D9-A Girls - Team & Individuals Breakdown
- Preseason Rankings: Team | Individual
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 2
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 10
- 2020 Individual Champion: Jenna Gregory (Smethport Area) - 20:22
- 2020 Team Champions: North Clarion - 38 points
Individuals Breakdown
Jenna Gregory enjoyed a big 2020 season and now the Smethport senior will look to cap off her high school XC career with another strong autumn. Gregory won the D9-A individual crown handily last year and kept the momentum rolling into the state meet, placing eighth. Based on state meet finish, she is the No. 4 returner in Class A. She will certainly be one to watch this fall, as she goes for her second straight district crown.
Eight out of the top ten and 17 of the top 20 from D9-A last year are back this year, so there will be a lot of experience battling it out this season in the district. Northern Potter's Courtney Martin will aim to challenge Gregory for the district title. Martin was second in the district and then took 12th at the state meet. Also a senior, she will look for a big last high school XC season.
Other state qualifiers back in D9-A this season are Oswayo Valley's Cheyenne Mehl, Moniteau's Hannah Burgoon, and Elk County Catholic's Sophia Bille. Mehl was 33rd at the state meet last year, while Burgoon was close behind in 37th, followed by Bille in 38th. Mehl was a 2019 state medalist (she took 22nd), so she'll be one to watch out for.
Clarion Area's Bella Scott, Cranberry's Ashlyn Shultz, and North Clarion's Jordyn Hendrickson are the other top ten returners from the district meet last year. Hendrickson was 69th at states after qualifying with her team.
Team Preview
North Clarion will go for its third straight district title this season, and this team looks like it will have the depth to have a good shot at pulling it off. NC loses its top runner from last year in Rachel Bauer, but it brings back the rest of its top seven from last year. North Clarion proved to have some great depth last year as it won the district by 31 points before placing fourth at the state meet. In 2021, NC will once again be a tough team to beat.
Moniteau and Brookville Area were second and third in the district last year, respectively. In a normal year, two teams would have advanced to states, but there was only one team per district/classification allowed in the state meet last year, so Moniteau missed out. Both Moniteau and Brookville lose just one graduated senior from their teams last year. Each could make a run at that second spot this season.
Elk County Catholic and Cranberry also have a wealth of varsity returners back this season. ECC's whole top four last year was comprised of freshmen, while Cranberry has a young team, as well. It looks to be truly wide open for the second state spot in D9-A this season.