2019 MileSplit50 Individual Girls XC Rankings Countdown

No. 5 Taylor Ewert

School: Beavercreek (OH)

Year: 2020

Notable Finishes: 4th at Foot Locker Nationals; 3rd at NXN; 2nd at Foot Locker Midwest; 3rd at NXR Midwest; 1st at OHSAA Division I Cross Country Championships; 1st at Nike Valley Twilight

Analysis: The most impressive part of Ewert's season last year? It wasn't the back-to-back top five finishes at Nike Cross Nationals and Foot Locker Nationals--spread across a week's time. No, it was her literal back-to-back in November -- which included two races in two days -- when she went from the OHSAA Division I Cross Country Championships, a race she won in 17:38.70, over to the NXR Midwest Championship in Indiana the next day and went 17:33.70, finishing third.

Ewert is no stranger to brutal back-to-backs. She performed the same type of dance the previous spring, going from NBNO to USA Juniors. But what that established, really, was Ewert's desire to achieve. The Ohio star is long past only being regarded as a race walker. She's now one of the elite distance runners in the country. Last year she ran the third fastest 5K in Ohio history, going 16:57.90 at the Greater Western Ohio Conference Championships. If history serves as any indication, we're probably going to see more sub-17s from Ewert in 2019.