Photo by Dan Beck
Independent Schools (PAISAA) - Individuals Breakdown
- Independent Schools Individuals Rankings
- 2016 Champion: Abbe Goldstein (Germantown Academy) - 19:18
The field is open for the taking as far as the individuals are concerned in the PAISAA. A number of girls should be in the mix for both league titles and the overall independent schools' championship. With the graduation of last year's champ Abbe Goldstein, there's no clear-cut favorite.
Friends' Central's Gabrielle Wilkinson will be very tough to beat, though. She ran an incredible 2:06 for 800 meters on the track this past season and has run 4:52 for 1,600 meters. She raced sparingly last XC season, but if she's healthy, look for Wilkinson to try and close out her prep career with an XC PAISAA title.
One to watch will be Epsicopal's Caitlin Jorgensen. After a third place finish in the Inter-Ac, she she ran a great race at PAISAAs to place second to Goldstein. She'll look to convert that into a win, and after a spring where she posted times of 11:31 for 3,200 meters and 5:09 for 1,600 meters, she could be ready to do just that.
But Germantown Academy returns a fleet of talented runners that should make a run at the title (as it also looks to repeat as team champs). Isabelle Goldstein will look to keep the individual title in the family. Her sister won last year, and now Isabelle has proved that she has the talent to carry the torch. She was seventh in the PAISAA last season, but ran 5:04 in the 1,600 meters and 11:27 over 3,200 meters, a big improvement. Going into her sophomore year, Goldstein will be worth keeping an eye on.
Also from GA is rising sophomore Gianna Murgia and rising juniors Jackie DeRusso and Kelsey O'Hara. Each placed inside the top ten at PAISAAs last year, so expect this group, along with Goldstein to be even stronger in 2017. Murgia, who was sixth at PAISAAs last year, ran 11:36 for 3,200 meters in the spring.
Agnes Irwin's Sanaiya Watts has a pair of fourth place finishes at the PAISAA Championship and should once again be a factor as she enters her junior year. Watts has the talent and the consistency and it could pay off in the form of a win this season.
Others to watch for include Mercersburg's Sophia Divone, Baldwin School's Henni Gust, and Episcopal's Jillian Rotman.