2024 Girls Foot Locker Midwest Preview

Returning to the starting line are five of last year's national finalists from the Midwest Regional: Indiana's Libby Dowty (3rd), Michigan's Jessica Jazwinski (4th), Colorado's Payton Meineke (6th) and Emily Cohen (7th), and Michigan's Victoria Garces.

Several competitors in this weekend's race have already secured their spots at Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) in Portland. Among them is North Dakota's Ruby Ihmels, who earned a runner-up finish at NXR Heartland with an impressive 16:34.

The NXR Midwest Regional will also have strong representation at FLMW, with three automatic qualifiers entered. These include race winner Victoria Garces of Michigan, who clocked a 16:52 at LaVern Gibson, runner-up Mia Sirois from Illinois, who ran 16:57, and Indiana state champion Mallory Weller, who secured the fourth auto bid with a personal-best 17:10.

Colorado's contingent from NXR Southwest is equally formidable. Ella Hagen, who placed 4th with a 16:48, earned an automatic bid, while Rosie Mucharsky, finishing 6th, secured her spot as the 5th individual not already on a qualifying team. Emily Cohen also broke 17 minutes at this meet, running 16:59, but narrowly missed an automatic bid by one spot.

Other notable entries this weekend include several top finishers from other NXR regional meets who just missed automatic qualification for NXN. Minnesota's Norah Hushagen placed 8th at NXR Heartland, while the NXR Midwest field saw strong showings from Ohio's Brooke Chapman (6th), Indiana's Libby Dowty (7th), and Illinois standouts Kate Foltz and Karlin Janowski, who finished 10th and 11th respectively.

These athletes are vying to join an elite group of runners who qualify for both NXN and the Foot Locker National Championships. Several other top contenders, including Wisconsin's Division 1 state champion Ella Anschutz, will also compete for a coveted top-10 qualifying spot. Last year, the cutoff for nationals was clear, with the 10th-place runner clocking 17:43.6, a full 18 seconds ahead of 11th. Rachel Forsyth dominated the 2022 race, becoming the only runner to break 17 minutes on the challenging Parkside course, finishing in 16:57.8-one of the fastest times in course history.

Check out the top 250 girls' 5K performances from this season below, and stay tuned for comprehensive coverage during and after this year's Foot Locker Midwest Regional!

FOOTLOCKER MIDWEST BOYS PREVIEW

Top 250 Girls 5K Times this Season Across FLMW States