An unprecedented and incredible cross country season came to a close for Iowa’s all-time best high school female distance runner in Portland, Oregon at the 2024 Nike Cross Nationals on Saturday.

Two-time individual Class 3A state champion and Nike Cross Regional Heartland winner Marissa Ferebee proved she belonged among the best in the entire country, placing 7th in the field of the best high school 5K runners from the entire United States of America.

Ferebee’s time of 17:16.4 in the 19th ever Nike National Championship race held at the challenging Glendoveer Golf Course was also made more difficult to achieve due to do driving rain that led to massive puddles and slippery conditions.

Marissa’s 7th place finish earns her Nike All-American status — adding to a trove of honors earned by the Pella High School junior. Ferebee owns the state meet course record and best ever 5K time run by an Iowa High School girl (16:30.9), a time she improved upon at the Sioux Falls NXR race (16:25.5). Marissa finished 2024 now as a two-time Little Hawkeye Conference champion and was undefeated this year in cross country races until the Nike Nationals final. Her Iowa-based performances earned her Elite All-State Honors from the Iowa Track and Field Coaches Association and the Des Moines Register.

Ferebee will enter her third track and field season this spring as an overwhelming favorite to mirror similar state record-breaking feats in the 1500 and 3000 meter races on the oval. In both races, she’s a returning Drake Relays medalist and Class 3A state champion.