Biography
Northern Illinois (2025):
Played in nine games during lone season with NIU, contributing on special teams... Recorded a tackle against both Ohio (10/18) and Ball State (10/25).
Texas Tech (2023-2024):
Did not see any game action during two seasons... Scout team member.
Washington HS:
Standout athlete who attended George Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa... Known for his speed, will utilize that trait in the secondary at the collegiate level... Easily among the fastest recruits not only in his native state of Iowa but the entire country... Clocked as low as 10.53 in the 100 meters and 21.65 in the 200 meters... Garnered honorable mention All-Metro and All-District honors as a junior for George Washington... Helped lead George Washington to a 5-4 regular-season record and a playoff appearance that season... Consensus three-star prospect by the likes of 247Sports, Rivals, ESPN and ON3.com... Ranked as the No. 91 cornerback in the country by ON3... Listed as the No. 23 prospect in the state of Iowa by 247Sports... Washington's Miles Thompson wins Robert Kramme Award (Spring 2023): Cedar Rapids Washington senior Miles Thompson wins the Robert Kramme Award, given out to the most outstanding performer in boys high school track and field at the Drake Relays. Thompson set a Drake Relays record in the boys 100m dash finishing in 10.37 seconds and ran the second leg on Washington's 4x100 relay that broke another record with the Warriors finishing in 41.71 seconds... With Miles Thompson, the fastest high school sprinter in Iowa, there's more than meets the eye: Miles Thompson is the fastest high school sprinter in the state of Iowa this season. The Cedar Rapids Washington senior is also one of the top in-state football recruits in his class. But the Texas Tech football signee, who will also run track for the Red Raiders, almost saw his athletic career end in eighth grade, long before he was a household name among Iowa high school sports fans. “I started track in middle school,” Thompson told the Des Moines Register. “I only did one track meet in seventh and eighth grade. I pulled my hamstring in seventh grade and then I broke my hip in eighth grade.” Thompson was nonchalant when he brought up his broken hip, which would typically be a major injury for a middle school athlete. He complained to his mother about it feeling tight before a race, and she told him to make sure he stretched. Thompson was running the 200-meter dash when he just fell. He needed to be helped off the track and his mother took him to the hospital. Doctors discovered that he’d broken his hip in two different places. Despite the major injury, Thompson handled it like any middle school boy would.“I was supposed to be on crutches for three months, but I got kind of annoyed walking around school with crutches,” Thompson said. “So, for a month I was on crutches and then I just started walking normally. I would have a limp, but that was pretty much it.” If one good thing came out of Thompson’s early injury, it’s that he takes his pre- and post-race stretching seriously. It took a broken hip for him to listen to his mother’s advice about how important stretching is, especially for an athlete with Thompson’s tall, lean build.But it also helped Thompson refocus on how he trained for track. He hasn’t dealt with any serious injuries in the four years since. And he’s become a show-stopping athlete in the sprint events at high school track meets. Thompson spent a lot of time and energy perfecting his craft. But he may have also inherited some natural sprinting abilities from his parents. Miles’ parents — Andre Thompson and Kristyn Barber — met through track and field at Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North Carolina. And as for success at Washington High School, Thompson isn’t the first of his family to represent the Warriors well. Barber placed third in the 100-meter dash at the Drake Relays in 2001. Her 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams won at the Blue Oval that year. She was also the top sprinter in the state of Iowa in the 100, but she had a false start at the state meet and was disqualified. So, it’s safe to say that speed is part of Thompson’s genetic makeup.