Summit High School junior Lorelai Whitten is one of 10 nominees for The Tennessean's Ponce Law Girls Athlete of the Week.

Whitten earned the nomination after finishing runner-up at the TSSAA Class AAA state cross country championship. She crossed the line in 18 minutes, 10.35 seconds at the Thursday, Nov. 5 state meet at Shelby Farms in Memphis, according to The Tennessean and the Williamson Herald. Only Maryville sophomore Hadleih Mitchey, who won the individual title in 17:58.52, finished ahead of her.

Voting closes Thursday, Nov. 12 at noon.

The runner-up finish caps a strong junior season for the Spring Hill runner, but the race itself told a bigger story. Whitten was leading at the halfway mark by about six seconds, the Herald reported. Mitchey surged in the second half to overtake her and claim the title.

It was familiar territory for Whitten. She finished second at the state meet as a freshman and fifth as a sophomore, according to the Herald. Her 18:10.35 on Thursday was faster than every other nominee's time in the statewide poll.

Summit's girls team placed seventh overall in the AAA field, which featured more than 250 runners, the Herald reported. Teammate Tegan Smith added an eighth-place finish in 18:46.40.

The Spartans' boys squad also had a strong showing. Kaden Pease finished third overall with a time of 15:28, according to Summit High School's results page.

Other nominees for the weekly award include Liberty Creek's Chaiti Ainapure, who won the Class AA individual state title in 18:49.81, and Brentwood's Scotlyn Szabo, who placed third in the AAA race. Cornersville's Breah Crocker, who finished third in Class A in 19:35.53, is also on the ballot.

Whitten has one more season of high school cross country ahead of her.