High School Girls

*Layla Warren leading the field at the 2022 Early Bird 2-miler

2021 champion: Layla Warren (Simpson Academy) | 20:05

Meet / course record: Layla Warren (Simpson Academy) | 20:05

No. 1 seed: Ella Rankin (Hartfield Academy) | 19:01

The Rundown:

For the individual girls, we have another showdown between Layla Warren and Ella Rankin.

Rankin is coming off a big win at the 2022 MRA XC Invitational, where she ran a season-best of 19:36. She is also undefeated over the 5k distance this season.

However, she will be hotly contested by Simpson Academy's frontrunner, Layla Warren. Time and time again, she has proven she is a fearless runner, and she has already gotten the best of Rankin this season on the Simpson course during the 2022 Early Bird Two Mile.

Another athlete having a fantastic season is East Rankin's Leah Collipp. She is coming off back-to-back runner-up finishes at the 2022 Ocean Springs Invitational and the 2022 Clinton Arrow Invitational. At Ocean Springs, she dipped under the 20-minute mark by a considerable margin for the first time this season, running 19:45.

One last notable entry is East Rankin's Audrey Mayatte, who got her first-ever win on the grass at the 2022 Clinton Arrow Invitational. 

READ NEXT: Meet Recap - 2022 Clinton Arrow Invitational

State Editor's Pick: Much like the Meet Preview in the High School Boys competition, the top two finishers, Rankin and Warren, seem like they are on another level right now. 

According to the All-MileSplit Mississippi XC Team Rankings, they are two of the top four female distance runners in Mississippi. 

READ NEXT: All-MileSplit Mississippi XC High School Girls Rankings: Edition No. 2

The last time these two private school studs faced off, Rankin won in convincing fashion in the last mile. 

Warren is a fearless competitor, but Rankin looks very in-control of her fitness, and we think she'll add another win to her resume.