ASICS Future Stars: Freshmen Girls Update #1
ASICS Future Stars: Freshmen Girls Update #1
Every year in high school XC, freshmen girls are represented on the national stage at both NXN and Foot Locker Nationals to a much higher degree than that of their male counterparts. Last year, a freshman girl finished top-10 at both national championships, as Taylor Cuneo was 8th at NXN and Annie Hill was 8th at Foot Locker. In contrast, no freshmen boys ran at Foot Locker, and only one competed at NXN.
Many ladies find the transition to prep cross country to be a seamless one, and the following list includes several athletes that are already showing themselves to be among the nation’s best runners despite being just 9th graders.
Here is the ASICS Future Stars Freshman Girls’ Update #1:
Amaris Tyynismaa (Montgomery, AL)
Get ready America, Montgomery (AL) freshman Amaris Tyynismaa is about to take over high school distance running. As an 8th grader, Tyynismaa broke the Alabama state meet course record with her 17:02 5K victory, and then dropped a 16:57 in the Foot Locker South regional to dominate the girls 13-14 with a time that would’ve placed 5th in the seeded race. She kept rolling this past track season, becoming just the second Alabama middle schooler to break 5:00 in the 1600 with her 4:59.50 on March 14th. Tyynismaa enters her freshman campaign having already won seven high school state titles!
Ember Stratton (Portland, OR)
Ember Stratton’s prep career is only four races old, but the frosh has already shown herself to be a national contender after her 16:38 3rd place finish this past weekend at the Woodbridge XC Classic in Irvine, CA. The Portland, OR 9th grader’s time makes her the fastest frosh over 3 miles this season by 27 seconds, and ranks her 6th in the country for all grades in 2015.
Eve Jensen (Boise, ID)
There are breakout races, and then there is the Eve Jensen’s 17:34 5K this weekend at the Sundodger Invitational in Seattle, WA. The Boise, ID frosh lowered her PR by 63-seconds en route to a 4th place finish on Saturday, and now owns the fastest performance by a 9th grader in 2015.
Emma Wilson (Greencastle, IN)
Greencastle (IN) freshman Emma Wilson has recorded victories in four of her five races to open her prep career, with her lone defeat at the Ben Davis Invitational on September 12th ironically being her quickest result. Her 17:43 5K PR is second-best for all freshmen in 2015.
Devianna Salcedo (McFarland, CA)
Cross country is a pretty big deal at McFarland High School, so much so that a movie was made about the program, but Devianna Salcedo is writing her own script in just her first year on campus. Salcedo dropped a 17:05 3-mile at the Seaside Invitational on September 11th, second-best behind Stratton in 2015. The McFarland frosh was 20th in 17:19 this past weekend at Woodbridge.
Ackley Adelyn (Hart, MI)
Not many freshmen start their careers by winning their first four races, but Hart (MI) 9th grader Ackley Adelyn has done just that in 2015. Adelyn’s 18:04 5K from the season-opening Benzie Pete Moss Inviational is still her quickest of the year, and fifth-best for a member of the Class of 2019 this season.
Rebecca Clark (Mount Dora, FL)
Rebecca Clark had already made a name for herself before she arrived at high school, as the Mount Dora (FL) product ran a 2:20 800 and 5:10 mile as just an 8th grader. Now a freshman, Clark came close to a sub-18 5K with her 18:06 victory on September 12th, sixth-best for a frosh this season.
Chloe Arriaga (Walnut, CA)
Walnut High’s Chloe Arriaga went 1-2 with her sister Emma this weekend in the Gold - Varsity B race at Woodbridge, running 17:22 for the 3-mile course which ranks third-best for all freshmen. Considering that Arriaga won by 22 seconds, a spot in the much more competitive sweepstakes race likely would have resulted in a much quicker time.
Amber Gall (Shepherd, MI)
Shepherd (MI) frosh Amber Gall got her high school career off to a fast start by winning her first two races in 2015, including an 18:02 5K on August 29th which ranks fourth-best for all freshmen this season.
Lauren Peterson (Farmington, MN)
Like Tyynismaa and Clark, Farmington High’s (MN) Lauren Peterson already had experience against prep competition before starting her freshman season, as she boasts impressive PRs of 5:07 in the 1600 and 11:01 in the 3200. Peterson’s 18:09 5K victory on September 11th at the Faribault Invitational was a 46-second PR and ranks her seventh in the freshmen class for 2015.
Stay tuned for the Freshman Boys List coming up later this week!