With 2024 fall sports seasons coming to an end, Middleton High School (MHS) athletes have proven themselves to be the best of the best. Winning state titles and beating personal records, MHS athletes have truly triumphed this season. One of the star athletes this fall season was Nethan Kaluarachchi (9).
Kaluarachchi made Middleton’s Boys Varsity Cross Country as a freshman–the only runner of his age to do so in over a decade. The last time a freshman made varsity was in 2013 with Gus Newcomb, who set multiple track records for MHS.
As a freshman on varsity, Kaluarachchi was expected to meet high expectations just like the rest of the team, which was mainly comprised of older and more experienced teammates.
However, Kaluarachchi did not disappoint. He managed to post incredible times throughout the season, with his best time coming during a 5k race at the Wisconsin Invite with a time of 16:29, averaging roughly seventeen minutes in all competitions. For reference, a good 5k is around 24 minutes, and the fastest ever was around 13.
Apart from his varsity coach, Brian Finnel, Kaluarachchi is also mentored by
Lucien Rosa. Rosa is a former UW Parkside cross-country coach. He also competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, representing Sri Lanka in the long-distance category. He is best known for performing in the 10,000-meter Asian Games held in Bangkok, Thailand, where he holds an Asian Games record.
Kaluarachchi hopes to run in college and attend medical school one day.
