PIAA District 1 Championships
The winds blew briskly through the Lehigh Valley as the North Penn girls finally got the better of nationally ranked Council Rock. But even with a sub-par performance, the Rock finished second in the district. The surprise to many, but not to those who saw their spring 4x800, was Haverford, coming off a strong Central League meet to finish third in the district with two SRs, a JR, and two SOs. Great Valley overcame an unexpected performance from a key runner to get 4th. Villa Maria took the final state berth over the next three strong teams, Hatboro-Horsham, Wissahickon, and Merion Mercy. As expected, Jessica Cickay of Council Rock led from the start and won in 17:50.7. In today's winds, that time is especially impressive. Coatesville's Kelly O'Connell was 2nd, while Kim Malcolm, Villa Maria, and Erin Franklin, Wissahickon, joined her under 19:00. Defending District 1 champ Katie Ewart of Upper Dublin continues to suffer the effects of a sinus infection and did not race. Rob Robertson of Coatesville ran an impressive 15:37.3 to win by 12 seconds over Pottsgrove's Corry Rogers. Council Rock's one-two punch of Mike DiDio and Rob Hampson went three-four to lead their annual powerhouse to a win.D1 page. Henderson, Coatesville, Great Valley and Hatboro-Horsham filled out the state slots. In girls AA,k Gwynedd Mercy put five in the top 13 to get a state berth behind the 3rd place finish of Meghan Bishop. St. Basil's Lynn Morelli won going away in 18:45.3. Devon Prep cut it a bit closer by taking St. Pius by only three points to get the lone AA boys slot. But Pius #1 Matt Bintner ran 17:03.4 for the title.