Jenna Mulhern (West Chester Henderson)
Regionals Performance: Mulhern placed seventh in the NXR-Northeast field, earning the fifth and final individual spot in NXN, clocking a time of 18:56. She was the No. 2 freshman in the field as well. Her WC Henderson squad also ran very well, placing fourth in the team standings.
Season Recap: It was a dream first high school season for the freshman. Mulhern proved her chops at the prep level almost immediately and showed she's going to be a force to be reckoned with for many years to come.
Our first glimpse of Mulhern came at the Unionville 2 Mile Bash, where she out-dueled fellow talented frosh Olivia Haas of Blue Mountain for the win. She was squarely on the radar from that point on. After that, Mulhern was second at the loaded Carlisle Invitational (behind only Foot Locker finalist Taryn Parks). She ran to the Ches-Mont title a few weeks later and then the District 1 title in 17:41, her fastest 5K to date.
At the state meet, Mulhern became the first freshmen since 2009 to win a PIAA Class AAA crown, running a consistent race and eventually pulling away from a strong field in the second half of the race. She also led Henderson to a second place team finish.
NXN Outlook: Saturday will be Mulhern's first national meet at the high school level. It will be interesting to see how Mulhern stacks up against some other talented freshmen in the nation. With three more years to go after this season, the ninth grader will be gaining some valuable experience in a national field that will pay off in the long run.