*Above - The Danville Girls won the PIAA 2A State Championship in 2023 - Photo by Phil Grove
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With a new year comes new surprises. These four have caught our attention so far, but we expect many more to come. Stay tuned with us throughout the season as we continue to relay our biggest surprises all year.
1. Julia Kelly, A New Name to the Mix?
A freshman at Downingtown West, Julia Kelly, burst onto the high school scene at the Northampton Invitational on August 31st. Kelly stunned the field by winning the invitational with a 17:46.10.
She didn't just win, she dominated. Kelly won by 26-seconds and led Downingtown West to a second place finish in the 3A division and overall.
Northampton's course is known to be fast, however her time falls in line with historical numbers. In 2023, Virginia Kraus won the Northampton Invitational in 17:42.10. She went on to win her second-straight 1A title.
2. Who is Quinn Cataldi?
Admittedly, we asked the same question when we saw he ran a 15:46.90 5K at the Northampton Invitational for sixth.
Cataldi is a senior at William Tennent High School and he has flown under the radar for most of his career. Last cross country season he finished 85th at the District 1 Championship (3A) with his personal best 16:31.
However, he had a breakout season on the track this spring. He ran personal bests of 4:22 over 1600m and 9:31 over 3200m. It looks like that momentum has carried onto the cross country course. He won't slip our radar this season.
3. Are the Danville Girls Still Championship Contenders?
Bear with me here. In a tri-meet with Central Mountain and Loyalsock, Danville posted a 20:15 average and a 1:40 1-5 compression. Those numbers aren't world shattering, but when you look at the other PIAA 2A contenders, they stand out.
Danville ran that average on a notoriously flat West Branch Cross Country Course at Lock Haven University, but they also occupied nine of the top ten spots. We weren't there to witness the effort, but the urgency couldn't have been too high.
At the 26th Annual Bear Mountain River Run, on the very same cross country course, Saint Marys Area posted a 20:41 average and a 3:53 1-5 compression.
In the offseason we pegged Saint Marys Area as our favorite in PIAA 2A, which they probably still are at this juncture... However, we may have overlooked Danville and their ability to reload after losing several key runners to graduation.
4. The Easton Area Girls Are Here to Stay
We're hesitant to call this one a surprise because they're ranked No. 13 in the PA MileSplit pre-season rankings, but the Easton Area Girls stepped up to the plate in their first invitational of the season.
Easton took down No. 15 Pennridge, No. 16 Downingtown West, and No. 17 Emmaus, in an impressive show of force at the Northampton Invitational.
The Bulldogs remained steady with a 26-second compression and posted a mere 88 points. In the overall standings, Downingtown West finished second with 100, Emmaus finished in third with 132 and Pennridge landed in fourth with 153.