The USA TODAY High School Sports Awards are coming to Dallas.
On May 15, 2020, the top athletes from around the Metroplex will be honored at Music Hall at Fair Park.
Here are the nine finalists for Dallas Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year.
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Sadie Carey
School: Weatherford
Year: Senior
Noteworthy: After claiming three first-place finishes – Paschal Invitational, The Reunion Run and Class 6A District 3 championship – Carey saved her personal record over 5,000 meters for the Class 6A state championship meet, where she ran 17:50.8 to finish sixth.
Natalie Cook
School: Flower Mound
Year: Sophomore
Noteworthy: Few runners were as consistent as the sophomore who won the UIL 6A District 06 race at North Lakes Park.
Cameron Fawcett
School: Highland Park
Year: Junior
Noteworthy: The junior is a winner. From the Coppell Invitational to the UIL 5A District 11 Cross Country Championships, Fawcett won three times this season.
Jenna Holland
School: Southlake Carroll
Year: Senior
Noteworthy: Holland posted a new PR for three miles at the Marcus I Invitational in August and closed the season with a 17:54.7 in the Class 6A state championship race that her Dragons won as a team.
Katherine McElaney
School: Southlake Carroll
Year: Senior
Noteworthy: McElaney brought veteran savvy to the Dragons as she placed fourth in the District 5 (17:56.9) for a new PR and then took ninth (18:00.8) at the Class 6A state meet.
Amy Morefield
School: Lovejoy
Year: Freshman
Noteworthy: Morefield is off to a fast start. After upsetting three-time state champion London Culbreath from McKinney North at the Class 5A-District 10 meet with a time of 18:15.87 in mid-October, she finished third in the state meet with a time of 17:34.8.
Gracie Morris
School: Aledo
Year: Senior
Noteworthy: Morris, who is headed to Austin to compete for the Longhorns next fall, picked up a second-place finish (17:25.16) in the Class 5A race in Round Rock this month. She recorded a state runner-up finish in the 1600 her freshman year along with a fifth-place finish last year. She was second at state in the recently concluded cross country season, third as a sophomore, and fifth as a freshman.
Aubrey O’Connell
School: Prosper
Year: Sophomore
Noteworthy: O’Connell took home the Class 6A girls state cross country title at Old Settlers Park and outdistanced runner-up Eva Jess by more than six seconds as the Prosper runner finished with a time of 17:05.95 to Jess’ 17:12.18.
Colleen Stegmann
School: Frisco Reedy
Year: Junior
Noteworthy: Stegmann set a new school record when she ran 17:14 in October, won the District 9-5A title and clocked in at 17:17.03 to claim the UIL Class 5A individual title in November.
For more information on the USA TODAY High School Sports Awards Dallas, visit sportsawardsdallas.com. Answers to frequently asked questions about the event can be found here.