Photo by Patty Morgan
Girls' 4x800-Meter Relay Preview
The very first track event of the meet could start off with quite a few fireworks. The reigning champs and state record holders from last year, North Penn look primed to take a shot at another 4x8 victory and, hey, possibly a state record.
The projected quartet of Ariana Gardizy, Jenna Webb, Natalie Kwortnik, and Mikaela Vlasic (three-fourths of last year's team) will be fresh and ready to roll on Saturday. The times to keep an eye on are Strath Haven's state meet record of 9:09.52 from 2014 and North Penn's own overall PA state record of 9:05.98.
Penn Wood has opted for open events and then the 4x400 at the end of the meet, so we won't see the PA#2s clash with the PA#1s. Penn Wood was just two seconds off North Penn's state leading time in the 4x8. Instead, Strath Haven looks to be the team that could could North Penn the best challenge. Haven looked strong taking second to the Maidens at MOCs, running 9:22.23. They should be able to keep it close.
Pennridge is a strong team as well. The Rams have a good mid-distance crop that went 9:34 at the Varsity Classic a few weeks back. The Baldwin School should also be in the mix. While they could make more noise in the 4x4, they pulled off a good race at MOCs, placing third. Downingtown East was fourth at MOCs, and they definitely have a good enough team that can place high.
Butler was the top TSTCA squad, barely nipped Greater Latrobe at the line for the win. These teams sit at PA#8 and PA#9 respectively, but they'll be out to prove they can mix it up with these strong 4x8s from the east.
Southern Lehigh is a good sleeper pick in this field. They were surprise winners at the Carnival a few weeks ago. West Chester East, Spring Ford, State College, and Villa Maria are among the teams that will look to make a run at those coveted eight medals.
Girls' 4x800m Entries:
Event 1 Girls 4x800 Meter Relay (16)
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State Meet: 9:09.52 3/1/2014 Strath Haven, Strath Haven
B Irons, J Kenney, A Wilson, K Miller
School
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1 Baldwin School
2 Butler
3 Central Bucks East
4 Central Bucks West
5 Downingtown East
6 Greater Latrobe
7 North Penn
8 Pennridge
9 Southern Lehigh
10 Spring Ford
11 State College Area High School
12 Strath Haven
13 Unionville
14 Villa Joseph Marie
15 Villa Maria Academy
16 West Chester East