Photo by Phil Grove
AAA Girls |
D7-AAA Girls Preseason Team Rankings
This could be a very special year for the Seneca Valley girls.
Six members of SV's WPIAL championship and third place state team return to the fray this season. What was most remarkable about that third place finish was that Rachel Hensler, who took second at districts, was Seneca Valley's fourth runner at states. While Hensler didn't have her best day at Hershey, she was picked up in a BIG way by her teammates Julia Kooser, Mariah Mack, and Isabelle Biase, who all placed inside the top 50. Those three are all seniors this year, by the way.
The depth of this team is what will make them one of the early-season favorites for the top spot in the state. They won the WPIAL by 54 points last season, and they'll look to continue that success into this season. The teams that beat them at states last year---Pennsbury and Unionville---lost some crucial members to their teams. Seneca Valley returns all its scorers from the state meet last year.
North Allegheny and Oakland Catholic will be among the teams looking to chase Seneca Valley up front. NA returns six of seven from last year. They're led by Clara Savchik, who will look to take the individual district crown. There's a significant gap back to their number two runner, and they will look to close that up this fall.
Oakland Catholic has a frontrunner back, too, in reigning D7 champ Lauren Finikiotis. But Oakland missed the state meet by a mere ten points last year. Lucky for them, all seven from last year's team are back and many are young. Like NA, they will want to lower that gap, but they are a serious contender for a state berth.
Butler brings back six of seven with state qualifier Maggie Welty back from last year's team. With a good day, they can be in the hunt. So can Norwin. They have a healthy amount of returners. Sophomore Courtney Kosanovic will lead the team after a freshman year that included a trip to the state meet.
Mount Lebanon lost some big names from last year, including Kelsey Potts and Claire Dougherty, but they will look to retool for another run this year after placing 12th at states last year. Greater Latrobe and Peters Township will also be in the mix as we head towards what should be an exciting year for AAA WPIAL.