1. Grace Ping, Winona Cotter (Minnesota)
Grade: Freshman
Breakdown: The well-known story of Grace Ping feels like it's only just beginning. It was at Roy Griak in 2015 when Ping burst onto the national stage in dramatic fashion, beating eventual NXN fourth-place finisher Judy Pendergrast as a 7th grader. It was her first high school 5K. Later that year, she finished 14th at NXN, then moved to Utah in the summer before her eighth grade year.
In spite of not being allowed to compete against Utah high school competition, she again qualified for NXN and again was All-American, finishing sixth. She spent much of the rest of the season competing against college athletes and pros.
Now back in Minnesota, and at Cotter -- where she first burst on to the scene -- her first two races have been a rousing success, hitting winning times of 17:45 at the St. Olaf Showcase and 18:16 at the Rochester Mayo Invitational. In both races, her 7th grade sister Lauren turned in great performances as well, finishing third (18:21) and second (19:21), respectively. Now returning to Griak for the first time since her 2015 win, Ping, ranked No. 5 in the Flo50 rankings, is the clear favorite.