Below are FloTrack's top five high school female athletes of the year.

5. Sammy Watson (Rush-Henrietta, NY)

Sammy Watson had the kind of junior season that probably caught every college coach's eye in 2017--and she hasn't even announced her decision yet! Watson was one of several high schoolers to compete at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in July after qualifying with a U.S. No. 1 time of 2:02.91 en route to winning the U.S. junior title in June. She then brought home the gold medal at the World U20 Championships in the 800m, leading the U.S.'s 1-2 sweep with Aaliyah Miller.

Watch Sammy Watson win the World U20 title!

4. Candace Hill (Rockdale, GA/Asics)

Candace Hill turned pro in 2015 after winning the Brooks PR 100m in 10.98, the first high schooler to ever dip under 11 seconds. Hill's 2016 was a mixed bag, although she did end up on top at the World U20 Championships. She won the U.S. junior title in 11.24 before failing to make both the 100m and 200m finals at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. She won U20 golds in the 100m (in a championship record of 11.07) and the 4x100m relay. Though she didn't make it to Rio, Hill is only 17 years old and went through more life changes than most in 2016. 

Listen to what Candace Hill had to say after the most important win of her career:

3. Christina Aragon (Billings, MT)

Christina Aragon made high school history in 2016 in the middle distances. The Montana native and current Stanford XC All-American first ran 4:11 at the Payton Jordan Invite and then lowered that to 4:09.27 in the Portland Track Festival 1500m to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. She lowered that mark to 4:08.71 when she earned the bronze medal at the World U20 Championships. Aragon was the first American woman to ever earn a medal in the 1500m at the championship--and she had to beat Nike professional Alexa Efraimson to get the medal. Watch out for Aragon at NCAAs in 2017!

Watch Christina Aragon run 4:09 against professionals at the Portland Track Fest:

2. Sydney McLaughlin (Union Catholic, NJ)

Sydney McLaughlin became the youngest U.S. Olympian since 1972 to compete in the Games after she finished third at the Olympic Trials in the 400m hurdle finals with a time of 54.15, which was a new World junior, American junior, and U.S. high school record. McLaughlin went on to finish fifth in her semifinal in Rio, failing to make the final. Also the indoor 400m national record-holder, McLaughlin will attend the University of Kentucky next fall. Kentucky coach Edrick Floreal also coaches 100m world record-holder Keni Harrison.

Hear what Sydney McLaughlin had to say after she qualified for the Olympics as a 16-year-old!

1. Vashti Cunningham (Bishop Gorman, NV/Nike)

Vashti Cunningham is our No. 1 high school athlete for 2016 and here's why. The Las Vegas native broke the World U20 record in the indoor high jump with a 1.99m leap to win the U.S. title in March. Eight days later, Cunningham won the gold medal at the World indoor championships in Portland and signed a professional contract with Nike shortly after. The daughter of former NFL great Randall Cunningham finished second at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in 1.97m, an American junior record and the ninth-best jump in the world in 2016. She went on to finish 13th in the Olympic high jump finals in Rio. 

Watch the trailer for the Vashti Cunningham FloFilm, DRIVEN: