Girls 3,000m Preview
Headlining this field is Moon Area's Mia Cochran. Cochran has racked up plenty of state championships in her career, but is yet to win an indoor state crown. Cochran has been on fire this winter, running 2:09 (PA#1) for 800m and 4:47 (PA#1) for the mile, but she is chasing after the 3K only on Sunday.
Cochran split a 9:46 for 3K en route to a 10:25 two mile at the VA Showcase. With that in mind, she'll have a good chance to take down Tessa Barrett's 2014 meet record of 9:36.45. On top of that, she'll have a stacked field with many other fresh girls to make this race fast and even more exciting.
Jolena Quarzo of Brownsville Area will look to challenge Cochran for the win. The junior wasn't far behind Cochran at the VA Showcase, splitting a 9:50 for 3K before clocking a 10:32 for the full two miles to take second. She was only seven seconds behind Cochran at the Showcase and should make a good challenge for the win here. Keep an eye on this matchup.
After that, only about ten seconds separates the next eight girls in this field, so the race will certainly be on. Carlisle's Vanessa Alder has enjoyed a great indoor season that included two 5:01 one mile times. She's going fresh into this 3K, having split a 10:06 en route to a 10:46 two mile. She will have a good shot to go sub-10.
North Allegheny freshman Wren Kucler went 10:10 to win the TSTCA title last week. It will be her first indoor state meet, but she will be a factor for a high finish. Pine-Richland's Meredith Price and West Chester Rustin's Ellie Keefer have both run 10:14 this season, while North Allegheny's Robin Kucler, Upper Saint Clair's Jaclyn Martinelli, and Mifflin County's Kylee Cubbison have each run bests of 10:15. Hatboro Horsham freshman Lillian DiCola went 10:17 this year. The medals are truly up for grabs in this very talented field of entries.
Up front, expect a fast pace and plenty of PRs to go around. This one will be good.
ENTRIES:
Event 15 Girls 3000 Meter Run
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Meet Record: 9:36.45 3/1/2014 Tessa Barrett, Abington Heights
Name Year School
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1 Alder, Vanessa 11 Carlisle
2 Cochran, Mia 12 Moon Area
3 Cubbison, Kylee 12 Mifflin County
4 DiCola, Lillian 9 Hatboro Hors
5 Keefer, Ellie 11 W C Rustin
6 Kucler, Robin 9 North Allegh
7 Kucler, Wren 9 North Allegh
8 Martinelli, Jaclyn 12 Upper St Clair
9 Price, Meredith 12 Pine-Richlan
10 Quarzo, Jolena 11 Brownsville
11 Rippey, Caryn 12 Wilson (3)
12 Tolerico, Lydia 12 Dallastown