2017 Girls Cross Country Finalists

Kaylee Wilson

Wilson was one of the Indians runners who needed to step up after the graduation of some key contributors, and she did so to the tune of a district championship (19:47.56) and a top-20 run at state (19:14) that helped Jackson win its first team state title. She also finished second at the conference meet and won the Jackson Invitational’s sophomore race.

Megan Barnum

On a young team, Barnum was a key upperclassman. She won the senior heat of the Jackson Invitational, finished fourth at the conference meet in 19:23 and landed third at the district race with a time of 19:59.58. An 11th-place run at sectionals vaulted her to Class 4 state, where she helped her team win a title with a 29th-place, 19:36 run.

Kennedy Bauer

Bauer rounds out a state championship-winning Jackson trio. One of her best runs of the year came at the conference meet, where she finished sixth with a time of 19:35. She followed that up with a fourth-place run in the district meet. At Class 4 state, she finished 49th with a time of 19:57.

Katie Hanners

In her final year at Notre Dame, Hanners claimed her stake by finishing near the top of the field in every competition. She was a conference champion with an 18-minute, 30-second performance, and also won the Cape Central Invitational. Her district run of 20:51 was good for eighth place, and Hanners then ran her way to third at the Class 3 state competition, posting a time of 19:17.

Alaina Baumgart

Baumgart returns to the top tier of area runners after earning a Semoball Awards finalist nod a year ago. The junior didn’t finish lower than sixth in any big meet this season, finishing second in the Cape Central Invitational, third in the conference race (19:17), fourth at district (20:21) and then wrapped it all up with a sixth-place run at Class 3 state with a time of 19:29.