Olivia Haas made it two-in-a-row in AA girls, running to the individual title in a tight battle up front -- her second state victory. On the team side, Montour won a close one over Central Cambria for the state title.
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It was billed as a battle between Olivia Haas and Jolena Quarzo and that's exactly what we got on Saturday in the AA girls race. Blue Mountain's Haas, the defending champion, came out on top, running 18:20 for the win. Brownsville's Quarzo, a junior who was second last year, took runner-up honors in 18:50.
The pair were side-by-side for the first half of the race, and Haas made her move and opened up a gap around the two mile mark. From there, the reigning champ extended her lead from there, and turned it into a runaway in the back loop on the Parkview Course. Quazro fought well and came home with another second place finish. She'll be the top returner for next year.
Montour's Harley Kletz finished third in 19:09, providing a crucial lowstick for her team, and registering her fifth top three finish in a major meet this season. Uniontown's Hope Trimmer was fourth in 19:27 to make it three WPIAL girls in the top four.
General McLane's Sydney Bayle rounded out the top five, placing fifth in 19:41. Gianna Cagliola of Pope John Paul II moved up nicely throughout the race to take sixth, narrowly edging out seventh place Sarah Pezzino of Pen Argyl and eighth place Maizy Aikey.
The Montour girls came out on top to win the state title, scoring 84 points for the victory. The WPIAL champions had three individual medalists and put four in the top 30 to score the team victory. Kletz led the way with her third place individual finish. Lakyn Schaltenbrand was tenth and Sophia Trevenen was 20th to also get on the individual podium. Alex Fleck was 29th and Mikhala Kletz was 128th to round out the scorers for the Spartans.
Five of the top seven return next year for Montour.
Montour beat out Central Cambria for the win. The Red Devils took home runner-up honors for the second straight season. Leading the way for CC was Annaliese Niebauer, who was 12th.
Villa Maria Academy ran well to take third place in 160, and Danville Area was fourth with 173 points. Chartiers Valley was fifth with 187 points.