“I’m so grateful that DNA was able to carry over to one of my kids,” Barber said. “He’s done way more than I have done in my track career, and I’m just a super proud parent. Words can’t explain how I feel as far as watching him follow in my footsteps.” Barber was key in Thompson’s start in sports, putting him in basketball and flag football at 5 years old. She always knew he was fast, but she said it was critical to get him started in athletics at a young age if he wanted to compete with the best of the best as he got older. That push into sports at an early age has paid off for Thompson, especially in track and field. Thompson made it to the Blue Oval in all three of his high school seasons. His main event: The 100-meter dash. The Relays were canceled because of the pandemic his freshman year, he finished ninth overall as a sophomore and took second place last season. This year, Thompson was the favorite entering the Drake Relays.He was the only non-senior to finish in the top five at the Blue Oval in 2022, and his season best as a senior was 10.56 seconds. The high school 100-meter dash couldn’t have been run on a better day at the Relays in 2023. It was one of the only days of the event where the athletes didn’t have a strong headwind, and Thompson didn’t have to run in the rain. Since Thompson held the top time in the state, he ran in the final preliminary heat and in lane four, in the middle of the pack. He placed his feet on the blocks, walked his hands back into position and waited for the “set” before the starting gun. He was one of the last athletes in the blocks, something he learned from his mother. “He’s a lot of the time, if not all the time, the last one in his blocks,” Barber said. “It’s just a little technique I’ve taught him. Be the last in your blocks, because if you’re waiting in your blocks, you’re more anxious, you’re more nervous.” Thompson had a clean start off the blocks and he never let up. He leaned forward and pushed his head and chest over the finish line, completing the race in 10.37 seconds. “He looked fast,” said Washington track and football coach Maurice Blue. “I was like, ‘He’s good. We’re in the finals, no problem.’ Then the time pops up. 10.37. I was just surprised as everybody else.” When Thompson finished the race, he turned around to see his preliminary time. Breaking a Drake Relays record wasn’t even on his mind, he was just concerned with making it through to the finals. He saw the same numbers that made the fans in the stands gasp and he jumped up and down, pumping his fists and yelling in celebration. Not only was it the fastest time at the Drake Relays, but it was the second-fastest time ever by an Iowa high schooler. Thompson won in the 100-meter final, finishing in 10.54 seconds to secure the Drake Relays flag. He helped set another Relays record when the Washington 4x100-meter relay team won in 41.71 total seconds. That finish ranks third all-time in Iowa. Those performances helped Thompson earn the Drake Relays’ most outstanding performer in the high school boys division. But even after all the success, all the accolades and all the attention, it was just about Thompson pushing himself. Nothing more, nothing less. “I’m just trying to get my best time,” Thompson said. “I’m not chasing after anyone’s number. I don’t like to get into records or anything like that. I’m just gonna be myself and run. If I break a record, I break a record. If I don’t, I don’t.” Sure, Thompson is headed to Texas Tech for both football — as a Preferred Walk-On — and track. But, when he’s not competing in sports, it’s hard to tell that he’s one of the top multi-sport athletes in the state. Thompson has always been more reserved, according to Barber. He was mostly nonverbal as a toddler, and he sometimes speaks with a slight lisp. He is the last person on Washington’s track and field team to boast about his success. “He thinks what he does (on the track) speaks for itself,” Blue said. “We were driving back from the Drake Relays and I said, ‘This was a whole lot better than the first time we came down.’ Miles said, ‘Yeah, I was all right.’ That was after setting two Drake Relays records.” Thompson doesn’t see himself as the top dog. He doesn’t like being center stage. He’s quick to shift the focus to his teammates, and how they’ve helped in his success. “He’s very open hearted and super humble,” Barber said. “Like so humble, to the point where it’s like, ‘Do you realize you’ve accomplished all this stuff?’” Humility makes Thompson that much easier to root for, and it’s not just his coach and his mother wanting him to succeed. Every fan in the stands at Drake Relays cheered when he shattered the previously held record.There are layers and layers to Thompson, highlighted by what he has already accomplished on the track. But the best part about Thompson, is that he is only getting started. “I don’t think he’s hit his ceiling yet,” Blue said. “I’m going to be very curious to see what that ceiling is.”
Personal:
His parents both competed in track at North Carolina... Is one of seven siblings.
