Sophia Connerton-Nevin is one of a handful of runners to keep an eye on this fall.
Dark Horse:"A previously less known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals."
Like 5A, the girls 4A field is loaded, and it was just as difficult to pen a few potential dark horses for the coming season.
We'll see a new state champ crowned this year - and Samantha Blair is the top returner, having finished second last year.
The lack of an outdoor track season definitely added to the difficulty in deciphering who fits this definition of a "dark horse."
So, to clarify: this list is subjective, and taken from the 2019 cross country season. The criteria used to come up with the following athletes was heavily based on how sharp of a curve a runner had from the beginning of the season to the end of the season.
And bare with me - some drastic leaps cannot be predicted. The following is simply a look as to who could most likely make a big splash on the cross country course this fall.
Because there was simply to many potential dark horses, I stretched this one out to four runners - with a bonus of two more.
There's always someone new to rise up and out of the chase each year, and this is one attempt to figure out who that'll be this fall...
Next Page: Four runners to keep an eye on this fall, and a Bonus...