2019 MileSplit50 Individual Girls XC Rankings Countdown

No. 7 Claire Walters

Team: Fayetteville-Manlius (NY)

Year: 2020

Notable Finishes: 5th at NXN; 2nd at NXR New York; 3rd at NYSPHSAA New York XC Championships; 1st at Manhattan Invitational; 1st at Chittenango Invitational

Analysis: Walters has had a tremendous career thus far. A year ago, Fayetteville-Manlius' No. 1 was superb from start to finish, opening her season with a win at Chittenango before going on to notch a Class B win at the Manhattan Invitational and a third-place finish at the NYSPHSAA New York State Cross Country Championships. 

Walters, however, only got better, finishing second at NXR New York and then fifth at Nike Cross Nationals, which was her second straight outing in the top five. Walters ran under 18 minutes five times for 5K and had a PR of 17:13.30 at NXN. More importantly, she led FM to a fourth-place finish -- the team was rebuilding in 2018 -- and kept her teammates accountable as a veteran leader. 

Walters will leave F-M as one of head coach Bill Aris' most talented runners in program history -- and she will likely get her pick of the litter from collegiate programs. There's no sign Walters will let off in 2019, either, as she ran 4:33.50 for 1,500m and 6:57.03 in the 2K steeple over the outdoor season.