D9-AA Girls - Team & Individuals Breakdown
- Preseason Rankings: Team | Individual
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 1
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 5
- 2019 Individual Champion: Olivia Roberts (Punxsutawney Area) - 19:44
- 2019 Team Champions: Saint Marys Area - 24 points
Individuals Breakdown
Olivia Roberts of Punxsutawney closed out her season in a big way last year. The junior ran away with the District 9 Class AA title and then placed 15th at the state meet in a time of 19:37, a PR on the tough Hershey course. Roberts is back for her senior season and will be the one to watch in D9-AA this fall.
She'll get a good challenge, though, from Samantha Hayes of Saint Marys Area. Hayes, the district champion in 2018, was second to Roberts at the district meet last year. Hayes earned a state medal of her own, taking 23rd at Hershey. This should be an interesting matchup to track throughout the season.
Other top returners include Saint Marys Area's Kyla Johnson and Brianna Grotzinger, Bradford's Hannah Lary, and Punxsutawney's Amy Poole.
Team Breakdown
Saint Marys Area won its fourth straight district title last year, putting just 24 points on the board to capture the win and with it, the lone state qualifying spot in D9-AA. Saint Marys took eighth at the state meet.
Three girls from Saint Marys' 2019 varsity team are back. Hayes, along with Johnson and Grotzinger, make for a strong group of girls back, and they'll look to some up-and-comers this fall to make it five-in-a-row.
Punxsutawney Area will be looking to dethrone Saint Marys for the title. Punxsy was second last year, 22 points behind the champs. But the 2019 runners-up bring back their top six girls from last season, led by the defending individual district champ Roberts. If those 2-3-4-5 runners can make some moves up in the field this season, Punxsy can certainly make it interesting for the district title.