BOSTON (Jan. 9) – Four of the top five finishers in the 2007 Footlocker Cross Country Championship, including champion Michael Fout; 2007 indoor mile national champion Charles White; and Mac Fleet, with a personal best of 4:08.09 as a sophomore last year, lead an outstanding field for the Boys’ Junior Invitational Mile at the 2008 Reebok Boston Indoor Games, organizers announced today.

Since the Reebok Boston Indoor Games began in 1996, more than 90 Olympic and World Championship medalists have competed in the event, which has also played host to five World Records and nine American Records. The Boys’ Junior Invitational Mile, which began in 2005, has quickly become one of the most prestigious events of its kind. In 2006, the boys’ mile produced the fastest 2006 indoor time in the country (4:07.30) and six of the top eight best times for the season, while the 2007 mile yielded six of the top 10 times in the nation.

Fout (La Porte HS/La Porte IN), White (Cherry Creek HS/Cherry Hills Village CO) and Fleet (University City HS/San Diego CA) will be joined by 2007 Footlocker runner-up Chris Derrick (Neuqua Valley HS/Naperville IL), who is also the 2007 Nike Team Nationals winner, as well as fourth- and fifth-place Footlocker finishers Colby Lowe (Carroll Senior HS/Southlake TX) and Luke Puskedra (Judge Memorial HS/Ogden UT).

Challenging them will be Cory Leslie (Sandusky Perkins HS/Huron OH), the 2007 state champ at 5K cross country, 1600m and the 4x800m relay; Chris Brown (Carroll Senior HS/Southlake TX), fifth at Nike Team Nationals in 2007; Joseph Franklin (Amos P. Godby HS/Tallahassee FL), five-time state champion at 800m and 1600m and 2006 runner-up at Nike Outdoor Nationals 800m; and Sintayehu Taye (Cushing Academy/Ashburnham MA), 2007 Nike Indoor Nationals mile runner-up.

The field for the Girls’ Junior Invitational Mile will be released soon.

Sponsored by Reebok International Ltd., with its world headquarters in Canton, Mass., the Reebok Boston Indoor Games is owned and produced by Global Athletics & Marketing, Inc., an athlete-representation and events firm based in Boston.

The Reebok Boston Indoor Games, the second stop in USA Track & Field’s Visa Championship Series, begins at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 26 at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center at Roxbury Community College, 1350 Tremont St. Information and tickets are available on-line at www.BostonIndoorGames.com or by phone at 1-877-TIX-TRAC.