The King of the Prairie: How Noah Strohman Became a Texas Distance Running Legend
Holliday, Texas is a small town of roughly 2,000 people sitting in the rolling plains of North Texas, just a stone’s throw from the Oklahoma border. It’s the kind of place where Friday night football fills the bleachers and everyone knows everyone. But in recent years, Holliday has become known for something a little different — and a little faster. For four straight years, a lanky kid named Noah Strohman laced up his racing shoes and did something no boy in the history of Texas high school cross country had ever done.
He won. Every single time.
From Freshman Phenom to All-Time Legend
When Noah Strohman stepped onto the course at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock as a fresh-faced ninth-grader in the fall of 2022, he was already a name to watch. Texas distance running circles had been buzzing about him since his middle school days — and for good reason. He had won the middle school mile at Nike Outdoor Nationals in 2022, clocking a 4:27 on Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, one of the most famous tracks in the world.
Still, nobody quite knew what to expect when he lined up against seasoned seniors in his first UIL 3A state cross country championship. He answered that question in no uncertain terms, surging past Winnsboro senior David Soto over the final stretch to win in 15:49. That freshman title was impressive. What came next was historic.
As a sophomore, Strohman battled through injuries that would have derailed most runners. He didn’t just survive — he ran a stunning 15:30 to edge out East Bernard’s senior standout Chris Kopecky. Junior year brought another title in 15:24, this time over Troy’s Grayson Williams. And in his senior fall of 2025, with the weight of history on his shoulders and his twin brother Ryder nipping at his heels, Noah delivered a 15:26 to claim his fourth consecutive crown.
No other boy in Texas has ever pulled off that sweep. Not once in the history of UIL competition. In a state that has produced Olympic-level distance talents — names like Leo Manzano and Alan Culpepper among them — Noah Strohman now stands alone atop the record books.
There’s something particularly poetic about that final race. His toughest competition in his last state cross country meet wasn’t some rival from across the state. It was Ryder, his identical twin, who ran 15:44 to take silver. The Strohman brothers went 1-2 at the state meet, turning one of the most historic moments in Texas high school running into a family affair.
A Record That Goes Way Beyond Cross Country
As remarkable as the cross country streak is, it only tells half the story. Noah Strohman is not just a cross country runner. He is, by any reasonable measure, one of the most versatile and decorated distance runners Texas high school athletics has ever seen.
By the end of his junior year, Strohman had already accumulated eight UIL state track and field championships — three in the 1600m, three in the 3200m, and two in the 800m. That’s a range that defies easy categorization. Most elite distance runners specialize. They pick a lane, so to speak, and own it. Strohman essentially owns three.
His personal bests underscore just how good he is across the board: a 4:04.88 mile, a 9:02.54 two-mile, and a 1:53.36 in the 800m. Put those numbers together and you’ve got an athlete who can run a 52-second quarter-mile and back it up with an under-4:10 mile. That kind of physiological range is extraordinarily rare, even among elite college and professional runners.
His sophomore track season offered one of the most jaw-dropping performances of his career. On a single afternoon at the UIL State Championships in Austin, Strohman won the 3200m, the 800m, and the 1600m — a state track triple that would have been the defining moment of almost any athlete’s career. He did it as a tenth-grader, running the second half of his 3200m in 4:27 and closing his 800m in 56.26 seconds despite having already raced twice that day.
The 2025 state meet added more of the same. In the 800m final, with a 3200m already won earlier in the morning, Strohman sat patiently through a fast first lap before surging on the backstretch of the final lap, negative-splitting the race to win in 1:53.78. His twin Ryder has proven to be no slouch himself — finishing runner-up in both the 1600m and 3200m that year — but Noah’s ability to absorb the workload of multiple events and still compete at a championship level separates him from virtually everyone.
Testing Himself on the National Stage
Texas 3A competition is not always known for producing nationally relevant times, and early in Strohman’s career, some wondered whether his dominance was more a product of the classification than world-class ability. He answered those questions by consistently seeking out bigger stages.
