In a battle of the best-of-the-best from a deep District 3 AAA, Northeastern's Margaret Carroll came out on top Saturday.
Carroll, a senior, traversed the Big Spring course in 17:58 -- her second sub-18 performance of the season for the win and the district title. Carroll was also the top runner for the Northeastern squad that won the team title and earned the one and only state-qualifying spot to Hershey for next week.
It turned into a race between the three favorites around the mile, as Carroll, Wilson junior Caryn Rippey, and Greencastle-Antrim freshman Claire Paci opened up a gap on the rest of the field.
In the last mile, Carroll made her move and got the advantage running to the win, her first district title. Rippey finished second in 18:03 and Paci was third in 18:14. J.P. McCaskey's Arielle Breuninger was fourth and Ephrata's Alyssa Fedorshak took fifth.
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | POINTS | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Margaret Carroll | 12 | Northeastern | 17:58.20 | 1 | ||
| 2 | Caryn Rippey | 11 | Wilson (3) | 18:03.60 | 2 | ||
| 3 | Claire Paci | 9 | Greencastle-Antrim | 18:14.00 | - | ||
| 4 | Arielle Breuninger | 12 | J.P. McCaskey | 18:33.90 | 3 | ||
| 5 | Alyssa Fedorshak | 12 | Ephrata | 18:38.30 | - | ||
Northeastern saw its No. 2 through No. 4 runners separated by 22 seconds with Bella Treglia in 20th, Marissa Pritchett in 23rd and Trinity Schraudner in 26th. The Bobcats will be District 3's representative at the state meet in AAA.
Watch the AAA girls race from the District 3 Championships and check out an interview with Carroll below.