AAA Girls' 3,200m Preview
In somewhat of a surprise decision, Marlee Starliper opted to not go after defending her AAA state title in the 3200 meters. Starliper, instead, will go into the 1600 meters fresh. This leaves the field very wide open for the state title for 8 laps in PA, and it will be a very interesting race.
The top-ranked girl in the field and top seed is Warwick's Kate Dickow, who will look to follow up her surprising indoor state title in the 3K with an outdoor 3200 win. The senior was seventh a year ago, but she's much improved this year and now has the experience of getting a big win at state meet. She'll be the one to beat.
Much of her top competition will come from her District 3 rivals in what has been an amazing year for mid-state distance running. Carlisle's Sophia Toti dropped a 10:30 to take second to Dickow in D3. Cedar Crest's Gwyneth Young, Wilson's Reagan Underwood and Bryn Underwood, and Elizabethtown's Cat Shontz all dropped sub-10:50 times at the fast D3 meet. Frankly any of those girls could take the title on the right day.
Bethel Park's Emily Carter will be another contender. The sophomore is having a stellar season, which has included two 10:37s in the month of May. She won the WPIAL title after winning the 1600 earlier in the meet. On Saturday, the 3200 comes first, so Carter will be more fresh and could take the win here. West Chester Henderson's Jenna Mulhern will aim to follow up her XC state title from the fall with an outdoor state championship. She is the District 1 champ and went 10:40 on her home track earlier this season. She is a poised runner capable of winning this, too.
Dallastown's Emily Schuler, Oakland Catholic's Hannah Schupansky, Elizabethtown's Madeline Quinn, Neshaminy's Kaylee McCullough, and West Chester East's Allyson Clarke are among the others who have gone sub-11 this season and will compete for spots on the medal stand come Saturday.
This is a relatively wide open field and one that could come down to that last lap on Saturday morning.
ENTRIES:
Event 310 Girls 3200 Meter Run AAA =============================================================================== NFHS Record: 9:47.88 2018 Katelyn Touhy, North Rockland HS, NY PIAA Record: 10:21.06 2010 Sara Sargent, Pennsbury 01 NFHS Hnr Rol: 10:26.00 11:10.00 SQS Name Year School Seed Finals =============================================================================== 1 654 Dickow, Kate 12 Warwick 03 10:28.02 SQS 2 89 Toti, Sophia 11 Carlisle 03 10:30.86 SQS 3 96 Young, Gwyneth 10 Cedar Crest 03 10:35.11 SQS 4 44 Carter, Emily 10 Bethel Park 07 10:37.89 SQS 5 693 Underwood, Reagan 11 Wilson 03 10:40.66 SQS 6 692 Underwood, Bryn 11 Wilson 03 10:48.41 SQS 7 213 Shontz, Cat 12 Elizabethtown 03 10:49.55 SQS 8 668 Mulhern, Jenna 9 W C Henderson 01 10:54.00 SQS 9 175 Schuler, Emily 11 Dallastown 03 10:54.96 SQS 10 457 Schupansky, Hannah 12 Oakland Cath 07 10:56.19 SQS 11 212 Quinn, Madeline 10 Elizabethtown 03 10:58.20 SQS 12 412 McCullough, Kaylee 11 Neshaminy 01 10:58.89 SQS 13 422 Lindgren, Hannah 11 No Allegheny 07 11:05.78 SQS 14 662 Clarke, Allyson 11 W C East 01 11:06.62 SQS 15 391 Ciasullo, Megan 12 Mt St Joseph 01 11:06.89 SQS 16 637 Raubenheimer, Sarah 12 Villa Maria 01 11:14.04 17 614 McGovern, Madison 12 Unionville 01 11:14.33 18 470 Zaun, Madison 12 Parkland 11 11:14.63 19 530 Bellucci, Mia 12 Scranton Prep 02 11:17.22 20 236 Sisson, Grace 11 Fox Chapel 07 11:26.99 21 586 Reed, Jordan 10 State College 06 11:27.00 22 552 Keeley, Nicole 12 Shikellamy 04 11:29.46 23 248 Alberti, Anna 12 Gen McLane 10 11:34.99 24 599 Conboy, Amy 12 Stroudsburg 11 11:45.22 25 525 Johnson, Kyla 10 Saint Marys 09 11:54.82 26 22 Ems, Casey 12 Arch Wood 12 12:11.65 27 565 Panei, Erica 9 So Philly 12 12:26.58