His interest in national-level competition dates back to his pre-high-school days. Winning a national middle school title at Nike Outdoor Nationals signaled that his talent wasn’t just regional. As his high school career progressed and his personal bests dropped into genuinely elite territory, it became clear that Noah Strohman wasn’t just a big fish in a small pond — he was developing into a legitimate national-caliber distance runner.
His 4:04 mile, his sub-9:03 two-mile, and his 1:53 800m are marks that would put him in conversations at virtually any high school invitational in the country. The 3200m personal best in particular is a serious national-level performance, well within range of all-time Texas high school lists.
And if anyone doubts what small-town Texas 3A speed is capable of at the next level, look no further than Chase Lehr. The former Breckenridge Buckaroo won back-to-back UIL 3A state championships in the 800m in 2022 and 2023 — the same event Strohman has twice claimed as his own — before heading to the University of North Texas. What Lehr has done for the Mean Green is a preview of what genuine 3A talent can become. As a sophomore in 2025, he set the UNT indoor school record in the 800m and earned All-AAC honors in both the indoor and outdoor seasons. By February 2026, he had broken his own program record with a blazing 1:47.35 at the New Mexico Team Open — the 14th-fastest time in the NCAA at the time — earning American Athletic Conference Track Athlete of the Week honors in the process. A kid who once won state at 1:51 in a small West Texas town is now one of the best half-milers in the country. The blueprint for what North Texas 3A distance runners can become at the collegiate level is written in green and white. Strohman, who arrives at Oklahoma State with considerably more national pedigree than Lehr had coming out of high school, will be looking to write his own version of that story in Stillwater.
A Family Legacy and a Team Culture
One of the most charming subplots of the Strohman story is the role of family. Noah and Ryder are identical twins, and they have pushed each other throughout their entire careers. While Noah has typically been the one standing on the top step of the podium, Ryder has been right there — finishing third and then second at the state cross country meet in 2024 and 2025, and serving as runner-up to his brother in track events as well.
Their dynamic speaks to something larger about Holliday’s program. The Eagles have built a genuine culture of distance running excellence, with the Strohman brothers at the center of it. Head coaches and the community at large have rallied around these athletes, and the 2025 state cross country meet saw the Holliday boys finish third as a team — a sign that the program’s depth extends beyond just one family name.
The Road to Stillwater
On February 26, 2026, Noah Strohman made it official, signing with Oklahoma State University. Just over two hours north of Holliday, Stillwater will be his new home. For a kid who grew up near the Texas-Oklahoma border, the Cowboys fit like a natural extension of the world he already knows.
Oklahoma State has a proud tradition in distance running, and Strohman arrives as one of the most decorated prep runners in recent Texas history. His range — from the half-mile to five kilometers on the roads — gives OSU coaches extraordinary flexibility in how they deploy him, both in cross country and on the track. Whether he develops into a middle-distance specialist or gravitates toward the longer distances at the collegiate level will be one of the more interesting storylines in Big 12 distance running over the next four years.
His brother Ryder, for his part, signed with Oklahoma Christian University — meaning the twins will continue their rivalry from opposite sides of the Oklahoma border.
What He Leaves Behind
It’s worth stepping back and appreciating what Noah Strohman accomplished during his time at Holliday High School. Four consecutive UIL cross country state championships — a feat no boy in Texas history has ever achieved. Eight UIL track state titles across three different events. Personal bests that rank among the finest in Texas prep history. A state track triple as a sophomore. And through all of it, a consistency and competitive maturity that most runners never develop at any level.
Holliday is a small town on the North Texas plains, the kind of place that rarely makes national sports headlines. Because of Noah Strohman, it will forever be synonymous with one of the greatest runs — literally — in Texas high school distance history.
The legend of Holliday’s champion is already written. Now comes the next chapter in Stillwater.
All statistics and results cited from Texas MileSplit, UIL state championship records, and KAUZ-TV Wichita Falls.