AAA Girls' 1,600m Preview
Northern's Marlee Starliper doubled up at indoor states and won the mile and 3K, and she'll be looking to do the same here at outdoor states. The main difference from indoors is the the longer race -- the 3,200 meters -- comes first, and the 1,600 is second. She'll look to have enough gas in the tank to take home both wins.
Starliper went 4:46.86 to win the District 3 title in the 1,600 a day after the 3,200, so she's shown that her fitness is in a good spot.
But this is an absolutely loaded field, and the final should produce some historically fast times. Upper Saint Clair's Savannah Shaw dropped a 4:50.95 to win the WPIAL title, about a second faster than her overall mile PR. Shaw will be one to watch. So will Katie Dammer of Abington Heights. The senior is also doubling off the 3,200 meters. She was second last year in 4:48, and just went 4:54 to win at District 2, so she should also be in the mix.
Then, of course, there's the defending AAA state champion in this event, Taryn Parks of Greencastle-Antrim. As a freshman, Parks went 4:45.81 for a jaw-dropping win. She was third in District 3, but definitely cannot be counted out here.
Then a number of girls will be looking to mix it up with the leaders and make it up high on the podium. Hershey's Andrea Demko and State College Area's Kileigh Kane (the District 6 champ) have both run 4:56 this spring. Katie Locker of Elizabethtown was fourth in D3 and will be up there. A pair of freshman -- Ciara Conboy of Stroudsburg and Ashley Gordon of Pennridge -- could make some noise. Elizabeth Mancini of Cardinal O'Hara won the AAA XC state title and should be a factor, as well.
ENTRIES:
Event 304 Girls 1600 Meter Run AAA (25) Prelims
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NFHS Record: 4:33.29 2014 Alexa Efraimson, Camas HS, WA
PIAA Record: 4:41.08 1981 Kim Gallagher, Upper Dublin 1
NFHS Hnr Rol: 4:51.00
5:10.00 SQS
Name Year School Seed relim Time
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1 Starliper, Marlee 10 Northern 03 4:46.86 SQS
2 Shaw, Savannah 12 Uppr St Clair 07 4:50.95 SQS
3 Dammer, Katie 12 Abington Hts 02 4:54.24 SQS
4 Parks, Taryn 10 Greencastle 03 4:58.18 SQS
5 Locker, Katie 10 Elizabethtown 03 5:01.83 SQS
6 Kane, Kileigh 11 State College 06 5:02.61 SQS
7 Demko, Andrea 12 Hershey 03 5:04.16 SQS
8 Conboy, Ciara 9 Stroudsburg 11 5:06.85 SQS
9 Tirado, Lianna 12 JP McCaskey 03 5:07.20 SQS
10 Gordon, Ashley 9 Pennridge 01 5:07.28 SQS
11 Mancini, Elizabeth 12 Crdnl O'Hara 12 5:07.57 SQS
12 Kelly, Jill 11 Uppr Moreland 01 5:07.98 SQS
13 Miller, Andrea 11 Gov Mifflin 03 5:08.23 SQS
14 Toti, Sophia 10 Carlisle 03 5:08.29 SQS
15 Deschler, Alyssa 12 Allentown CC 11 5:08.70 SQS
16 Kelly, Hanna 12 WC East 01 5:08.90 SQS
17 Miller, Caelan 12 Fox Chapel 07 5:08.92 SQS
18 Welty, Maggie 12 Butler 07 5:09.02 SQS
19 Hunsberger, Madalyn 11 Boyertown 01 5:09.63 SQS
20 Cody, Shannon 12 Bish Shanahan 01 5:09.86 SQS
21 Hale, Macy 11 Baldwin 07 5:09.99 SQS
22 Foster, Amanda 12 Saint Marys 09 5:15.28
23 Keeley, Nicole 11 Shikellamy 04 5:24.51
24 Hahn, Naomi 10 Warren Area 10 5:24.57
25 Till, Katie 10 Crdnl O'Hara 12 5:47.68