AAA Girls' 4x800m Preview
There's seldom a shortage of drama in the AAA girls 4x800, and it will likely be more of the same this season. Last year, Butler seemed primed to win the event, but an unfortunate late fall gave the win to Central Bucks West in a final few meters that shocked Seth Grove Stadium.
CB West will be looking to defend that title this season, though we can expect another close race. Strath Haven comes in as the top seed after running to the District 1 title in 9:09.22 behind a huge anchor leg and 2:07 split from Grace Forbes. North Penn has shown it can compete once again for a 4x8 state title, running 9:16 for second last week at D1. The there are the defending champs from CB West, who didn't run two of its top half milers at District 1. With those two on the relay on Saturday, West could very well make the repeat a reality.
District 3's distance excellence this season extending to the 4x800 relay. Elizabethtown Area squeaked out the D3 title over Carlisle, 9:21.07 to 9:21.79. E-Town has been solid all year, and the Herd had a nice breakthrough, as both teams can make some noise in this race. Governor Mifflin ran a strong 9:25 to show it will be in the mix as well.
Greensburg Salem won the WPIAL title in 9:27, and with a strong 800 runner in Malia Anderson, the Lions will be a factor. Downingtown West, West Chester East, Garnet Valley, Seneca Valley, and Fox Chapel Area will be among the other top squads that will likely be among the front pack.
Not much separates some of those squads in the middle, so the fight for the podium will be an exciting one on the home stretch of the state meet. up front, it will be another thriller -- count on that.
ENTRIES:
Event 301 Girls 4x800 Meter Relay AAA Prelims
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NFHS Record: 8:48.29 2012 , GrossePointSouthJS, MI
Schwartz, Farrow, Meier, Meier
PIAA Record: 8:51.49 2014 , CB South 01
Poiesz, Stratz, A., Kwapinski, Stratz, B.
NFHS Hnr Rol: 9:10.00
9:35.48 SQS
School Seed relim Time
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1 Strath Haven 01 9:09.22 SQS
2 North Penn 01 9:16.33 SQS
3 Elizabethtown 03 9:21.07 SQS
4 Carlisle 03 9:21.79 SQS
5 Central Bucks West 01 9:21.97 SQS
6 Governor Mifflin 03 9:25.02 SQS
7 Greensburg Salem 07 9:27.08 SQS
8 Downingtown West 01 9:27.78 SQS
9 West Chester East 01 9:27.85 SQS
10 Garnet Valley 01 9:28.04 SQS
11 Seneca Valley 07 9:28.49 SQS
12 Fox Chapel Area 07 9:29.02 SQS
13 South Fayette 07 9:29.09 SQS
14 Central Bucks East 01 9:29.46 SQS
15 Wilson 03 9:29.54 SQS
16 Upper Dublin 01 9:29.87 SQS
17 Avonworth / Northgate 07 9:31.55 SQS
18 Hershey 03 9:32.62 SQS
19 Shikellamy 04 9:36.35
20 Saint Marys Area 09 9:41.65
21 Liberty 11 9:42.09
22 Northwestern Lehigh 11 9:42.60
23 Abington Heights 02 9:48.62
24 Warren Area 10 9:55.08
25 Cardinal O'Hara 12 10:03.12
26 State College Area 06 10:04.25
27 Lansdale Catholic 12 10:04.49