Girls' District 1 Preview
Photo by Patty Mogan
Class-A
Two-time district champ Emma Seifried ran away with the Class-A title last season, but the champ will have some compeititon this season in the form of a teammate. Freshman Kayleigh Doyle beat Seifried for the AACA crown last week and Doyle may be the one to beat. Can the freshman rise to the occasion, or will the two work together to punch their tickets to states?
With the low sticks of Seifried, Doyle, and Emma's sister Hannah Seifried, Country Day of the Sacred Heart looks to be the team to beat. Dock Mennonite will be the top challenger. They are the reigning champs with last year's runner-up Lael Flores, but it's actually been Erica Gunden who has led the way this season for Dock. There's just one states spot on the line for teams and it should be a good battle.
Photo by Patty Morgan
Class-AA
After dominating its way t the D1-AA title last season, Villa Joseph Marie will have a much tougher time defending that 2015 title. VJM was upset by Nazareth Academy at the AACA Championships and Nazareth Academy looks primed to keep it rolling into Friday.
Katie Irelan was the champ last season, but her times haven't been as fast this season. The favorite looks to be Kerry Kovacs of Lower Moreland. Kovacs was second to Irelan last season, but has won a few meets this season, including the BAL Championships. New Hope-Solebury's Julia Mycek, Villa Joseph Marie's Abby Zwall, and Nazareth Academy's Taylor Neals should also be be in the mix near the front.
Photo by Patty Morgan
Class-AAA
Downingtown West's Aislinn Devlin has been flying this season, only racing two 5Ks, but going sub-18 in both tries. Most recently, she dropped a 10:33 3200 meters at West Chester Henderson. She'll be the heavy favorite to repeat as District 1 champ and then she'll look forward to the state championships the next week.
many top runners will be in contention for top five spots. Those include Perkiomen Valley's Annie Glodek, Unionville's Anna Juul, North Penn's Ariana Gardizy, Conestoga's Dominique Shultz, Cheltenhem's Mary Grace Rittler, and Downingtown West's Emma Planck. Glodek, Gardizy, Shultz, and Rittler are coming off league titles in the past few weeks, while Juul was second to Devlin at Ches-Monts. Pennsbury's Mary Webb was eighth in the district last year as a junior, but she's battled an injury since the spring. She won her conference last week and will look to get better on the same course for Friday.
The team race will be close for one of the five qualifying spots. PA#2 Perkiomen Valley has looked very strong as of late and looks like the favorites after taking the PAC title convincingly last week. Those other spots are up for grabs.
There's North Penn, a hungry team after finishing a dreaded sixth at districts last year. They've won out of state quite a bit this year. There's Downingtown West, a team with two frontrunners, but do they have the depth to grab a top five spot? There's Unionville, a team that always seems to come on at the right time, but can they come together on Friday? Spring Ford has looked strong, beating PV at Paul Short, but can they shake off an off race at PACs? Owen J. Roberts looks to be getting the pieces in place to contend this season. They made it last season.
Strath Haven, Downingtown East, Pennridge, and the typically strong Pennsbury squads will also be in the mix. There are a lot of question marks, but they'll all get answered on Friday.