Landen Chapman has already excelled at a state level and will try to do that at a national level.

The Paris senior capped an impressive junior season with state championships in the 800- and 1600-meters and a fourth-place all-state finish at the MSHSAA Class 2 Championships but wasn’t done. This summer, Chapman went on to win the 800 and take sixth in the 1600 at the Adidas National Elite meet in Greensboro, North Carolina, and won the 1500 and finished third in the 800 at the AAU Region 16 meet in Springfield to qualify for the Junior Olympics in Houston, Texas.

Chapman is scheduled to run in the 800 preliminaries on July 28, the 1500 on July 29 and possibly the 800 finals on July 30. He ran an 800 time of 1:57.10 at regionals after setting a personal-best time of 1:55.37 in North Carolina and had a 1500 time of 4:07.20 to advance past regionals in that event.

His track and field head coach Gary Crusha said he is not surprised Chapman made it to the Junior Olympics because Chapman is the type of kid who can make it that far. When it comes to talent, size and work ethic, Crusha said Chapman has plenty of those traits.

“He’s maybe not reached his full potential yet,” Crusha said. “He is fun to watch and easy to coach. His times are fast, but he runs races to win them.”

Chapman is the only Paris kid who has competed at the Junior Olympics during Crusha’s tenure, according to Crusha, after already having unprecedented performance at state earlier this year. Crusha said Chapman is the only kid of his he remembers who had a chance to be a three-time state champion in the same year.

National meets were definitely up next for Chapman after the career season he had because Crusha said certain qualifying times are needed to have a chance to compete at that level. While Crusha said he wasn’t surprised the current Chapman made it this far, he said that unrivaled work ethic since his freshman year helped Chapman grow physically and competitively.

“He’s always the hardest worker out there and has been a good example for everybody and makes everybody come to his level,” Crusha said. “He’s not a kid you have to worry about staying up too late or partying on the weekends. He’s always doing the right things.”

For Chapman, the season didn’t end after state because Crusha said he has been working with distance coach and cross country head coach Doug Buie several times during the week. It’s fitting because, from what Crusha’s heard, Chapman has the same competitive drive as his father, Jason, when he was a runner in high school.

“A lot of people might be good enough, but they don’t have the drive and parental support to take them to these places,” Crusha said. “Landen has that opportunity and has really good support from his family.”

Crusha said Chapman is already training “like an Olympic athlete” and any college that he commits to in the future will be lucky to have him. Chapman has one more high school season left after he finishes his summer circuit, but Crusha said he already might be the best he’s seen.

In Crusha’s first two seasons at Paris, he said Zane Lockhart is the only NCAA Division I athlete he’s had. Lockhart was a decathlon athlete who went to University of Missouri - Kansas City after competing in the long jump, triple jump and hurdles at Paris, winning multiple conference championships and state medals. 

“He was a really good athlete,” Crusha said about Lockhart. “Landen, in my opinion, is on a higher level than him as far as what he’s been able to accomplish in high school.”