we have a plan for NXN just to stay behind Jackson [Spencer]. Towards the end, I caught one of the Niwot guys and missed the other one by less than a millisecond, but overall I felt like it was a good race to help me work on my kick for NXN and close that last mile faster.

That regional race is such a preview of what NXN might look like, what lessons are you taking away from this race now that you’ve had a couple of days to digest it?

I think my main lesson was just to stay with Jackson. I’m not gonna lead NXN, I think I’ll just stay in that top pack because I can’t get separated from the pack. When that happens, everything falls apart for me. The main thing I took away is that I’ve gotta be patient. At NXN, make a move when Jackson makes a move and make it before him.

You had mentioned that you and Jackson and Oliver were talking about the race plan beforehand, what does the relationship between you guys look like then? Obviously you’re competing for the top places in the country, but it seems like you aren’t complete enemies.

A lot of people actually saw it in the race, me and Oli fist-bumped halfway through the race. Through the whole start of the race, I was looking for him because he wasn’t up there with me and then was randomly beside me. I have a really good relationship with Oli. And then Jackson, this was my first time meeting him in person, but we text over Instagram a bunch. I was seeing if I should start a YouTube channel like him. I think I have a pretty good relationship with both of those guys and I think all of us know that we’re all just really close friends.

In your 2025 season so far, you’ve got a course record at Mt. Sac and the championship record at the Arizona state meet, and made sub-15 look like an everyday occurrence. You had a breakout in the 5K at Nike Outdoor Nationals last year, but what’s been the biggest difference for you this cross season that ones before?

My biggest breakthrough, and I think this can work for any runner at all, I’m gonna say is that this sport is 40% training, 60% mentality. Your mentality can always take you a long way. My freshman year, I had a crazy race where I ran 15:18 I think off of like 10 miles, 5 miles per week. It was a big mentality switch of instead of worrying about the time, because that’s such a big thing that everybody looks at and it’s all over your social media, and that just leads to them only thinking about their time.

What I found out is so helpful for me is that instead of worrying about time, worry about the placement. If I’m trying to get Top 3 or Top 5, I’m not gonna be worried about what time I’m coming through at, if I’m trying to win the race I’m not gonna be worried about what time I’m coming through at. If I want to get Top 5 and it’s a fast race, I’m gonna go fast. It was a big mentality switch to stop worrying about time.

Has there also been a training shift for you looking at this year compared to the 2024 season?

Definitely a really big shift. I kind of only started competitively focusing on running probably last summer. It was a big switch going from 10 miles a week to 45-50. I’m not gonna go crazy, because I have college and, if I’m good enough, above college, but it’s been a big switch with my training. So far my body’s been able to hold up with it, so I think we’re doing good.

Hearing that you just recently got seriously into running explains a little bit of an Instagram reel I saw a few weeks ago where you were trying to name professional runners, and couldn’t name Matthew Centrowitz or Sifan Hassan. Are there pros you do look up to and emulate your racing strategy off of, or how much do you follow the professional scene?

If I’m honest, who got me into running was Quincy Wilson. I loved Usain Bolt, but Quincy Wilson was a big inspiration for me to go do all this running. With other pros, Jakob Ingebrigtsen is probably one of my favorite long guys and Edward Cheserek. I just found out about him and he’s becoming more of an inspiration, but Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Quincy Wilson are the two runners I look up to.

Now that you’re officially headed up to Portland, what excites you most about getting in a race like NXN this season?

It’ll be exciting that after all this training that I’ve been doing and everything, I get to go out there and have fun. The main thing is that it’s such a blessing to be able to do this. Last year, I missed out on NXN by one spot, like three seconds or something. I’m not gonna take it for granted that I got this opportunity to go up there and I want to go show out. I’m only a junior too. Let’s hope not, but let’s say the race goes completely south, I’ve got another year left.

The fall of your junior year is really where the recruitment process starts to pick up and I think you’re down to your Top 15 schools now. What’s the biggest thing you’ll be looking at when deciding where you want to compete after your high school career is over?

The biggest thing probably for me is that I’ve always wanted to win a national championship as a team. That’s always been my main goal, even for high school. It’s gonna be really hard if we want to do it here in Flagstaff, but that’s my biggest thing. I don’t really care if I’m the sixth man on the team, fifth man, but if we win a national championship I’d much rather have that than winning a national championship alone. I don’t want to go to a program that’s already way too stacked where I won’t be in the lineup for two or three years.

What’s the most important thing for you now in this week leading into NXN?

Recovery is gonna be a big thing… and not taking anything for granted, being happy that I’m here right now. I know someone else probably did what I did last year, they’re the sixth individual qualifier, so the biggest thing is being happy that I’m there and loving every moment of it.

There’s been a lot to love about your season so far, Yohanes, and best of luck in Portland!

Thanks for reading! This interview is part of our 2025 Nike Cross Nationals Series, where we’re catching up with some of the top high school athletes in the country as they prepare for the biggest meet of the fall. Stay tuned for more Q&As with the rising stars of high school distance running.