D12-AA Girls - Team & Individuals Breakdown
- Preseason Rankings: Team | Individual
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 3
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 15
- 2019 Individual Champion: Taylor Connelly (Lansdale Catholic) - 20:50
- 2019 Team Champions: Archbishop Wood - 28 points
Individuals Breakdown
Some good talent has shifted to AA this season. The AAA district champ from last season Erica Panei of Creative & Performing Arts, who clocked a 20:00 to win the crown last fall, goes to AA and would be the one to beat here.
Neumann Goretti would have a host of challengers, though, as they move to A. Sherisse Peterson of NG was second in D12-A last season. Peterson went 21:11 at districts last year. Her teammate Kimberly Johnson was third, while fellow NG runner Najah Hunter was fourth. All will be in contention for the top five again in AA this season.
Archbishop Carroll's Quinn O'Brien was third in D12-AA last season as a freshman. Now a sophomore, she would be a big factor in this race. She clocked a 21:20 at Paul Short last season. Other contenders would include Bodine's Qadasha Montford (fourth at districts last year), Archbishop Wood's Reagan McGowan (sixth), and Masterman's Taryn Flaherty (fifth in D12-A)
Team Breakdown
As more teams shifted to AA this season in D12, the number of state qualifying spots expands from two to three for the next two years. It would be an interesting battle for those three spots this season.
Neumann Goretti and Masterman took the top two spots last year in D12-A, and those two would be the ones to beat in D12-AA this season, interestingly enough. Last year, NG scored 21 points to take that Class A title, while Masterman scored 35 points for second. NG returns a talented trio that went 2-3-4 at districts last year. But Masterman brings back its entire top seven from a squad that had four freshmen last year. The Saints have the front running, whereas Masterman has the depth.
Cardinal O'Hara and Archbishop Ryan both go to AA this season and would be factors in the new classification. Both have some strong returners that would make them factors for one of those three state qualifying spots. Msgr. Bonner & Abp. Prendie took second and earned the other state spot last season. The Pandas bring back three girls that finished inside the top 15 last season and would be in the hunt for another trip to Hershey.
Last year's district champions -- Archbishop Wood -- would need to retool its roster and add depth to get the numbers to compete for a repeat, but this is a team that can't be counted out.