Olivia Arizin will look to repeat as DELCO champ this year (Photo by Patty Morgan)
Girls' Preview (by Strath Haven coach Bill Coren)
DELCO CHAMPS!! Sponsored by the DELCO RRC---SATURDAY 10-8-2016 Rose Tree Park 42nd year!!!
BOYS NOVICE 2:00 GIRLS JV 2:30 BOYS JV 3:00 GIRLS V 3:30 BOYS V 4:00
The 2016 race to be the DELCO TEAM CHAMPION will likely not be close. CARDINAL OHARA is by far the best team this year in Delaware County! They have now won 2 in a row and they return 5 of their top 6 runners!! In 2014 they scored only 29 points and have a shot to score the all time low ever in DELCO HISTORY by scoring 22 points or fewer!(They could score 1-3-5-6-and 7 for 22 total points). So far this year they have not run their top 5 together in any race. They do give out a team runner-up award, and STRATH HAVEN(DELCO CHAMP 2011,2012,2013) appears to be the heavy favorite. OHARA beat them by 14 last year and STRATH HAVEN will have a tough time keeping it close!! The battle for 3rd will likely be between HAVERFORD, NOTRE DAME, and EPISCOPAL.
INDIVIDUAL PREVIEW
The TOP 7 girls are likely to make 1st team DELAWARE COUNTY DAILY TIMES ALL-DELCO. There are likely 9 girls fighting for those 7 spots. In alphabetical order they are--Olivia Arizin(OH)(12)(1st 2015)-Isabel Cardi(SH)(12)(14th 2015)-Jamie Green(RID)(11)(4th 2015)-Sara Hayes(OH)(12)(JV 1st 2015)(4th 2014)-C.Mancini(OH)(10)(10th 2015)-E.Mancini(OH)(11)(16th 2015)-L.Mancini(OH)(11)(7th 2015)-E.Seifried(SHRT)(11)(2nd 2015)-and Turner(PW)(12)(6th 2015). Others with an outside shot of cracking the TOP 7 are(in alphabetical order)--Barkdoll(SH)(11)(11th 2015)-Forbes(SH)(12)-Hellman(
As for the individual DELCO CHAMPION, last year's champion, Olivia Arizin(OH)(12) will look to defend her title after running what some think was the fastest time ever at DELCOS(18:12) last year. She ran her 1st race of the season at Paul Short last week and competed well against a SUPER STRONG field!! There looks to be 2 possible challengers--Emma Seifreid(SHRT)(11) and Isabel Cardi(SH)(12). Seifreid won the title as a freshman and finished runner-up last year. With her experience and a "famous" new coach helping out, she will battle up front! Isabel Cardi is the most improved runner this year as evidenced by her PR of 18:39 at Paul Short and her convincing victory at Bulldog as well as her 3rd place finish among Maryland's best!
*PREDICTION*---Senior Olivia Arizin(OH) wins and leads her team to another DELCO XC title!