AA Girls 800m Preview
Shady Side Academy's Melissa Riggins tremendous high school career will come to a close -- barring any postseason meet appearances -- on Friday afternoon. She will be looking to win her sixth state title overall (the fifth being the 1600 earlier in the day) and third straight 800 meter state title.
Riggins went 2:11.38 to win the Baldwin Invitational earlier this season in a time that is over five seconds better than the next closest girl in AA. It's also the fastest time this year in PA regardless of classification. So Riggins will enter as the big favorite in the 800, which will come after the 1600. Riggins will be hard to stop in pursuit of yet another state win here. She holds the meet record at 2:08.86. That is also her PR, so look for Riggins to try and chase that time.
Kathleen Simander will be one to watch, though, The Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy senior dropped a massive PR of 2:16.91 to win the District 6 title last week. Clearly she's hitting her stride at the right time and could have another nice time drop in store for Friday.
Plenty of the other top girls in this field will be coming off other events, but should still be big factors. Montoursville's Lily Saul (2:18.80 SB) and Fort Cherry's Mara Whalen (2:18.16 SB) will be big threats in the 400 meters. Portage's Lauren Shaffer (2:18.20 SB) and Greensburg Central Catholic's Corinn Brewer (2:19.41) will be in the 1600. North Schuylkill's Cori McCormick (2:17.39 SB) will be going after the rare 3200-800 double. It will all come down to how their legs respond late in the day. But, of course, all these girls have plenty of experience doing that.
Peyton Ellis of Boiling Springs is another one with a chance at a high finish. She won the District 3 title and comes in with a season best of 2:19.05. Wilimington's Grace Mason, Villa Maria's Sarah Clark, and Marion Center's Reagan Ryen are among the others with a good shot of getting inside the top eight in this field.
ENTRIES:
Event 208 Girls 800 Meter Run AA
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NFHS Record: 2:02.04 2011 Amy Weissenbach, HarvardWestlakeHS, CA
PIAA Record: 2:08.86 2019 Melissa Riggins, Shady Side 07
NFHS Hnr Rol: 2:09.60
2:20.60 SQS
Name Year School Seed Finals
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1 Riggins, Melissa 12 Shady Side 07 2:13.73 SQS
2 Simander, Kathleen 12 St. Joseph 06 2:16.91 SQS
3 Shaffer, Lauren 11 Portage Area 06 2:18.20 SQS
4 Saul, Lily 11 Montoursville 04 2:18.80 SQS
5 Brewer, Corinn 11 Greensburg CC 07 2:19.41 SQS
6 Ellis, Peyton 10 Boiling Spr 03 2:19.74 SQS
7 Mason, Grace 12 Wilmington 10 2:20.05 SQS
8 Clark, Sarah 10 Villa Maria 10 2:20.37 SQS
9 Ryen, Reagan 10 Marion Center 06 2:20.86
10 Chamberlin, Anna 11 Boiling Spr 03 2:21.11
11 Johns, Bella 10 Danville Area 04 2:21.14
12 Arendt, Skylar 11 Lakeland 02 2:21.90
13 Lucot, Tara 12 No Catholic 07 2:22.43
14 Whalen, Mara 12 Fort Cherry 07 2:23.01
15 McCormick, Cori 12 No Schuylkill 11 2:23.36
16 Cohen, Anna 11 Quaker Valley 07 2:24.03
17 Mehl, Cheyenne 10 Oswayo Valley 09 2:26.21
18 Schwalm, Ryley 11 No Schuylkill 11 2:26.88
19 Whysong, Ava 10 Chestnut Rdg 05 2:27.33
20 Spoerl, Olivia 10 Jenkintown 01 2:27.52
21 Roberts, Olivia 12 Punxsutawney 09 2:28.68
22 Pena, Rachelle 12 Conwell-Egan 12 2:30.88
23 Dunn, Brianna 12 Mastery Hardy 12 2:37.16