D5-A Girls - Team & Individuals Breakdown
- Preseason Rankings: Team | Individual
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 2
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 10
- 2019 Individual Champion: Emily Coddington (North Star) - 20:37
- 2019 Team Champions: Windber Area - 56 points
Individuals Breakdown
Emily Coddington rolled her her second straight District 5 title last fall, winning by well over a minute. A week and a half later at the state meet, she ran to a seventh place finish at the state meet in Class A. Coddington has graduated, meaning there will be a new champ in D5-A.
The race for the district crown should be interesting between Meyersdale's Moriah Hersh and Chestnut Ridge's Ava Whysong. Hersh was second to Coddington at the district meet, while Whysong was fourth in D5. But at the state meet, Whysong took 100th, while Hersh was 150th. It should get interesting with those battling up near the front.
Northern Bedford's Harley Socie is the other returning state meet qualifier from last year. She 168th at the state meet. Her teammate Emilee Sherlock was just outside of state qualification last year, but should be a factor this time around.
There are more individual spots this year in D5-A, expanding from five state spots to ten (not on a qualified team), so there's a little more breathing room for state meet hopefuls.
Team Preview
It was close for the team title in D5-A, and it should be close again this season. Only this year, the district gets an extra spot for teams in the state meet. That could have come in handy last year.
In 2019, Windber Area took home the district title, winning on a tiebreaker over Meyersdale Area. Both teams scored 56 points, but Windber had the sixth runner advantage and won the district and with it, captured the lone state qualifying spot. Chestnut Ridge was a close third, scoring 59 points.
But now the district gets two spots in the state meet, and it should be a close battle between those teams for the state qualifying spots. Windber, the reigning champs, lose its No. 1 runner, but bring back five varsity girls. Meyersdale has four varsity returners from last year. Chestnut Ridge has five varsity returners.
All in all, this will once again be a close race, but luckily for these teams, there's an extra state spot up for grabs.