The 5-foot-5 sophomore raced to the Division 2 individual state championship this past season with a time of 19:19.9, leading the Highlanders to the state title as a team. Thurston also won the Manchester Invitational, the Burlington Invitational, the U-32 Invitational and the NVAC Mountain Division championships. She also took fifth at the New England Cross Country Championships.
Thurston has maintained a 3.74 GPA in the classroom. She will begin her junior year of high school this fall.
A Nordic skiing standout, Thurston has volunteered locally as part of her school’s Refugee Outreach Club and its student leadership team.