AAA Girls' 400m Preview
This one is going to be a barnburner.
There's a crazy amount of quarter mile talent in Pennsylvania this season and it will come to a head in what should be a thrilling 400 meter final in AAA. The top seed entering the weekend is Bria Barnes of Cheltenham, who blasted a smooth PA No. 1 54.40 to win the District 1 title (following up a 54.45 at Henderson earlier in the month). She was fourth at indoor nationals and has looked strong ever since.
But there's a deep and fast field aiming for the win. Saucon Valley's Talitha Diggs has a season best of 55.47. Diggs took home the indoor state title in the winter and hasn't lost over the distance this season. She will be a tough one to beat.
Then there's the breakthrough, Taylor Nissly of Donegal, who went 55.63 to win the District 3 crown this past week, a huge PR for the senior. She's suddenly a contender for the crown in an already crowded field of speedy girls. The other sub-56 girl in the field is Maya Scott of Bensalem. She's also in the midst of a breakthrough season -- she was second in 55.94 to Barnes in District 1.
Coatesville's Porsha Miles and Central Dauphin's Raechel Bonner have both run sub-57 this season. Miles went 56.16 earlier in the season. She was third in D1 and added a 55-second 4x4 anchor split at that meet. Bonner was second to Nissly in District 3, running a PR by over a second and a half with a 56.39.
WPIAL champ Valerie Fischer of Hampton, District 2 champ Mackenzie Turner of Wallenpaupack, Cedar Crest's Shayla Bonzelet, and Conestoga Valley's Jordyn Hock are among the other talents to watch in this field.
It could very well take sub-54 second time to claim the win here. It won't be a race to miss on Saturday.
ENTRIES:
Event 306 Girls 400 Meter Dash AAA Prelims
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NFHS Record: 50.74 2000 Monique Henderson, S Diego Morse HS,CA
PIAA Record: 53.11 1986 Leaha Walker, Williamsport 04
NFHS Hnr Rol: 54.40
58.80 SQS
Name Year School Seed relim Time
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1 139 Barnes, Bria 12 Cheltenham 01 54.40 SQS
2 178 Nissly, Taylor 12 Donegal 03 55.63 SQS
3 528 Diggs, Talitha 11 Saucon Valley 11 55.92 SQS
4 41 Scott, Maya 11 Bensalem 01 55.94 SQS
5 126 Bonner, Raechel 11 Cntrl Dauphin 03 56.39 SQS
6 150 Miles, Porsha 12 Coatesville 01 57.17 SQS
7 92 Bonzelet, Shayla 11 Cedar Crest 03 57.20 SQS
8 159 Hock, Jordyn 11 Conestoga Vly 03 57.43 SQS
9 647 Turner, Mackenzie 12 Wallenpaupack 02 57.51 SQS
10 288 Fischer, Valerie 12 Hampton 07 57.51 SQS
11 177 Booker, Taliyah 10 Delaware Vly 02 57.63 SQS
12 38 Seitzinger, Hannah 11 Belle Vernon 07 57.74 SQS
13 158 Castronova, Sarah 12 Conestoga Vly 03 57.80 SQS
14 566 White, Khaliyah 11 So Philly 12 57.82 SQS
15 366 Adams, Elizabeth 11 Meadville 10 57.84 SQS
16 487 Kriney, Meghan 11 Pennridge 01 57.89 SQS
17 299 Sloboh, Rebecca 12 Truman 01 57.93 SQS
18 683 Penman, Katie 10 Williamsport 04 58.22 SQS
19 305 Grube, Megan 11 Hempfield 03 58.35 SQS
20 612 Bucci, Makayla 12 Unionville 01 58.36 SQS
21 610 Goebel, Jackie 11 Twin Valley 03 58.44 SQS
22 156 Martz, Kaia 10 Cocalico 03 58.55 SQS
23 66 Mathis, Tamara Renee 12 CanonMcMillan 07 59.46
24 401 Doherty, Alexis 10 Nazareth Area 11 59.59
25 577 Eifrig, Casie 10 State College 06 1:00.18
26 455 Zukina, Bernadette 9 Norwin 07 1:00.32
27 555 Plowden, Danae 12 Simon Gratz 12 1:00.76
28 527 Quesenberry, Megan 11 Saint Marys 09 1:00.77