POLL: MileSplit LA Girls' XC Runner Of The Year!

LUCY THOMAS COMPETES AT THE SJA XC INVITATIONAL EARLIER THIS YEAR

During the 2024 Louisiana XC season, MileSplit LA would have a poll every week to give the running community an opportunity to vote on the runner who had the most outstanding performance. We have collected all of the winners of the Performer of the Week polls and have placed them on the ballot to see who will become MileSplit Louisiana Girls' XC Runner Of The Year. 

Congratulations to all of the finalists, and thank you to everyone who has engaged with this content during the 2024. This poll will close on Saturday at 9pm.

CLAIRE ALLEN (BENTON)-- Won the very first poll of the season. Captured 47% of the vote. The highlight of her season was a personal record 18:23 at Benton's home meet which was good enough for a third-place finish. Also finished third in District 1-5A. 

CHARLOTTE BECK (ST. JOSEPH'S BATON ROUGE)-- Started her sophomore campaign strong with three top ten finishes. Her season best (19:07) came at SJA's XC Invitational where she finished No. 17. She finished the LHSAA D1 Girls Championships with a time of 19:24 and a No. 14 finish. 

CELIA ADAMS (ST. THOMAS AQUINAS)--What a year it was for the eighth grader! She picked three wins--LCA Knights Invitational (18:39), STA's Bruce O'Krepki Memorial XC Invitational (18:31 season best), and was the District 9-2A champion. She also finished runner-up at STA's Southland Steel (18:56), Northshore Metro Championships (19:16), and D4 Region 3 Championships (18:55). At the LHSAA D4 State Cross Country Championships, Adams finished third with a time of 19:14. 

MACAYLAH TINGLE (NORTH DESOTO)--Tingle won the Huntington Raider XC Invitational with a time of 20:36 and followed that up with a personal record of 19:49 and a third place finish at the C.E. Byrd XC Fall Invitational. The junior finished up the season with a No. 16 finish at the LHSAA D2 State Cross Country Championships with a time of 20:34.

CATHERINE MCELROY (CADDO MAGNET)--McElroy's season was highlighted with a runner-up finish at the Huntington Raider XC Invitational where she ran a personal record of 20:47. She followed that up with another top ten finish at the C.E. Byrd XC Fall Invitational where she ran a 20:54. 

KATELYN ALLEN (NORTH DESOTO)--The freshman had her first top ten finish at the C.E. Byrd XC Fall Invitational where she ran a 21:00. She followed that up with a personal record 20:39 at the Benton Classic. 

ADELE AJMI (BEN FRANKLIN)-- Ajmi was the runner-up at the D1 Region 3 Championships with a time of 19:15. Her season best and personal record came at the Pete Boudreaux '59 Catholic Invitational where she ran a 19:15. At the LHSAA D1 State Cross Country Championships, the freshman just missed out on making the top ten with a time of 19:06. 

EDEN DAWSEY (RUSTON)-- Speaking of freshmen, Dawsey had the best first season of any ninth grade distance runner in North Louisiana. She led her Bearcats back to the top at the D1 Region 1 Championship as she took individual honors with a time of 18:48. Her most impressive time came at the Benton Classic where she won with a time of 18:12. That time ranks No. 5 in Louisiana for freshmen across all classes. 

LUCY THOMAS (BATON ROUGE)-- Thomas pulled the biggest upset of the day at the LHSAA D1 State Cross Country Championships where she beat SJA's Michelle Daigle, who was coming off one of--if not THE--best regular season in LHSAA history. Thomas' season got off to a slow start after overcoming a nagging foot injury which followed a great summer of work. Thomas time of 17:25 moves her to No. 10 in the MileSplit LA all-time performances database. She is also the only runner in the top ten who has a best time which came on the state course on the campus or Northwestern State University.