AA Girls' Shot Put
Moniteau's Maura Kimmel is one of the contenders in the deep AA shot put (Photo by Phil Grove)
One of the best matchups of the weekend to watch will come on Saturday morning with the AA girls' shot put. Four of the state's top six shot putters hail from AA schools and this will be a terrific event.
The PA AA #1 is Hickory's Tori McKinley, who was second a year ago to her teammate Elena Marchand. Marchand has graduated leaving McKinley the next in line. It's probably going to have to take a big throw, though, because the rest of the field is stacked.
The top seed based on district throws is Moniteau's Maura Kimmel. Kimmel has had a great season all around and the senior is much improved from last year when she placed 14th in the event at states. Look for Kimmel to battle right up there with McKinley.
Neumann Goretti's Janese Lynch has had a relatively quiet junior season. But Lynch hit a big throw of 43-2.5, showing she's in a good place to contend for a title on Saturday. This will be the Academy Park transfers' first season in AA (she was third in AAA in 2015).
Burrell's Elizabeth Weimer was fourth in the event last season and should factor in. Her best throw of the season came back in mid-April at the TSTCA Champs, where she threw 42-7.