3. Mason Gaines - Fulton - SR: Gaines, pardon the pun, made huge gains in 2016 and returns with a 15:42 5K best and rolled a 9:38 on the track this spring (which is typically good enough for a medal, but was only good enough for 11th in Class 4 this season). He was 5th last year at Oak Hills, his first and only medal in his high school career and a 30 spot improvement, but he did not waste that breakthrough this past spring. As a result, we slot Gaines in at #3, expecting big things out of the Fulton rising senior in 2017.