The 5-foot-1 junior won the New Hampshire Meet of Champions this past season, breaking the tape in 17:14.60 to finish 28.6 seconds ahead of her next-closest competitor, and leading the Blue Hawks to a ninth-place finish as a team. Gaughan followed that up by winning the New England Cross Country Championships with a time of 17:34.11-the clocking that ranks No. 2 in course history-and taking silver at the Foot Locker Northeast Regional championships in 17:55.20. She qualified for the national Foot Locker Cross Country Championships, where she earned All-American honors with an 11th-place finish (17:50.61).
Gaughan has maintained a 5.49 weighted GPA in the classroom on a 4.0 scale. She will begin her senior year of high school this fall.
A member of the outdoor activities club at her high school, Gaughan has volunteered locally as a member of St. Michael's Parish Service Organization, distributing food to the needy, working in the parish soup kitchen and participating a variety of related community service initiatives. "Not only was Gaughan one of the most impressive runners on the East Coast, but one of the most consistent," said Erik Boal, editor of DyeStat.com. "Her performances at both the state final and Meet of Champions were outstanding, but her most significant result was her victory at the New England Championships, becoming the first New Hampshire runner in a decade to win the event. She also demonstrated a great deal of maturity in her first national final to become a Foot Locker All-American."
