2019 Cross Country Countdown: FHSAA 1A Girls

Incoming freshman and breakout 2018 state champion, Carly McNatt, has transferred from Holy Trinity over to IMG Academy to begin her high school career.

IMG Academy is an FHSAA independent school, meaning McNatt will not be able to compete in the district, region, or state series. After a strong summer of training, we hope to see McNatt at a few regular season meets this year.

With McNatt no longer in 1A, the door to an individual state title is open and Sinkenesh Parker is knocking at the door.

We saw Sinkenesh Parker and her teammate, Brooke McEwen, take the first two places in the 1A girls 3200m at the state meet earlier this year. Circle Christian will look to Parker and McEwen to lead their team to another state title victory as the ladies look to be the favorite heading into the season.

Don't count out incoming Oak Hall sophomore, Lauren Jones, from the top of your favorite list. Jones finished third to Parker and McEwen in the 3200m at the state finals. Oak Hall will come into this season with a season average time of 19:58 based off 2018 season bests. Last season Oak Hall's fourth, fifth, and sixth athletes ran as a tight pack compared to Circle Christian. If they can get their second and third athletes up with Jones, we could see a close competition with Circle Christian for the state title.

When talking about the team title, you can't leave out the Maclay School. Ella Porcher will be a key freshman amongst this top pack of ladies. Porcher had a standout eighth grade season, capturing three middle school state titles and placing second in the 1A girls 1600m at the state meet this year. She will lead the Maclay ladies and if we've learned anything over the years it's that Maclay will be in tip top shape come district, region, and state week. These ladies know when to peak.

Keep an eye out for incoming Miami Country Day School freshman, Lauren McGaffic, this season. McGaffic has had a busy summer of training and racing. Recently she has raced two USATF road 5k's one down in south Florida this May in 18:51 and the other just a few weeks back in Washington state in a smoking time of 18:19. It will be exciting to see how her training this summer translates to the cross country course.

Laci Watford, Mary Peck, and Jessica Edwards are three others to keep your eye on this season -- all three ladies finished top ten last season and have had significant improvements this track season.

In the 2019 cross country season we will see the rankings change and shift across all classifications -- anything can happen. There are only a few more days till the 2018 cross country season starts, it's go time.

FHSAA 1A Girls Database Team Rankings

FHSAA 1A Girls Database Individual Rankings