BENTON — Benton freshman Gavin Genisio made quite a splash in his first year of high school competition.

Now he’s making waves nationally.

After helping anchor the Rangers’ cross country regional and sectional championships, that included placing second individually at the sectional, Genisio finished 11th at the ShaZam 2A State Cross Country championships. He was the only freshman to finish in the top 40.

“He’s not an average type of athlete,” said Benton Cross Country coach Brent McLain. “He makes it look very easy. It’s like he’s floating around here, but he’s working hard.”

Genisio has taken the show indoors this winter. Indoor track is not an IHSA school event, but instead more of a travel circuit. Earlier this month in Chicago, Genisio turned in a 1600 time of 4:26.61. That’s the second best freshman time in the nation. Two weeks later, he trimmed three seconds off that time for a personal best–not bad for somebody who had never run indoors.

“The air is different,” McLain said. “Your breathing is different. Your throat gets dry. It’s almost like you get a sore throat. A tall guy on a short track with a different kind of air–he took it in stride. He did great.”

“The indoor is definitely smaller, and the turns are definitely different,” Genisio said. “But I’ve gotten used to it over the couple of meets. Outdoor tracks are 400 (meters). Indoor tracks are 200 (meters), so definitely a little different.”

Genisio’s performances in Chicago earned him an invitation to Virginia Beach this weekend for the prestigious Adidas Indoor Nationals, where he will compete Sunday morning at 10:50 in the 1600. Here is a link to track all the action as well as stream the meet.

“I definitely surprised myself that first week running that 4:26,” Genisio said. “I didn’t think I could do that. It definitely motivated me to run faster and get better. Hope to get faster every single meet–that’s my goal.”

Genisio currently owns the state’s best times, regardless of class, in the 800, 1000, and the 1600.