6. Aubrey O'Connell - Prosper
Prosper sophomore had one of the best freshmen seasons in the country last cross country season. She started things off with a win in her first 5K meet at the Plano ISD Inv in 18:39 and ended things with a 41st place finish and 17:59 at NXN. That was quite a way to start and finish your first year of high school cross country. There were also several other big time performances in between the first and the last from O'Connell where she impressed fans and spectators all season long. She finished 8th at Marcus I, 7th at McNeil, and then 2nd at Region 2-6A. She added a third place finish at the UIL 6A state cross country meet in a 16:52 PR before her big post season run. O'Connell was the #1 runner on the Prosper team that finished third as they were edged out by 1 point for second at the state meet. She also led her team to a second place finish at NXR South and the first automatic NXN bid in school history. Track season also produced top marks for O' Connell. She won the 1600m at Texas Relays with a 4:52 PR, a 10:48 in the 3200m, and a 17:27 5K at TDF for 9th overall and then she finished the season with at sixth place finish at state in the 1600m. O'Connell is a two sport athlete who also competes in soccer at a high level. That has helped her and created the aggressiveness as a runner that is like a second nature for her. If she has a 100% bill of health for this cross season, expect O'Connell to outrun our preseason ranking and I wouldn't count out the top spot from being within reach for this young star.