D7-AAA Girls - Team & Individuals Breakdown
- Preseason Rankings: Team | Individual
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 3
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 15
- 2020 Individual Champion: Mia Cochran (Moon Area) - 17:46
- 2020 Team Champions: North Allegheny - 67 points
Individuals Breakdown
There was no shortage of drama at last year's WPIAL Championships for Mia Cochran. All's well that ends well, though, and the Moon Area junior was ultimately allowed to compete at her district meet after a COVID-19 contact tracing issue. Cochran ran away with the WPIAL crown and then a week later, she defended her PIAA AAA state title at Hershey on a hot day.
It was another banner season for Cochran, who enters who senior year looking to win her third straight XC state crown. She's fresh off a big spring that saw her win PIAA titles in the 3,200m and 1,600m after a big state meet. She wrote recently that she's looking to make this season her "best one yet." Cochran will once again be the one to beat in PA, as she prepares to chase more state and national accolades in her final high school XC season.
There are six other returners from the top ten in D7-AAA this season. Jenna Lang of Bethel Park had a big freshman year last season. She was second in the district and seventh in the state. She was the No. 2 freshmen at the state, and will once again be one to watch as she aims to go after another big finish at Hershey.
Pine-Richland returns a pair of state medalists from last fall. Meredith Price took tenth at the state meet after a fourth place WPIAL finish. Price went 10:54 for 3,200m this spring and took sixth at the outdoor state meet. Look for a big season out of her. Her teammate Angelina Hunkele took 25th at states, grabbing a medal as a freshman. Hunkele was 11th at WPIALs. North Allegheny's Eva Kynaston had a strong freshman campaign, too, taking eighth at WPIALs before getting on the podium at states with a 23rd place finish. Her teammates Maura Mlecko and Alexa Sundgren are back this season and should also be factors near the front of the district.
Two freshman from the WPIAL-AAA last year just missed state medals. Kiski Area's Eliza Miller (fifth in the district) was 30th at states and Fox Chapel Area's Laura Carter (sixth in the district) was 32nd at states. Look for both to chase the top 25 at the state meet this fall. South Fayette's Laura Iagnemma was also not far off state medal territory, placing 35th at Hershey last year.
A number of would-be state qualifiers just missed out on the state meet last year because of reduced numbers. They include Fox Chapel's Clara Kelley, Seneca Valley's Abby Kreber, and Butler's Jennifer Cichra.
Team Preview
North Allegheny has won a remarkable three straight AAA state titles and the Tigers will be in pursuit of No. 4 this fall. Coach John Neff's girls and boys teams have a shot to complete the PIAA "team sweep" for a second straight year (and third time in four years). NA loses its top girl from last year in Keeley Misutka, but five of the top seven girls from last year are back. Kynaston, a returning state medalist as a freshman, is the top returner, while the likes of Mlecko and Sundgren make for a strong returning core.
NA always retools well and it will look to fill in some gaps left by graduated seniors. This is once again going to be a strong North Allegheny squad, capable of adding another trophy to its mantle.
But NA will face a steep challenge in 2021 in its pursuit of four straight and perhaps its top challenger will be a WPIAL rival: Pine-Richland. Pine-Richland was second to NA by 31 points at WPIALs last year, but because of the pandemic, only NA went to states. It's back to normal this fall, though, and there are three state spots up for grabs from D7-AAA. Pine-Richland returns its full top seven from 2020, which includes Price and Hunkele, a pair of state medalists who will be one of the state's top duos this season.
NA and PR are arguably the top best teams in the state for now. Both have a good mix of frontrunning and depth. On paper, Pine-Richland may have the slight advantage heading into the season, but then again, NA's resume of three straight state titles is hard to argue with. One thing's for sure: there's a lot of time between now and the WPIAL Championships in October and the state meet in November. This is going to be a great matchup to follow throughout the season.
It's a good bet that two of the top three spots will go to those two squads. But there's still one more state spot in the WPIAL. Mount Lebanon, fourth in the district last year, returns five of seven from last year. Lebo's squad had three freshmen on varsity last year, so it will lean on those sophomores this fall. South Fayette, which won the PIAA Class AA team title in 2019, was bumped to AAA last season, but still came away an impressive fifth in this deep district. SF also returns five girls, led by Iagnemma, and should absolutely be a factor for the top three. Seneca Valley loses some good firepower from last year, but this is a strong program that can't be counted out here either.
One team to watch will be Fox Chapel Area. The 2017 state champions have been in a bit of a rebuilding phase the last few seasons, but they should be strong on the heels of a seventh place district finish last year. FCA has two good frontrunners in Carter and Kelley, and brings back its full top seven from last year.
Oakland Catholic, sixth last year, should be solid as well, with four of its top seven back. Butler and Upper Saint Clair are among the other teams to keep an eye on in the always-competitive and deep WPIAL Class AAA.