The Georgetown sophomore overcomes a summertime injury to lead the highly ranked Hoyas through the first half of the season.

A three-time high school All-American, Samantha Nadel enjoyed an outstanding career at North Shore High in Glen Head, N.Y. As a precocious ninth grader she authored a national freshman record of 17:15.38 in the indoor 5,000m and three years later captured the 2011 New York State Class B cross country championship before going on to a 10th place finish at Nike Cross Nationals. In between were dozens of race victories and high national rankings. Neal Levy, head coach at North Shore, eschews high intensity speed work throughout the year and kept Nadel and her Viking teammates on a diet of hilly road runs and frequent strides on top of a substantial distance base, without any traditional interval work. On that regimen, Nadel became two-time Millrose Games high school mile champion and New York State runner-up at 1500m and 3,000m.