The 2018 track season has officially come to a close, and a long break awaits the athletes before they turn their attention to 2019. Even so, we can’t help but to look ahead to next season by selecting a few under-the-radar names who could parlay 2018 success into an even bigger 2019.

Colleen Quigley

Quigley missed big portions of the outdoor season while healing up from a foot injury, but the 26-year-old had a brilliant last month to salvage her abbreviated 2018. The 9:10 steeple PR on September 2 in Berlin made her the third-fastest American all-time behind Courtney Frerichs and Emma Coburn, and it ranked her ninth in the world this year. She did that despite running just two steeples all season.

A close runner-up finish in the 5th Avenue Mile behind legend Jenny Simpson on Sunday only reinforces that Quigley could join Frerichs and Coburn as a legitimate medal threat at Worlds in 2019.

Raevyn Rogers

The first-year pro finished second at USAs both indoor and outdoor before running a huge 1:57.69 PR in Monaco that ranked #7 in the world in 2018. 

After an incredible career at Oregon that featured five NCAA 800m titles, it wasn’t surprising to see the 22-year-old quickly ascend to the top of the pro ranks, but her improvements throughout her rookie campaign suggest that an even bigger sophomore season could be on deck in 2019.

Stewart McSweyn

2018 was already a breakout season of sorts for the 23-year-old Aussie Stewart McSweyn— he ran 13:05 in the Diamond League 5k final and won the Birmingham mile— but after completing his first season on the Diamond League circuit, McSweyn should elevate his game even more in 2019.

That 13:05.23 5k in Brussels on August 31 was the second-best ever by an Australian, and the promise McSweyn showed in mixing it up with the best East Africans throughout the season across multiple distances was reminiscent of the fastest Aussie in history, Craig Mottram. 

Australia hasn’t had a distance star in the 5,000m since Mottram's heyday in the mid-2000s, but based on this year, McSweyn could be that guy in 2019 and beyond.

Akeem Bloomfield

He was overshadowed by Michael Norman during the NCAA season, and rightfully so, but Jamaican 200m/400m stud Akeem Bloomfield looks set to cast his own shadow heading into his first full pro season in 2019.

Not only did Bloomfield run the third-fastest 400m in collegiate history—43.94—in that epic NCAA final in June, but he also dropped a scorching 19.81 200m that ranked fifth in the world in 2018, a spot ahead of Norman’s 19.84. The 19.81 came in just his second attempt at the distance all season.

Of course, Norman still has the 400m edge based on that 43.61 from Eugene, but Bloomfield has established himself as a medal threat in 2019 in an event that will be loaded with star power.  

Jake Wightman

The 24-year-old capped off a fantastic 2018 on Sunday by winning the 5th Avenue Mile in New York City, which should be a big confidence booster heading into a pivotal 2019 campaign.

The Brit ran PRs in the 800m (1:44.61) and 1,500m (3:33.96) in 2018, and he also won bronze in the 1,500m at August’s European Championships. Great Britain has a lot of talent in that distance right between Chris O’Hare, Charlie Grice, Josh Kerr, and Neil Gourley, and this year Wightman showed he has the potential to be the best of the bunch.