Earlier today, Stanford freshmen and twin brothers, Lex Young and Leo Young, announced that they have signed "Name, Image and Likeness" (NIL) deals with On, a Swiss athletic and performance sportswear brand.
Lex and Leo now join fellow teammates Ky Robinson, Cole Sprout, Juliette Whittaker and Amy Bunnage as Stanford standouts who will be representing the Swiss brand. It should also be noted that NCAA stars Olivia Markezich, Maia Ramsden and Carley Thomas are recent collegiate athletes who have also signed NIL deals with On in 2023. Former Tennessee star, Dylan Jacobs, also decided to go pro earlier this year with On.
As high schoolers, Lex and Leo Young, whose brother is Nico Young, a standout ace at Northern Arizona, were among the best prep distance talents in the country.
Lex Young produced times of 4:01 (mile), 8:35 (3200) and 13:34 (5k), the latter being a high school national record. On the grass, he was 3rd at the 2021 Garmin RunningLane XC National Championships, finishing behind then-teammates, Colin Sahlman and Leo Young. Since then, Lex Young has emerged as a valuable scorer for the Cardinal men, placing 12th at the 2023 PAC-12 XC Championships and 74th at the 2023 NCAA XC Championships.
Leo Young, meanwhile, has run 3:59 (1600), 4:00 (mile), 8:39 (3200) and 14:05 (5k XC). On the grass, Leo was runner-up to teammate Colin Sahlman at the 2021 Garmin RunningLane XC National Championships. He later went on to win the 2023 USATF U20 XC Championships and then finish 16th at the 2023 World U20 XC Championships.
As a collegiate, Leo only competed three times on the grass this past fall. His best finish was arguably a 46th place effort at the Virginia Invite back in September.
On continues to place a heavy emphasis on Stanford's men's program, now having signed four of their varsity runners from their 2023 cross country lineup. On has also remained as the clear-cut dominant brand in NCAA track and cross country when it comes to the number of NIL deals that the Swiss performance and apparel company is willing to make.