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.