Lauren Ping, Cotter (MN)
Lauren Ping surprised many last season when she qualified for NXN after a fourth place showing at NXR Heartland, and turned even more heads when she finished 11th at nationals. She's been well ahead of her times from 2017 at this point, including running 17:41 at State, roughly 40 seconds quicker than she did a year ago. That time was the fourth fastest of the day, behind just Emily Covert and Grace Ping. The Ping sisters also seem to be trained to peak perfectly for the postseason, as Lauren dropped over a minute from her personal best to take fourth here last season. After winning the Class A 3200m title last spring, Ping has been extremely consistent, finishing second behind her older sister in every race except for Griak, where she finished fourth. This time around, a top five finish for Ping is almost expected.