Meet Preview: PIAA District 9 Championships

In 2018, freshman Evelyn Lerch of Clarion was the winner in 21:21 as ninth-graders took three of the top five spots. Another frosh has the inside track on a district title as Oswayo Valley's Cheyenne Mehl was second at both the Ridgway and Bradford invites and has the fastest time in Class A in the district. Kane Area senior Raeann Asel was fifth at Ridgway in the district's No. 2 time, while junior Kalynne Ziegler of Cranberry 6th at ridgway

Last year's team battle was very tight as Cranberry and Clarion Area were only nine points apart, with the next two teams - Brookville and North Clarion - just 12 more points behind. North Clarion was the highest placed team of the bunch at the Ridgway Invite, but Cranberry wasn't too far behind. It should be close for the state spots.

Back on the final day of August, Olivia Roberts of Punxsutawney Area won the Big Valley Invitational in her season and district best time of 19:38 and leads the field into the AA final. The junior also won at Ridgway and was second at Rocky Grove and third at Carlisle in the champion race.

Last year's winner, junior Samantha Hayes of Saint Marys Area saved her best time thus far in '19 - 19:51 - for the SRU Bill Lennox Invitational two weeks ago. Four others have recorded times under 21:00.

Saint Marys Area won at Ridgway and also had top three finishes at SRU and Altoona this season, making the Flying Dutch a favorite to repeat. In 2018, the champs finished with 19 points, while Punxsutawney had 38.