Chipotle Nationals: Medlock, Thompson lead Link Academy (Mo.) past Wasatch Academy (Utah)

The 2026 Chipotle Nationals began on Wednesday evening at Hamilton Southeastern High School in Fishers, Ind.

The first of two opening-round games saw Link Academy (Mo.) pick up a 69-62 win over Wasatch Academy (Utah). Despite the close score, the Lions were in control for a majority of the evening.

Link led for over 29 minutes of game time and its lead grew to 19 at one point. The Lions, who entered this week ranked No. 17 overall in the Rivals Composite Rankings, received big efforts from all five of their starters.

Senior point guard Carlos Medlock Jr., a four-star prospect signed with Michigan State, led all scorers with 21 points on 7-14 shooting. He knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and added three rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block in 31 minutes.

Junior guard Davion Thompson was right behind with 17 points, four assists and a rebound. Three of his four makes came from downtown and he went 6-7 from the free throw line. Link shot 15-20 from the charity stripe as a team.

Kansas four-star small forward signee Trent Perry had a game-high nine rebounds to go with six points and three assists. Oregon four-star SF signee Tahj Ariza, the son of Trevor, poured in 13 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. Mississippi State four-star power forward commit Tristan Reed also filled up the stat sheet with five points, six boards, four blocks, two assists and a steal in 18 minutes.

Link shot 50 percent from the floor as a team, and by the way, it put together the impressive performance while getting practically nothing from Michigan State four-star center signee Ethan Taylor, the highest-ranked prospect on the roster.

Despite trailing for a majority of the contest, Wasatch, the No. 20 team in the nation, did hold its own. It shot 46 percent as a team and even outscored Link in the second half. It was barely out-rebounded (29-27) by the Lions.

The Tigers got some big scoring efforts, too. Junior point guard Mana Winitana led them off the bench with 16 points on 5-8 shooting. UConn four-star PG signee Junior County had 15 points, six rebounds and two steals, while senior SF Chidi Nwigwe had 13 points and five rebounds.

Link Academy advances to Thursday’s quarterfinals and will take on Dynamic Prep (Texas) in the fourth and final game of the day. The Bearcats rank as the No. 12 team nationally. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET and will air on ESPNU.

About the Chipotle Nationals

“The National High School Invitational (NHSI) was created in 2009 by Paragon Marketing Group to provide a platform for the top, nationally ranked high school basketball teams in the country to compete against one another in a season-ending tournament. Over the course of fifteen-years, this event (previously titled DICK’S Nationals and GEICO Nationals, taking place in DC, NYC, FL) has crowned the best high school basketball teams in the country. In 2024, the event moved to IN and became the Chipotle High School Basketball Nationals.”