D10-AA Girls - Team & Individuals Breakdown
- Preseason Rankings: Team | Individual
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 2
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 10
- 2020 Individual Champion: Meaera Shannon (Conneaut Area) - 18:34
- 2020 Team Champions: Villa Maria Academy - 36 points
Individuals Breakdown
There was a ton of great individual depth in D10-AA last season, and while some fast girls have graduated (the top four from the district meet are all gone this year), there is a talent returning this season and lots of room for more girls to step up this fall.
Grove City's Abby Steffler, Villa Maria's Sarah Clark, and Oil City's Kennedy Liederbach are the individual state qualifiers back this season. Steffler was fifth in the district and 51st at the state meet. Clark was sixth at districts and 52nd at states. Liederbach, just a ninth grader last year was seventh at districts, but had the best state meet of all D10-AA returners, taking 43rd at Hershey. Steffler and Clark were both 800m state qualifiers on the track this past spring. This will be a good race for the top spot in the district this fall.
A host of girls just missed state meet qualification last year due to the reduced numbers. Franklin Area's Nadalie Latchaw, Sharon's Natalie Ostheimer, and Mercyhurst Prep's Taylor Friello were top ten district finishers last year and each should be a factor back this season.
Team Breakdown
Villa Maria Academy took back the district title last season after a one year hiatus. Villa Maria won its ninth D10-AA team title in ten years in 2020, running away with the win by 20 points. They wound up seventh at the state meet. Villa Maria loses a pair of girls from its top seven last year, but brings back a solid squad led by Clark up front. Once again, Villa Maria will be the team to beat, it appears, in D10-AA.
After that, the district looks relatively wide open. Corry Area, second last year, loses some talented seniors, but returns a good core that will make it a factor again in 2021. Titusville was third in 2021 and also loses some good seniors, but brings back a talented group that had four freshman in its top seven last season.
Mercyhurst Preparatory, General McLane, and Harbor Creek are among the other teams that could threaten the top two and qualify for states out of this district this season.