McLaughlin Tabbed as Gatorade Player of Year for XC

Air Academy's Allie McLaughlin adds to her collection of honors by being selected as Gatorade's Player of the Year for female cross country runners in Colorado.

All season long, nobody within the borders of Colorado came close to McLaughlin in any race. She did not merely finish state competition with an undefeated season; there simply was never anyone within sight when she crossed the finish line. Most notable among her season titles was the 5A state championship, which she won in 17:04.5, more than a minute ahead of second place.

Following the CHSAA season, McLaughlin went on to qualify for Foot Locker Nationals out of the Midwest regional and, from there, finished fifth at FLN after setting the pace through 2.8 miles against such notables as Ashley Brasovan and Jordan Hasay.

In an interview with MileSplit's Fran McLaughlin (no relation) following the Foot Locker National race, McLaughlin confessed, "I kind of changed my style for regionals and it didn't go too well... I already had my mind made up--I'm going out hard."

The strategy that served McLaughlin so well throughout the fall served her well enough in San Diego. She grabbed the headlines in a race where none of the experts gave her a prayer of succeeding.