The USA TODAY High School Sports Awards are coming to Los Angeles.
On May 19, 2020, the top athletes from around the Los Angeles area will be honored at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus.
Here are the eight finalists for Los Angeles Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year.
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Hana Catsimanes
School: San Clemente
Year: Senior
Noteworthy: Catsimanes’ PR of 16:44.9 came at the Dana Hills Nike Invitational in September, and she continued to push the pace with first-place finishes at the Orange County Championships (17:02.8) and the Sea View League Finals (16:53.1).
Maddie Coles
School: Claremont
Year: Sophomore
Noteworthy: Coles built upon her sterling freshman season – second place in 17:44.8 at the state championship — to win the Crystal Springs Invitational with a 17:25 in October. Since then, she set her PR at 16:30 to win the Palomares League title.
Dalia Frias
School: Mira Costa
Year: Sophomore
Noteworthy: Frias announced herself when she finished in second with a 17:01.1 at the Sundown Showdown in September and followed up with a PR of 16:34.7 at Woodbridge.
Emma Hadley
School: Canyon
Year: Sophomore
Noteworthy: Hadley’s 18:18.5 at the Pat Hadley Memorial Invitational was good for first place. She returned atop the podium at the Century Conference League Finals with a 17:01.6 time, as well. In between, she set her PR of 16:49.9 at Woodbridge.
Madeleine Locher
School: Ventura
Year: Senior
Noteworthy: In a two-week stretch, the senior won the Ventura County Championship with a 17:43.0 and ran a new PR of 16:52 to win the Apache Invitational.
Amber Rios
School: Colony
Year: Junior
Noteworthy: After running a 16:59.3 in the Asics/Cool Breeze Invite, Rios dropped another 18 seconds off her time at Woodbridge to break the Colony school record.
Savannah Scriven
School: Palos Verdes
Year: Senior
Noteworthy: Scriven got things going with a second-place finish at the 2019 ‘Iolani Cross Country Invitational at Kualoa Ranch before putting up her PR (16:28.9) at the Woodbridge HS Cross Country Classic.
Jill Walker
School: Simi Valley
Year: Junior
Noteworthy: Walker went low at Woodbridge with a 16:49.7 and won the Coastal Canyon League Cross Championships with a time of 18:24.5.
For more information on the USA TODAY High School Sports Awards event in Los Angeles, visit sportsawardsla.com. Answers to frequently asked questions about the event can be found here.