Girls Preview - PIAA District 11 Championships
Class A
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 1
After four years, D11-A will be getting a new girls' champion. Tina Capparell, who won four straight district titles before taking the state title last year, has graduated and the door is now open for a new champ.
The one to beat is Northern Lehigh's Reagan Pender. She was third in D11-AA and she goes to 1A this season, hoping to turn that into a district crown. She earned three second place finishes before running to the Colonial League title last week. Notre-Dame Green Pond's Grace Medei, second to Pender in the Colonial League, will aim to challenge her. Medei also has moved from AA to A for this season.
Marian Catholic's Nicole Capparell, Tina's sister, was third in D11-A last season. She should be in the mix. Minersville's Olivia Cory and Tri-Valley's Brooke Adams will also be in the mix.
The team favorites is the Medei-led Notre Dame-Green Pond. Second at Colonial Leagues, NDGP has the best depth in the field. Tri-Valley, Marian Catholic, and Mahanoy Area will hope to challenge for the lone state spot.
Class AA
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 1
The premiere race of the day on Wednesday will come in the girls' AA race. The Schuylkill League Championships last week provided a nice preview of the individual battle. North Schuylkill's Cori McCormick dropped a sub-18 time to beat out Blue Mountain's standout frosh, Olivia Haas. In third was Christina DiFalco of Pine Grove Area, a 1A state runner-up two years ago.
Haas beat McCormick at the NEPA Invite, but McCormick got revenge at leagues. Don't count out DiFalco either; the senior has a wealth of experience. Expect a very close battle for the D11-AA crown in one of the best inter-district races of the week between three top 25-ranked girls.
The heavy team favorites come from Northwestern Lehigh. Second last year at the district meet, NW Lehigh is one of the state's top AA squads. At the Colonial League Champs, Northwestern put six girls in the top 14, led by Alyssa Zack and Kailyn Jones. With only one states spot in D11-AA this year, it will be tough to challenge Northwestern. Tamaqua Area, the Schuylkill League champs, will hope to give them a run.
Class AAA
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 2
Last year's champ Lauren Maddison isn't back to defend her D11-AAA individual crown and we should expect a close race this Wednesday for the district title. At last week's EPC Championship, Freedom's Lauren Charboneau ran to the conference win, edging out Parkland's Madison Zaun. Easton's Megan Vizian and Stroudsburg's Amber Kelly also ran sub-20 times.
Emmaus's Keerstin Augustin, Northampton's Georgia Wiswesser, and Stroudsburg's Ciara Conboy and Amy Conboy are all legitimate contenders for the title in this wide open classification.
The team race will figure to be close for the two spots in the state meet. EPCs offered some interesting insight last week, as Easton Area defeated Parkland, with Emmaus and Stroudsburg not far behind. We've seen in the past, however, that a lot can change in the week between EPCs and the D11 meet, despite the fact that both meets are on the same course.
Easton put four before Parkland's No. 2 runner, which is a good sign for the Rovers. Parkland has the top lowstick in Zaun. Emmaus, meanwhile, was the top PA squad at last month's Paul Short, finishing well ahead of its D11-AAA counterparts. Stroudsburg has three individual contenders and will need a big day from its 4-5 to crack the top two. All in all, this race will be excited and will likely come down to those 3-4-5 runners.