There Is No Individual Favorite
* Jenna Hutchins broke the national high school record for the 5K at last year's RunningLane Cross Country Championships
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Last year was a RunningLane Cross Country Championships to remember. Those who were there witnessed Jenna Hutchins set a new high school girls 5K national best in cross country, as she went15:58.42 and became the first girl in history to break 16 minutes for 5K.
But Hutchins isn't competing this year, which means this leaves the field wide open.
Looking at the entries, there are a handful of athletes who could be named champion this year.
There are seven girls on the MileSplit50 rankings who are entered into in the championship.
Riley Stewart of Cherry Creek (CO), Natalie Cook of Flower Mound (TX), Dalia Frias of Mira Costa (CA) and Lily Cridge of Bishop Chatard (IN) are ranked within the top 10 on the MileSplit50 rankings.
Jenna Mulhern of West Chester Henderson, Ava Parekh of Chicago Latin (IL), and Chloe Foerster of Portland Jesuit (OR) are also contenders for the title and are ranked within the top 25.
There are a handful of girls listed on the honorable mention who lace up to compete this weekend as well. On paper, there isn't a clear favorite as the field is loaded with talent from across the country.