AAA Girls 4x800m Relay Preview
Central Bucks West will look to return to the top of the podium in the AAA 4x800 meter relay in what may be the middle distance powerhouse's best 4x8 ever. CB West rolled to a US No. 2 time earlier this season, clocking a 9:05.11 at the Helman Invite, and they will enter this weekend as the big favorites.
West ran a 9:15.90 while rolling to the District 1 title -- and did it without one of their top legs, Kate Edenson, who owns the fastest AAA open 800 time of the season. West won the state title in 2019, but was second to Strath Haven in 2019. It will be hard to deny West of another state title this time around.
The team with the best shot of doing that is J.P. McCaskey, which started its season off with a 9:30 in a dual meet. Since then, McCaskey has gotten that time down to 9:23.64, which it clocked to win handily at District 3. There's a wealth of talent on this team that will make them dangerous on Saturday.
The WPIAL Championships saw a great battle between Pine-Richland and South Fayette for the title. Ultimately, Pine-Richland grabbed the win in 9:27.32 to South Fayette's 9:28.74. Both teams should figure into this race right near the front.
Not much separates the next 11 or so seeds, which will make it very interesting for the remaining medals. Wilson edged out Chambersburg for second in District 3. Both teams have some quality depth at the 800 distance. In District 7, Montour narrowly beat out Kiski Area for third -- both of those teams will be top five threats this weekend.
Northeastern, Warwick, Emmaus, Gwynedd-Mercy Academy, Perkiomen Valley, West Chester Henderson, and State College will also have a good shot at cracking the top eight. It is going to be a battle.
Keep an eye on the clock, too. CB West's 9:05 came back in early May. We'll see what the team has in store for Saturday morning, but it will likely be very fast.
ENTRIES:
Event 301 Girls 4x800 Meter Relay AAA
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NFHS Record: 8:48.29 2012 , GrossePointSouthJS, MI
Schwartz, Farrow, Meier, Meier
PIAA Record: 8:51.49 2014 , CB South 01
Poiesz, Stratz, A., Kwapinski, Stratz, B.
NFHS Hnr Rol: 9:10.00
9:35.48 SQS
School Seed Finals
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1 Central Bucks West 01 9:15.90 SQS
2 J.P. McCaskey 03 9:23.64 SQS
3 Pine-Richland 07 9:27.32 SQS
4 South Fayette 07 9:28.74 SQS
5 Wilson 03 9:31.37 SQS
6 Chambersburg 03 9:31.48 SQS
7 Montour 07 9:31.84 SQS
8 Kiski Area 07 9:31.92 SQS
9 Northeastern 03 9:32.72 SQS
10 Warwick 03 9:34.00 SQS
11 Emmaus 11 9:34.34 SQS
12 Gwynedd-Mercy Academy 01 9:34.44 SQS
13 Perkiomen Valley 01 9:34.91 SQS
14 West Chester Henderson 01 9:35.46 SQS
15 State College Area 06 9:35.69
16 Conestoga 01 9:37.38
17 Parkland 11 9:42.69
18 Saint Marys Area 09 9:47.64
19 Crestwood 02 9:59.93
20 Shikellamy 04 9:59.98
21 McDowell 10 10:03.31
22 Bonner & Prendergast 12 10:05.28
23 Central 12 10:17.82