Max Gifford is the lone senior on this list, and his story is an inspiring one. Before last XC season he had an iron bar inserted into his chest to counteract the inward growth of his ribcage. As he was still recovering throughout last XC season, he still managed to take 46th-place at State despite never being close to full-strength. Once the track season rolled around and he was fully healed, the numbers that he put up more than earned him a spot on this list. Gifford ran a 53.35 400, a 1:58 800 (taking 7th in the state), and a 4:24 1600 (6th in the state) which were all big jumps from his previous season. Max is a guy to look out for that could really have a breakout XC season if he can carry the momentum he had at the end of track onto the courses this fall. Finishing 46th in the state last season mere months after having an iron bar in his chest, he definitely is a great XC runner, it's just a matter of if he can reach a similar level in the 5k that he was able to in the 1600.
2017 XC Results
| TIME | MEET | DATE | PLACE |
| 17:07.70 | MSHSL State Cross Country Championships | 11/04/17 | 46th |
| 17:06.70 | MSHSL Section 4A Championships | 10/26/17 | 7th |
| 17:10.24 | IMAC Conference Championship | 10/12/17 | 2nd |
| 17:44.57 | Alexandria Lions Meet Of Champions | 10/07/17 | 72nd |
| 18:14.23 | Jefferson Jaguar Challenge | 09/26/17 | 2nd |