Photo by Patty Morgan
Girls' 400 Meters Preview
This one will be interesting.
Returning is the state champion from last year, Uche Nwogwugwu of North Penn. But the senior missed the early part of this season, dealing with a knee injury. She's come back and looked strong, winning at the Carnival in a flat-track 57.48 and anchoring some North Penn relays to wins. But in a strong field, will Nwogwugwu have the strength to hold off a strong field?
While it's hard to pick a favorite here, the one to watch might be Cheltenham's Alexis Crosby. Crosby has been PA#1 for most of the season after a quick 55.61 at Kevin Dare at Penn State. She was fifth a year ago in this race and knocked on the doorstep of individual state titles for a while, and Saturday just might be her day.
Crosby's Cheltenham teammate Bria Barnes will be another threat. Barnes is PA#2, just behind Crosby, so the training partners may try to help each other to high finishes in the quarter mile. Springfield (Montco)'s Sydni Stovall pulled off a huge PR of 57.12 at Ocean Breeze a few weeks back. Stovall squeaked into the medals last year, taking eighth, but this time around, the senior may be looking at a much better finishing place.
It's been quite a winter for Butler's Alexis Leech. The senior has improved incredibly since last winter. She's currently PA#4 after not even qualifying for the indoor state meet last year. Now a senior, Leech will look for some more magic on Saturday. Neumann Goretti's Mykala Perry has also been strong all season. She ran a gutsy race to take second to Crosby at MOCs, so look for Perry to be in contention on Saturday.
Burrell's Nicole Scherer is a veteran in the sprints, but rarely do we see the Pitt-bound senior in the 400 meters. She blasted a 57.53 at Edinboro a few weeks ago and suddenly became a serious medal threat in the event. She's also in the 200, but the 400 comes first, so it'll be interesting to see how she fairs.
Bradford's Ashton McGriff, Penn Wood's Janae Pitt, Neumann Goretti's Sydni Townsend, Saucon Valley's Talitha Diggs and Swenson's Jada Smith will make up a strong field with plenty of contenders for those coveted eight medals.
Girls' 400m Entries:
Event 9 Girls 400 Meter Dash (24)
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State Meet: 53.82 2/26/2005 Nicole Leach, West Catholic
Name Year School
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1 Barnes, Bria 10 Cheltenham
2 Crosby, Alexis 11 Cheltenham
3 Dansbury, Ty'Asia 12 Harrisburg
4 Dietrich, Jennifer 12 Baldwin School
5 Diggs, Talitha 9 Saucon Valley
6 Donatelli, Morgan 11 Hickory
7 Douglas-Grant, Jasmine 11 Stroudsburg
8 Forman, Ava 11 Friends' Central
9 Gelvin, McKenzie 12 McConnellsburg
10 Grober, Heather 12 Hickory
11 Hebron, Saloni 12 Neshaminy
12 Helbling, Rachel 11 South Fayette
13 Holmberg, Gabby 12 Hempfield
14 Leech, Alexis 12 Butler
15 McGriff, Ashton 11 Bradford
16 Nwogwugwu, Uche 12 North Penn
17 Perry, Mykala 9 Neumann Gore
18 Pitt, Janae 12 Penn Wood
19 Scherer, Nicole 12 Burrell
20 Smith, Jada 10 Swenson
21 Stovall, Sydni 12 Springfield Mont
22 Townsend, Sydni 11 Neumann Gore
23 Unthank, Haley 11 Spside Chestnut
24 Wilson, Dasia 10 West Catholic