5K PR: 18:41
Grade: Senior
Classification: MHSAA 6A
2021 Ranking: No. 2
Accolades: 2021 MHSAA 6A Cross Country Champion | 2022 MHSAA 6A 1600m Champion | 2021 MHSAA 6A 1600m Champion
MileSplit Mississippi has officially announced the No. 1 ranked High School Girls runner in all of Mississippi heading into the 2022 cross country season.
And to one's surprise, that runner is the 3 x state champion out of Hernando High School, Jessica Cartwright.
Cartwright is the fastest returner to the 2022 cross country season, as she is the only returner that has broken 19 minutes in the 5K.
RANKINGS: Mississippi High School Girls XC Returner Rankings
Cartwright also finished as the second best girl in Mississippi on the 2021 All-MileSplit Mississippi XC team, only behind 2022 Long Beach graduate Brooklyn Biancamano.
She is coming off of a phenomenal junior season which consisted of two state titles, winning the cross country individual title, and then defended her 1600m title at the 2022 MHSAA 6A Track and Field Championships. Cartwright also added a runner-up finish in the 800m.
RESULTS: 2022 MHSAA 6A Track and Field Championships
Lastly, Cartwright is coming off of a track season in which she nabbed two PRs in the 800m and 1600m, running 2:21.8 in the 800m and 5:19.1 in the 1600m. She ended the 2022 track and field season ranked second in the 1600m and third in the 800m in Mississippi.
RANKINGS: Mississippi H.S. Girls 800m | Mississippi H.S. Girls 1600m
As one can certainly see, Cartwright has quite the resume coming into the 2022 cross country season. She ended the cross country season with four total wins in 2021, and could potentially go for a lot more this year.
Cartwright will have a few low-key races before traveling to Memphis for the City Auto Memphis Twilight Classic and potentially put down a fast time there.
She will also see some solid competition at the Saltillo Invitational, the Tupelo Invitational, the Frank Horton Invitational, and to cap it all off, the Watson High School Classic, according to the 2022 Hernando cross country schedule.
Will Cartwright be the first girl to go under 18 minutes in the 5k since Biancamano in 2018?
We will find out this season!
Next All-MileSplit Mississippi team drop: Wednesday, August 24, 2022