D11-AA Girls - Team & Individuals Breakdown
- Preseason Rankings: Team | Individual
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 1
- State Qualifying Spots For Non-Team Individuals: 5
- 2018 Individual Champion: Olivia Haas (Blue Mountain) - 18:25
- 2018 Team Champion: Northwestern Lehigh (59 points)
Individuals Preview
Two of the state's top rising talents hail from D11-AA. The pair -- Blue Mountain's Olivia Haas and North Schuylkill's Cori McCormick -- battled on a number of occasions last XC season as well as on the track. In XC, McCormick got the advantage at the Schuylkill League Championships, but Haas got wins at NEPA, District 11, and then took fifth at states to McCormick's seventh place finish. Haas, now a sophomore, and the rising junior McCormick are expected to be a pair of AA's best in PA -- a loaded classification with the top 11 girls from states back this season.
Expect these two to meet a few times this season, culminating with those postseason battles. Look for them to drop some quick times.
After that, there was no shortage of other impressive freshman a year ago after Haas. Allentown Central Catholic's Isabel Devos was fourth at districts last season. She was 24th at states and dropped a strong 5:17 on the track this past spring. She'll be a serious factor this fall in AA. North Schuylkill's Ryley Schwalm Fifth in D11-AA and Tamaqua Area's Grace Stegemerten were also impact ninth graders that will move into their sophomore seasons looking for more.
Team Preview
There's once again just a single states spot on the line for teams this season, meaning we can expect a fierce battle for the district's lone berth to Hershey. A year ago, Northwestern Lehigh edged out Tamaqua Area by just 5 points for that state spot.
NW Lehigh loses three girls from its top 5, a team that wound up an impressive third at the state meet. It will look to retool this season and contend again. Tamaqua, meanwhile, brings back 5 of 7 from last year's team, which had a nice pack last season. They'll look to pack up again this time around again and go for the win.
North Schuylkill has some good talent up front. They were third a year ago. Depth is the name of the game for NS. If they can fill out the backend of their scoring 5, this can be a dangerous team. Allentown Central Catholic, the 2017 D11-AA champs, were fourth last season. They have some strong young runners that should make them a contender this season. Lehighton and Blue Mountain have full varsity squads returning and each have the potential to make some noise.
There's no clear-cut favorite now in August, but look for this very competitive district to take shape as the season progresses with just one state spot up for grabs.