D2-A Girls - Team & Individuals Breakdown
- Preseason Rankings: Team | Individual
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 2
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 10
- 2020 Individual Champion: Lacey Danilovitz (Riverside) - 19:53
- 2020 Team Champions: Montrose - 34 points
Individuals Breakdown
Two of Class A's best this XC season hail from District 2. Defending district champion Lacey Danilovitz of Riverside is back this season, along with district runner-up Carissa Flynn of Mountain View. Danilovitz, a sophomore last year, out-dueled Flynn, a freshman, for the district title last season, but Flynn was the top D2 finisher at the state meet claiming fourth in the state in 1A.
Flynn won her section at the state meet and is the top Class A returner based on state meet finish; all three girls that finished ahead of her last year were seniors. Danilovitz had a strong showing at the state meet as well, placing sixth. Now Flynn moves into her sophomore season looking to build off her strong first high school season, and Danilovitz is the top returning junior in Class A. These two will be ones to watch this season.
Another one to watch for is Elk Lake's Krista Jones. She's never one to count out. In 2019, Jones won the district title and placed fourth at the state meet. Last year, she was third in the district and 32nd at states. Now a senior, she has a lot of experience and could be able to mix it up with Flynn and Danilovitz within the district this season.
Forest City's Rachel Korty and Mountain View's Kathryn Long claimed state medals last season. Korty, who was fourth in the district, was 18th at states, while Long, fifth in the district, was 19th at the state meet. Both girls are seniors looking to return to the podium. Montrose's Paige Brewer -- a states medalist in 2019 -- took 35th at the state meet last year after placing seventh in the district. She returns for her junior season looking to get back inside the top 25.
With limited state spots last season, a number of would-be state medal contenders were left at home. There's a lot of talent here, and with more normal numbers of qualifiers, there will be a lot more chances for these girls from D2-A to compete and chase some hardware at states.
Team Preview
Montrose will be shooting for its third straight district team title this season. Last year, the girls from Montrose put on a dominant performance at the district meet to win by 31 points. Then at the state meet, they claimed a top five finish, placing fifth in the Class A field. The team brings back five of its seven girls from last year and four of its scoring five. Brewer is a strong No. 1 and Daegan Giannone is a strong No. 2 runner. If Montrose can sure up the back part of its top five, this is going to be a very dangerous team on the state level once again.
Montrose will be the big favorite for the top spot in D2-A, but there is one other state spot up for grabs here. Mountain View was second last season in the district behind a terrific top two of Flynn and Long, both state medalists. Depth is the main thing for MV, which only had five runners last season, but if this team can add some runners, it can make some nosie, as well.
Lakeland, Holy Cross, and Blue Ridge are among the other teams looking to compete for the top two this season. It could get very close for that second spot with a trip to Hershey on the line.