Zero Teen Fatalities’ Player of the Month: Faith Lutheran's Brady Anderson

Faith Lutheran cross country runner Brady Anderson is pictured with his family after winning the Class 5A Southern Regional, Oct. 31, 2025, at Veterans Memorial Park in Boulder City. Photo by: Courtesy Anderson family

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As the finish line came into view at Veterans Memorial Park in Boulder City, the cross country runners launched into their final sprint for the Class 5A Southern Regional championship.

The Friday morning crowd grew animated as Faith Lutheran’s Brady Anderson and Sky Pointe’s Carter Prater raced neck and neck toward the finish. It was anyone’s race to win.

Anderson prevailed in 15 minutes, 34.1 seconds on the 5K course, with Prater a second behind at 15:35. The exhilarating finish brought cheers from the few hundred spectators lining the final stretch — the kind of electric atmosphere typically reserved for much larger sporting events.

Among the crowd were Anderson’s family, including both sets of grandparents who had traveled from Idaho to watch him compete. “Their support fueled my success,” he said. His sister, sophomore Jenna Anderson, took 24th in the girls race.

Brady Anderson and Prater two have been the top runners in the Las Vegas area all season, with Anderson’s victory evening their head-to-head rivalry at two wins apiece across four meets this fall.

“He was leading for quite a bit,” Anderson, a senior, said of the regional race. 

The competition has created a spirited rivalry — one that Anderson stresses is entirely friendly. The two have each other’s phone numbers and frequently exchange messages of support and encouragement.

The tiebreaker comes this week at the state tournament.

Anderson, who says he prefers the 800-meter and 1,600-meter middle-distance events during spring track season, will be competing for his first state championship. He finished fifth at last year’s state meet.

Anderson committed to running full-time when he entered high school, though the decision wasn’t easy. He had equally enjoyed soccer, and choosing between fall sports proved difficult.

He’s improved gradually each year, but this fall marked a significant leap forward.

“People always ask me, ‘What’s your secret?’ There really is no secret,” he said. “I do what everyone else does — run.”

Maintaining that dedication, especially after a grueling race, isn’t easy. Despite Friday’s demanding finish, Anderson was back at it over the weekend with a seven-mile run on Saturday and a nine-mile run on Sunday.

“It’s all about consistency,” he says. “You aren’t going to want to get up and run everyday. But when your body is aching you have to push through the temporary pain.”

Anderson, who will continue his running career at Boise State, plans to carry that same mentality into Saturday's state tournament in Reno. He's expecting another close finish with Prater.

"I'm more of a track guy. That's my strong suit," Anderson said. "It would be really weird to get my first state championship in cross country."

He jokingly added: “Obviously, that’s not a bad thing.”