D3-AA Girls - Team & Individuals Breakdown
- Preseason Rankings: Team | Individual
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 3
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 15
- 2019 Individual Champion: Marlee Starliper (Northern) - 17:21
- 2019 Team Champions: Northern - 44 points
Individuals Breakdown
For the first time in four years, someone not named Marlee Starliper or Taryn Parks will win District 3 Class AA. It is a definite changing of the guard this season in the district/classification that was dominated since 2016 by two of the best distance runners in state history.
The next one up in D3-AA is Peyton Ellis of Boiling Springs. Last year as a freshman, Ellis was impressive, placing third in the district, over a minute clear of the fourth place finisher. She took 14th at states before closing out her first high school season with a strong 13th place regional finish. She will be the favorite in D3-AA and will be one to watch at the state level in AA.
Another returning state medalist from D3-AA last year is Wyomissing's Grace Kuhn. She took eighth in the district, but had a big day at Hershey for the state meet last year, taking 18th. She ran her 5K best of 19:02 at Paul Short.
While teams like Northern and Greencastle-Antrim move to AAA this season, teams like Kutztown Area and Annville-Cleona move from A to AA. That means that last year's D3-A champion Erika Moriarty of Kutztown will be a factor in D3-AA this season. So will A-C's Braetan Peters, who was second to Moriarty in D3-A last year. Both earned Class A state medals last year, with Moriarty taking ninth and Peters placing 12th at Hershey.
Ellis wasn't the only strong frosh in D3-AA last season. Conrad Weiser's Sydney Werner was sixth in the district last year. She placed 40th in the state and ran a 19:38 at Paul Short last fall. Ava Lottig of Oley Valley is another girl to watch this season. She was 12th in the district last season as a sophomore.
Team Breakdown
While Marlee Starliper has graduated and taken her talents and incredible high school resume out of District 3 Class AA to NC State, her Northern team -- which rolled to a 66-point district victory last fall -- also won't return to D3-AA this year. Instead, the Polar Bears have shifted to AAA for at least the next two seasons.
So there will be a new champ in D3-AA this season. In fact, two of the three D3-AA state qualifying teams have left, with Donegal also going to AAA. Also moving to AAA are 2019 fourth place finishers York Suburban and fifth place Gettysburg Area. It's a true changing of the guard.
Who's the new team to beat? Boiling Springs grabbed second in the district last year and went on to place 11th in the state. Ellis is a terrific lowstick, and the Bubblers have three other varsity returners, though it will need to add depth to sure up the rest of its varsity squad if it wants a return trip to Hershey.
The favorites look to be the girls from Wyomissing Area, which returns its full varsity squad from last year; a team that took sixth in the district. Kuhn is a returning state medalist and Olivia Fisher is a solid No. 2, while the 3-4-5-6 make up a good pack. If that group can move up in the field, this could be a very dangerous team not just in D3-AA, but also the state.
Conrad Weiser (seventh in the district last year) will be another strong team. Six varsity girls are back, with a good top two in Werner and Bella Auchenbach. Look for Weiser to be in the mix for the top three. Berks Catholic was eighth last season and has a good group of five varsity runners back, making the Saints another factor here.
Annville-Cleona was second in D3-A last year, and while it's a tough transition for this team to make up to AA, look for A-C to possibly make some noise with six varsity girls from last year's team back.