District 7 Class A Girls - Race Preview
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 4
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 20
Individuals To Watch: Chelsea Hartman (Shady Side Academy); Corinn Brewer (Greensburg Central Catholic); Lydia Valeriano (Northgate); Natalie Lape (Mohawk)
Contending Teams: Mohawk, Our Lady of Sacred Heart, Winchester Thurston
The Skinny: The battle for the top individual spot appears to be anybody's race, with several athletes stating their cases in various ways. An all-around talent in track, Greensburg Central Catholic's Brewer was second a year ago after finishing third as a freshman and is No. 2 on the time charts in the WPIAL this season. Hartman made her 2021 debut well worth the wait as she claimed the top spot in the TSTCA Class A race on the Roadman Park course. Valeriano was sixth in 2020 and is the lone performer under 20:00 this season, while Lape looks to improve on her top 10 run a year ago and lead the Warriors in the team race.
A year ago, Mohawk had five underclassmen and just one senior on a team that ran away with the WPIAL Class A crown. The Warriors finished second to state-ranked Villa Maria in the Big Red Invitational and then held their own against much larger schools in the SRU Invitational. Meanwhile, OLSH also has moved up in class, winning the AA title at TSTCAs after claiming the A title at Foundation.
District 7 Class AA Girls - Race Preview
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 3
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 15
Individuals To Watch: Jolena Quarzo (Brownsville Area); Anna Cohen (Quaker Valley); Harley Kletz (Montour); Hope Trimmer (Uniontown)
Contending Teams: Beaver Area, Ringgold, Greensburg Salem, Montour
The Skinny: Quarzo seems to get better each time she steps to the starting line. Last year's district champion and PIAA runner-up has a trio of invitational wins in southwest PA and a top 5 run at Great American in North Carolina to her credit this season. Expect the junior to have a solid advantage at the end of the opening mile on a course she knows very well.
In the Bald Eagle Invitational, Montour walked away with the AAA team trophy off a strong 1-2 punch as the Spartans scored just 48 points. Junior Harley Kletz should lead the way for Montour as she did when it won the Marty Uher Invite A-AA title to open the season. Beaver Area had just a 95-second 1-6 spread a week ago on the CalU course and is in this year's AA state rankings
District 7 Class AAA Girls - Race Preview
- State Qualifying Spots For Teams: 3
- State Qualifying Spots For Individuals: 15
Individuals To Watch: Mia Cochran (Moon Area); Wren Kucler (North Allegheny): Logan St. John Kletter (Mt. Lebanon); Meredith Price (Pine-Richland); Eliza Miller (Kiski Area); Jenna Lang (Bethel Park); Eva Kynaston (North Allegheny)
Contending Teams: North Allegheny, Pine-Richland, Mount Lebanon, Upper St. Clair, Greater Latrobe
The Skinny: A pair of WPIAL winning streaks will be on the line Thursday when the championships return to Roadman Park and California University. Cochran finished fifth as a freshman before turning in resounding victories the past two years en route to PIAA crowns as well. She opened the 2021 season with a victory at Red, White & Blue before turning in a pair of top 10 finishes in major meets out of state. The rest of the field likely will be keying off the Moon Area senior and University of Arkansas commit.
North Allegheny has won the past three WPIAL and PIAA championships and hasn't missed a step in 2021, reeling off wins at RWB, Boardman, Foundation and last week's course preview at TSTCA. The Tigers are young - only 3 seniors and the rest underclassmen in their top 10 - but extremely talented, with a front trio that usually keeps contact with most race leaders.