PIAA District 2 Championships - Girls' Preview
Class-A
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 1
Once again, with just one team state spot on the line, the competition in D2-1A will be fierce this season.
Up front, Holy Cross's Lexi Walsh will look to grab the individual title. The 2015 district champ missed the end of last year with an injury, but she's back this season. She ran 18:56 for 26th at Paul Short. Walsh looks strong and will have plenty of motivation to go out and retake the district crown.
There should be a good battle for second place, with Walsh being the heavy individual favorite. The Holy Cross of Molly Repecki and Abby Sempa will look to close the gap to Walsh, while Elk Lake's Shayanne Bennett and Sadie Bosscher will look to break up the Holy Cross squad.
While Elk Lake won the district title last season and placed second in the state (they tied champion St. Joe's Catholic and lost on a tiebreaker), numbers have been an issue for them this season. They haven't had a full five finish yet, but it look like it may have five for Wednesday. Depth will work to the advantage of Holy Cross and it will be favored to take the win.
Class-AA
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 2
Holy Redeemer's Lindsey Williams will look to repeat as the D2 champ in AA on Wednesday. Williams won the Wyoming Valley Conference title last week by 12 seconds over Dallas' Megan Borton and will look to carry that into this week.
But Williams will get a good battle from a pair of girls that defeated her at early September's Cliff Robbins Invitational in Hannah Perkins of Montrose and Mia Bellucci of Scranton Prep. Along with Borton, these four girls will make up a competitive front pack.
Last year, Honesdale pulled out a surprise victory in District 2-AA and followed that up with a strong state meet performance. They'll be looking for a repeat performance, but Dallas, Scranton Preparatory, and Lake Lehman, and Holy Redeemer all look strong this season and should challenge.
Ultimately, Scranton Prep will be the team to beat, but the race for those two state qualifying spots still looks to be up for grabs.
Class-AAA
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 1
No one is stopping Katie Dammer of Abington Heights in D2-AAA. The defending district champ and PA#3 will be the overwhelming favorite on Wednesday. The Georgetown commit's 17:50 run at Paul Short for the win was a big test she passed, proving she's even better than she was last year , which ended with a sixth place finish at states.
The Williamsport Area duo Mary McMahon and Lydia Smith, Wallenpaupack's Sam Killiany, Delaware Valley's Laina Bogusta, and Abington Heights' Abby Marion are among the individuals that will be fighting it out for second. McMahon, in particular, has looked strong this season, running 18:59 at Lock Haven earlier this year.
In the team race for the lone state qualifying spot, Abington Heights will be the favorite to repeat in D2-3A. With Dammer's low stick, look for Abby Marion, Emma Marion, and Erika Beahan to lead the way for AH. Williamsport Area and Wallenpaupack will be the two teams with the best shot at an upset.