AAA Girls' 800m Preview
There's no shortage of talent in the AAA girls' 800 meters. There's a very strong field assembled for this weekend and it should be a close battle for the top spot.
The fastest time of anyone in this field belongs to State College Area's Esther Seeland, who went 2:10.47 to win at the Loucks Games a few weeks ago. She easily won the District 6 title last week. Seeland won the indoor state title in the 800 in dramatic fashion and will certainly be the one to beat if the race is left to a kick.
At WPIALs, West Allegheny's Maddie Salek held off Greensburg Salem's Malia Anderson for the win. Both girls clocked 2:11s and will come in as the top two seeds. A year ago, Salek was fifth and Anderson was sixth at states. Both will be looking to improve upon those finishes and they'll be good bets to be near the top of podium. Liz Simms of Butler is also a contender after taking third at WPIALs.
Strath Haven's Grace Forbes will get her first crack at individual state title. The sophomore has focused on Haven's 4x8. She'll go for the win there again, but she'll be one to watch individually after a 2:11.95 to win the District 1 title. Radnor's Keara Seasholtz has emerged this spring as one of the state's top half milers. Look for her to be in the mix for a high finish as well.
District 3 runner-up Makenna Krebs of Central Dauphin East and Fleetwood Area's Sarah Crissman (seventh at states in the 800 as a freshman) will be up there, too. District 12 champion Christine Mancini of Cardinal O'Hara has run 2:14 this season and should pose a strong threat to the top. Penn Wood's Kyra Carroll, Gwynedd Mercy's Kelly Murray, and Great Valley's Amy Willig are others to keep an eye on in this race.
ENTRIES:
Event 308 Girls 800 Meter Run AAA (26) Prelims
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NFHS Record: 2:02.04 2011 Amy Weissenbach, HarvardWestlakeHS, CA
PIAA Record: 2:02.90 2008 Chanelle Price, Easton Area 11
NFHS Hnr Rol: 2:09.50
2:18.47 SQS
Name Year School Seed relim Time
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1 Salek, Maddie 12 W Allegheny 07 2:11.34 SQS
2 Anderson, Malia 11 Grnsbrg Salem 07 2:11.60 SQS
3 Forbes, Grace 11 Strath Haven 01 2:11.95 SQS
4 Seeland, Esther 12 State College 06 2:12.78 SQS
5 Seasholtz, Keara 10 Radnor 01 2:14.35 SQS
6 Krebs, Makenna 11 CD East 03 2:14.65 SQS
7 Crissman, Sarah 12 Fleetwood 03 2:14.76 SQS
8 Carroll, Kyra 12 Penn Wood 01 2:14.76 SQS
9 Murray, Kelly 9 Gwynedd-Mercy 01 2:15.07 SQS
10 Willig, Amy 11 Great Valley 01 2:15.14 SQS
11 Simms, Liz 11 Butler 07 2:15.49 SQS
12 Simek, Sterling 12 Franklin Reg 07 2:15.75 SQS
13 Wallace, Arianna 12 Cheltenham 01 2:16.35 SQS
14 Dunne, Aoife-Ruby 11 Mt Lebanon 07 2:17.59 SQS
15 Higgins, Lacey 11 Cumberlnd Val 03 2:17.80 SQS
16 McGrath, Nancy 12 CB South 01 2:18.08 SQS
17 Stuckey, Greta 11 Liberty 11 2:18.55
18 Tate, Meg 11 Carlisle 03 2:18.72
19 Schraudner, Trinity 9 Northeastern 03 2:18.80
20 Ellmaker, Katherine 12 Easton Area 11 2:19.25
21 Killiany, Samantha 12 Wallenpaupack 02 2:20.10
22 Snyder, Riley 12 Shikellamy 04 2:22.17
23 Mancini, Christine 11 Crdnl O'Hara 12 2:23.80
24 Foster, Amanda 12 Saint Marys 09 2:25.02
25 Brown, Grace 12 Villa Maria 10 2:25.24
26 Ems, Casey 11 Archbshp Wood 12 2:27.60