District 2 Class A Girls - Race Preview
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 2
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 10
Individuals To Watch: Paige Brewer (Montrose); Lacey Danilovitz (Riverside); Kaitlyn Farrell (Holy Cross); Carissa Flynn (Mountain View); Daegan Giannone (Montrose); Krista Jones (Elk Lake); Kate Korty (Forest City); Rachel Korty (Forest City)
Contending Teams: Elk Lake; Holy Cross; Lakeland; Montrose
The Skinny: There's a ton of talent here, and plenty of state medal contenders to go around, so this is going to be a fierce battle up front. Jones won the White Race at Foundation earlier this season, and has really been running strong. Danilovitz is the defending champion and can't be slept on in this field The same goes for Flynn, who was second a year ago. But the freshmen Kate Korty should be right up there, too, with a pair of big wins on the season. Montrose's frontrunners Brewer and Giannone will likely put themselves right in that front pack.
Montrose has been on a roll this season, and look like they could be the team to bear here. They recently beat Elk Lake rather handily at a cluster meet, and have some good momentum and are battle-tested running a number of big NY invites this fall.There are two state spots here, and Elk Lake and Holy Cross are likely the teams that will be battling it out for that second spot and a trip to Hershey.
District 2 Class AA Girls - Race Preview
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 2
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 10
Individuals To Watch: Brenna Dahlgren (Honesdale); Emily Franklin (North Pocono); Madison Hedglin (Dallas); Jenna Hillebrand (Scranton Prep); Madison Kammer (Western Wayne)
Contending Teams: Dallas; Holy Redeemer; Honesdale; Lake Lehman; North Pocono; Scranton Preparatory; Valley View
The Skinny: The team race here looks like it is going to be very interesting because it's just so wide open. Holy Redeemer edged out Dallas for second at the WVC Championships last week, and Valley View has narrowly gotten the better of North Pocono at a few cluster meets this season. All four teams are running well this season, along with Honesdale, Lake Lehman, and Scranton Prep, which can't be counted out, either. There are two state spots up for grabs and it figures to be very close at the Fairgrounds.
Individually, it will also be a close race. Hedglin has a lot of momentum fresh off a 5K PR of 19:39 at WVCs on the same Fairgrounds course where she'll return on Wednesday. But Franklin, Dahlgren, and Hillebrand have each turned in strong performances this season. Expect some sparks to fly up front in what should be a very entire 5K of racing.
District 2 Class AAA Girls - Race Preview
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 1
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 5
Individuals To Watch: Milana Daiute (Hazleton Area); Molly DeMarzo (Crestwood); Maggie Kozich (Crestwood); Bella Noreika (Scranton); Ella Novelli (Crestwood); Gianna Sabatini (Abington Heights); Jillian Wolk (Hazleton Area)
Contending Teams: Abington Heights; Crestwood; Scranton
The Skinny: DeMarzo won District 2 titles as a freshman and sophomore, but placed third in D2-AAA last season. She's a good bet to return to the top spot this season on the heels of a strong season that most recently included a win at the WVC Championships. Her teammates Kozich and Novelli have both enjoyed breakthrough seasons and shouldn't be too far off DeMarzo. That also makes Crestwood the favorite for the top spot in this race. With just one state spot for the taking, it will be hard to take them down, though Abington Heights has been solid this season, and will look for a big day to challenge for the district title.
Other individuals with a shot at good finishes include Noreika (a 2019 district champ and 2020 district runner-up), the Hazleton duo of Wolk and Daiute, and AH's Sabatini.