POLL: National Girls XC Performer of the Week (Nov. 24-30)

Dec 01, 2025

* Ella Mogannam won the CIF D5 state title over the weekend

Photo Credit: DeAnna Turner/MileSplit California

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Just like it has all season, another weekend of championship racing saw the best and brightest distance runners extend their season for at least another week.

From the three Brooks XC Regional Championships to the California State Championships, these five girls excelled and made the most of the opportunity.

The National Performer of the Week poll will close at 5 p.m. CT on Thursday, December 4, and the winner will be announced shortly after.

Check out these five nominees for NPOTW as the 2025 cross country season enters the home stretch.

* Athletes cannot be nominated for National Performer of the Week in back-to-back weeks*

POLL: National Boys XC Performer of the Week (Nov. 24-30)

This Week's Nominees:

Ella Mogannam, Lick Wilmerding (Calif.): Before taking her talents east to Tennessee, where she's continuing her career at Vanderbilt, Mogannam won her first CIF Division 5 state title with a breakthrough performance. She ran under 17 minutes for the first time over 3 miles this season, clocking 16:54.2. Mogannam pulled away to win by 23 seconds, the only girl in the field to dip below 17:00. The senior not only claimed her first cross country state championship, but she also secured California's fifth and final automatic qualifying spot for Nike Cross Nationals.

Maysen Fletcher, Herbert Hoover (W.V.): Another box checked in Fletcher's young but successful high school career, as the West Virginia standout broke the tape at the Brooks South XC Championships. Running 17:02.87, the sophomore separated herself from the pack, winning by three seconds. In her first trip out to Balboa Park in San Diego, California, Fletcher will be one of the youngest competitors in the field, and easily one of the top contenders for the title.

Abigail Hennessey, Westford (Mass.): For the sixth time in six races this fall, the future Washington Husky was the first girl to the finish, this time doing so at the Brooks Northeast XC Championships. Comfortably taking down the national-caliber field, Hennessey clocked 16:47.3 as she won by 14 seconds, making a statement ahead of the Brooks XC Championships this month. Her win marked the third time this season she broke 17:00, and the fifth time she has run 17:15 or quicker.

Elena Aldrink, Olen. Liberty (Ohio): Just two weeks removed from coming within eight seconds of punching her ticket to NXN, Aldrink took advantage of a stellar field and snowy conditions in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to secure her place on the Brooks XC Championships starting line. Finishing fourth overall at the Brooks Midwest XC Championships in 17:35.5, Aldrink left nothing up to chance as she finished over 25 seconds ahead of the final qualifying spot. The reigning Ohio Division 1 state champion is now 6-2 on the year and is heading to her first cross country national championship.

Jaelyn Williams, Eastlake (Calif.): After a 24th-place finish as a junior, Williams threw down the hammer at Woodward Park, running 16:28.0 as she picked up her first CIF Division 1 cross country state title. Taking down Arkansas commit Braelyn Combe (Santiago Corona), 16:28-16:57.1, Williams made a little bit of history in her dominant win. She broke Claudia Lane's (Malibu) eight-year-old meet record of 16:30.3, and she broke the D1 record as well. It also marks the third-fastest time in course history, trailing only Summer Wilson (Irvine) and Sadie Engelhardt (Ventura).