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Efraimson (in yellow) showed the poise of a collegiate veteran in kicking down Emma Bates at the Dellinger Invite. (Photo Robert Rosenberg / Dyestat.com)

Saucony Elite 50 Individual Girls | Week 4

*Editor's Note: The Saucony Elite 50 refers to the top-50 individuals in the country (25 boys and 25 girls).  

Well, who saw this jaw-dropper coming?! Alexa Efraimson (Camas WA) threw down this weekend at the Bill Dellinger Invite, beating a talented field of collegiate stars and recording a 16:35 5k best.  Alexa looked like a veteran as she sprinted past Emma Bates (Boise State) at the line.  Some notable scalps include Amy-Eloise Neale, Katie Flood and Katie Knight.  The performance was enough to vault her to US#1 in the country.  Sarah Baxter continues to hold the #2 spot, but Elise Cranny (Niwot) gave it a run, recording a 16:45 win on a course she ran 17:56 on last year!

A big add to the rankings is Stephanie Jenks (Linn-Mar IA) who finished 7th in the Dellinger race with a fine 16:57 clocking, and debuts at #14.  Stephanie ran 17:31 in a collegiate race at the adidas XC Challenge on 9/21 and then finished 4th in the D2 race at Roy Griak in 22:06.6 for 6k.  She is not running for her HS this year but is nonetheless on our radar.  Also making her rankings debut is Lauren Brasure (Rockford MI) who won the Portage Invitational in MI over Annie Heffernan (OH) who was ranked #14 at the time.

Stay tuned for another exciting week of XC coming this week and of course each week as we bring you the Saucony Elite 50 Individual Girls every Monday morning!