As a sophomore last fall, Gianna McGowan competed in only a handful of cross-country races. But the diminutive runner from Billerica certainly made the most of those opportunities.
In her debut season on the trails, McGowan earned runner-up honors in the Division 1 race at the Meet of Champions, clocking an impressive 18:16.5 over the challenging 5K layout at Fort Devens. That performance came just a week after her victory at the Div. 1C meet. Earlier in the fall, she also placed fourth in the Championship race at the Ocean State Invitational and fourth in the Medium School race at the Bob Glennon Twilight XC Invitational.
McGowan has shown throughout her young career that she’s ready to deliver whenever she toes the line. As an eighth-grader, she finished third in the outdoor two-mile at the MOC. She owns personal bests of 5:04.06 in the mile and 10:48.47 for two miles, both achieved as a freshman during the 2023–24 season. This past spring, she dipped under 11 minutes for the 2M, broke 5:10 in the mile, and anchored Billerica’s winning freshman-sophomore DMR at the prestigious Glenn B. Loucks Games in New York.
This fall, it will be interesting to see how McGowan matches up against defending champion and heavy favorite Greta Hammer (Needham) at the MOC. But one thing is certain: McGowan will once again be among the front-runners.
