D2-A Girls - Team & Individuals Breakdown
- Preseason Rankings: Team | Individual
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 2
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 10
- 2019 Individual Champion: Krista Jones (Elk Lake) - 19:56
- 2019 Team Champions: Montrose - 56 points
Individuals Breakdown
Elk Lake's Krista Jones ran to the win in District 2 Class A at Lakeland last fall, her second straight district title. Now the junior will go for a 3-peat in D2-A this season. Jones had a terrific sophomore campaign that was capped off by an impressive fourth place finish at the state meet, going 19:40 at Hershey.
Jones will once again be the one to beat in the district, and will be a candidate for another strong state finish.
There's a good bunch of other individuals back this season in D2-A, including a pair of state medalists. Mountain View's Kathryn Long took 13th at the state meet, running her 5K best of 20:15 on the tough Hershey course. She'll look to carry that momentum into this fall. Montrose's Paige Brewer -- fifth in the district last year -- ran to a 21st place finish at the state meet during her strong freshman season.
Forest City's Rachel Korty was second to Jones at the district meet. She was 71st at the state meet, but she will be a big factor this season in both the district and the state. Lakeland's Olivia James is also back from the top ten in the district last year; she was ninth last season in D2-A.
Team Preview
An extra state spot has been added to D2-A for this season. After just one spot being allotted to the district/classification, two teams will get berths to the state meet for this season.
Montrose ran to the district crown last year in D2-A, and it will look for the repeat this season. The squad loses one of its top runners from last year -- Hannah Perkins -- but brings back six other varsity girls. Brewer is a returning state medalist, and a solid core is back that should make this team a contender after their 12th place state run last year.
Holy Cross (second last year) and Lakeland (third last year) will also likely be in the mix for a state spot. Holy Cross was second in the district last season and has five varsity girls back this fall, though it does lose two of its top three from a year ago. Lakeland also has five girls back, and it should be a factor for the top two. If these teams can have a few girls step up, they could challenge Montrose for the title.
Teams like Elk Lake and Northwest Area have a good group back this season, but will likely need to add some depth to make a run at the top two. Still, they'll be in the mix for high finishes.