We knew one of district week's top matchups would come in District 11 AA between Cori McCormick of North Schuylkill and Olivia Haas of Blue Mountain.
Only the drama for the District 11 crown in AA played out a little differently than usual. Due to COVID-19, the race organizers for D11 had two heats per classification and gender with the results from the two heats being merged. The heat assignments put Haas' team in the first heat and McCormick's team in the second heat, so there would be no head-to-head race between the two, arguably two of the state's best in AA.
As an added twist, the meet took place at Blue Mountain Ski Resort, a challenging two-loop trek up and down a ski mountain. Some early rain made for a slick course. No one was PRing in District 11 this week.
Haas went first and from the gun it was clear it would be a solo effort for the junior, who won the district crown each of the last two year's over McCormick. Haas crossed in 19:51, setting the stage and the time to beat in heat 2.
Watch Heat 1 below.
So next up was heat 2 and McCormick. Similar to heat 1, it would be a solo effort for McCormick. The senior was second to Haas each of the last two years at the district meet, but she was going for her first title on Wednesday.
Haas and McCormick raced twice in the regular season, with Haas winning the first quad meet and McCormick taking the win in the second. McCormick took the win at last week's Schuylkill League Championships, but she had also beaten Haas at the league meet in 2018 and 2019 before taking second to her at districts.
Watch Heat 2 below.
This time would be different. McCormick listened to splits throughout the race, knowing the time that she had to beat. Going all out on the final downhill that sweeps right into the finishing shoot, McCormick took the win, going 19:41, ten seconds ahead of Haas' time from the first heat.
Haas' Blue Mountain team, however, picked up the team title with 75 points. Both McCormick and Haas will be among the favorites at next week's state meet in AA. But once again, the two will not be in the same heat. With Haas' team picking up the team win, Blue Mountain will be in with the other team qualifiers, while McCormick will be with the individual qualifiers.
It could be a race against the clock once again.
Check out a post-race interview with McCormick below.