Makenna Thurston, Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial, Sr
Makenna Thurston has one of the most impressive ranges in Minnesota. Last season, Thurston ran 18:54 to nab 6th place at State for cross country. However, unlike most All-State XC runners, Thurston elects to focus on sprints during track. And she excels at shorter distances as well: Thurston qualified for State in the 400m, taking 14th. In two 3200s, Thurston only ran 12:27, far from what she's likely capable of. This may be attributed to focusing more on sprint work, so with little distance data from the spring, it's somewhat harder to project potential improvements. That being said, Thurston is coming off her second consecutive top 15 XC finish, and has consistently improved throughout her three seasons in the sport. In both 2017 and 2016, she dropped about 30 seconds from the previous year, so watch out for Thurston to compete for a top five spot in Class A.
2017 XC Results
| TIME | MEET | DATE | PLACE |
| 18:54.60 | MSHSL State Cross Country Championships | 11/04/17 | 6th |
| 18:59.91 | MSHSL Section 2A Championships | 10/26/17 | 1st |
| 19:56.00 | Gopher Valley Conference Championships | 10/17/17 | 2nd |
| 19:40.24 | Madelia Invite | 10/12/17 | 2nd |
| 19:17.00 | Sleepy Eye Invitational | 10/05/17 | 1st |
| 19:37.80 | St. James Invite | 09/26/17 | 1st |
| 19:56.13 | Milaca Mega Meet | 09/23/17 | 2nd |
| 19:30.70 | Windom Invite | 09/18/17 | 1st |
| 19:35.78 | Norwood-Young America Lions Invitational | 09/12/17 | 1st |
| 19:59.60 | Tri-City United Gerry Smith Invitational | 09/07/17 | 3rd |
| 19:40.20 | Mountain Lake Paul Metcalf Invitational | 08/30/17 | 3rd |
| 16:10.40 | Fairmont Early Bird Invite (4K) | 08/25/17 | 1st |