2. And the AA girls individuals are as good as advertised
Starliper is clearly the state's top runner, but the AA classification as a whole has proven to be incredibly strong statewide.
Not to be lost in the mud at Big Spring is Taryn Parks' performance. The Greencastle-Antrim junior went 18:02 at District 3 take second to Starliper. That time is a second faster than her runner-up time from Mid-Penns two weeks prior, and Saturday's performance came in much worse conditions on a harder version of the Big Spring course.
In even more mud at the District 10 Championships, Sharon's Gianna Labbiento ran to the win in 19:34 for her sixth win of the season. The second place finisher from the Foundation Invite will surely find herself near the front on Saturday at Hershey.
In District 11, Blue Mountain freshman Olivia Haas out-dueled North Schuylkill sophomore Cori McCormick for the AA win. Haas went 18:25 and McCormick came home in 18:43. A week earlier, McCormick got the best of Haas at the Schuylkill League Championships. Another good battle came at the District 7 Championships, as Quaker Valley's Annie Wicker outlasted Brownsville's Gionna Quarzo on the hills of Roadman Park. Both girls have been two of western PA's best all fall.
Lauren Trapani, the state runner-up in 1A last year, has made the move to AA this season, and she still ran away with the District 4 title. Now a Warrior Run sophomore, Trapani will look to put her experience to the test at Hershey.
Perhaps never has a non-AAA seen so much talent at the top. In all likelihood, it will take a faster time to get inside the top ten in AA than AAA.