PTXC 11 Girls' Gold Race - Race Preview
- Race Time: 9:50 A.M.
- Virtual Meet
- 2018 Individual Winner: Taryn Parks (Greencastle-Antrim) - 18:08
- 2018 Team Winner: Loudoun Valley - 85 points
Taryn Parks of Greencastle-Antrim opens up her senior season on Saturday, looking to defend her PTXC 11 Gold Race title. Last fall, Parks, in her PTXC debut, went 18:08, the third fastest time in meet history on the Farm Course in Kutztown.
Perhaps if the course conditions cooperate, she can take a shot at Kennedy Weisner's course record of 17:48, which has stood since PTXC 5 in 2013. Parks will be pushed up front by a strong field, though, and it should be interesting.
Loudoun Valley's Ricky Fetterolf, the defending Virginia 4A state champ, will be in the hunt. She was fifth a year ago and should be strong again on Saturday. Her LV teammate Elise Abbe will be up there too. She was third in the VA state championship last year and took seventh at PTXC 10.
The next top returner after Parks from PTXC 10, though, is Kaylee McCullough of Neshaminy. She took fourth a year ago as a junior. Now a senior, McCullough will likely be up near the front competing for another high finish. North Schuylkill's Cori McCormick should be around that front pack. Sixth at PTXC 10, McCormick was seventh in Class AA at states last year.
This field is very deep individually. Elizabethtown's Katie Locker and Madeline Quinn will look to start their seasons off on the right foot. They are a strong duo that may look to work together. Council Rock South's Marisa Kilgarriff was second last week at Northampton and will aim to keep the momentum going into Saturday. Neshaminy's Jordan O'Neill, Loudoun Valley's Ally Talley, and the Hershey duo of Katie Jones and Olivia Wilson are among the other strong runners to keep an eye on here.
In the team race, Loudoun Valley will be the team to beat, looking to defend its Gold Race title. Last year, the Viking nipped Central Bucks West. West isn't back at PTXC this year. With a strong duo that should find itself around the top five in Fetterolf and Abbe, along with Talley and Leah Snyder, LV will be a tough team to beat.
It will be an early season matchup between cross-town rivals Council Rock North and Council Rock South, a pair of District 1 teams with state aspirations this season. Danbury (CT), Neshaminy, Manheim Township, Hershey, Cumberland Valley are among the other teams to watch for at PTXC 11.