VYPE Mississippi Football Player of the Week Poll

Imagine you had just finished as the second-best runner in the state of Texas as a freshman.

Second Baptist School's Lauren Baker '24 set out to celebrate her recent victory by getting a hot fudge sundae from Dairy Queen.

After posting a time of 12:02.3 in her first-ever TAPPS 5A State Cross Country meet, that sundae was well-deserved.

Baker's time was just under 10 seconds behind the first-place finisher Reagan High, a junior from Southwest Christian School in Fort Worth, and 4.5 seconds ahead of Abby Metzger, a sophomore from Grace Community School in Tyler.

"I was about a mile and a half in, and I realized I had a good lead on the third person," Baker said. "I knew I could push it. I thought I could pass first, but with 400 meters left, I knew I would hold second."

In the Top 10, Baker was one of just three freshmen to finish in that grouping and the only one to stand atop the podium.

"It feels unreal," Baker said. "I started cross country in middle school and I was in the Top 10, but I was not in the top three runners. This year I've progressed and worked hard to get here."