D1-AAA Girls - Individuals Breakdown
- Class AAA Individuals Rankings
- State Qualifying Spots For Non-Team Individuals: 25
- 2016 Champion: Aislinn Devlin (Downingtown West) - 17:12
The seniors dominated District 1 Class AAA last season, leaving plenty of potential for the breakthrough performers to rise to the top this season.
The top returner in the district is North Penn's Ariana Gardizy. The senior has conistently improved throughout her career and had a really strong fall last year, running 17:59 at districts. She wound up ninth at states and should be a force near the front again this season. Gardizy told us she feels stronger than ever in a preseason Q&A.
Looking to challenge her this fall will be Cheltenham's MaryGrace Rittler. The rising senior was sixth at districts, running a quick 18:15 last season, but she did just miss a state medal taking 26th at states. Last year was Rittler's first season competing in XC, so with more experience under her belt, she could be looking at some nice improvement into this year.
Among the returning state medalists this season from last year are Conestoga's Dominique Shultz (18th at states), North Penn's Olivia Dyer (22nd at states), Unionville's Madison McGovern (23rd at states). Shultz and Dyer are rising seniors, while McGovern is heading into her junior year. Souderton's Emily Bonaventure ran well to take eighth at the district meet, but was a DNF at the state meet a week later. Look for Bonaventure, a senior to be hungry for a medal this season.
West Chester Henderson's Courtney Kitchen will be one to watch this season. She was 13th at districts and 39th at states. She closed out her season with a win in the "open" race at NXN Northeast. Allyson Clarke of West Chester East was 23rd at districts last season, but had a big year on the track, clocking a best of 10:59 in the 3,200 meters. The sophomore should be on your radar.
Photo by Ethan Rissell
There's plenty of room for breakthroughs this fall. Teaghan Scheinbecker is the new leader of a strong Perkiomen Valley team. She was 55th at states last season and will be an important piece to her team's goals this season. Owen J. Roberts' Mary Bernotas (40th at states in '16), Central Bucks East's Cameron Billingsley, and the Spring Ford duo of Gabriella Bamford and Emily Smith are others that could make some noise this season out of District 1.
Coatesville's Brooke Hutton is a two-time state medalist who battled injuries last fall. Now a senior, Hutton should be a factor once again after a really solid spring that included a 10:58 in the 3,200. OJR's Alex Glasier and Autumn Sands also ran quick 3,200 races this past spring and that could translate to strong performances in XC.