MileSplit50 Girls Team Rankings Countdown

Analysis: For all intents and purposes, The Elks had one of their best years in the tenure's history in 2017. The girls team won the Division I state championship and earned big titles at the Paul Short Run in Pennsylvania and the Trinity/Valkyrie Invitational in Kentucky. And yet, they didn't get the one they wanted. After finishing a heartbreaking fourth-place at NXR Midwest, Centerville was up for a wildcard bid for Nike Cross Nationals, though wasn't picked and ended its season. 

Can they do it in 2018? The chances are certainly. Head coach David Dobson is back and he returns six out of seven returners from last year's team, including the program's top two runners, senior Grace Kilroy and sophomore Emma Bucher, who split an open 4:53.40 in the 1600m during the spring track season. The Elks return with a fair amount of depth and return with an average of 18:31.02 and a very good compression of 44.58 seconds. Now, all those big meets out of state in 2017 didn't ultimately hand Centerville a qualification to NXN, though it did beef up their resume. So this time, Centerville just have to take care of business when the time comes. 

Probable Top Seven: 

• Grace Kilroy, senior: One of Centerville's top runners, she was 9th at Trinity/Valkyrie, 11th in the Brown Race at Paul Short, 18th at the OHSAA D1 Championships, 36th at NXR Midwest and 50th at Foot Locker Midwest. She ran a career best 18:08.42 on the season at 5K. 
• Emma Bucher, sophomore: Fast emerging, Bucher was 18th at Trinity/Valkyrie, 12th at Paul Short, 8th at Conference, 12th at the D1 championships and 28th at NXR Midwest. She ran a best of 18:16.40 on the season. 
• Kerri Walsh, junior: The team's No. 3, she was 25th at Paul Short, 12th at conference and 22nd at the D1 Championships in a 5K PR of 18:28.80. 
• Savannah Lowe, senior: She was 17th at Paul Short, 22nd at conference and 84th at state. She ran a best of 18:48.50 on the season. 
• Rachel Whitehead, senior: She was 21st at Paul Short, 11th at conference and 44th at state. She ran a best of 18:53.00 on the season. 
• Dalia Einstein, junior: She was 38th at Trinity/Valkyrie, 33rd at Paul Short, 94th at state and ran a best of 19:05.20 for 5K. 
• Sydney Khosla, junior: She was 32nd at Paul Short with a 5K best of 19:10.00. 

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Top Returning 5K Times From The 2017 Season

Top Returning 1600m Times From The 2018 Season

Top Returning 3200m Times From The 2018 Season

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