“At the season’s start, Natalie Cook was a top-20 or so competitor nationally, and she finished third at the prestigious Woodbridge Invitational in California. By December, she was the most dominant prep runner in the country. Her progress through the season propelled her to some amazing achievements, including becoming the first prep girl to win national titles in back-to-back weekends. She scorched the RunningLane championships course with the second-fastest 5K on record, then beat the strongest field of the year at the national Eastbay Cross Country Championships, which left no doubt about who was the top gun in 2021.”

Doug Binder

Player - Dyestat.com Editor-in-Chief

Athletic Excellence

The 5-foot-5 senior won an unprecedented two national titles this past season, capturing the Garmin RunningLane Cross Country Championships with a time of 16:04 and breaking the tape at the Eastbay Cross Country Championships in 17:15. Cook also won the Class 6A individual state championship in 16:32.4, leading the Jaguars to the state title as a team. She added victories at the Eastbay South Regional Championships, the Region 1 championships and the District 6 championships, while placing third at the Woodbridge Classic. No prep girl has ever won the two culminating national championship races in a single cross country season.

Academic Achievement

Cook has maintained a weighted 3.63 GPA in the classroom. She has signed a National Letter of Intent to run on scholarship at Oklahoma State University this fall.

Exemplary Character

Cook has volunteered extensively on behalf of local middle school cross country programs in addition to coaching and instructing youth track athletes every summer.