There will be some surprised upperclassmen along with some impressed underclassmen after the AA Girlscompetition concludes.
Gwynedd-Mercy is the defending state champ in both the 4x400 and 4x800. But this year, they have a new challenger in both races, Carver Engineering & Science (E&S for short) from Philly\'s District 12. Gwynedd got the better of the two at the Penn Relays, both under 9:13. But E&S has a 3:57.37 4x400 coming into the meet. Both races should be incredible.
In the 4x100, Lewisburg is not only the defending state champ, they are the top seed coming into this meet. Others to watch include Gwynedd-Mercy, Quaker Valley, Wyomissing and Milton Hershey.
Every year there are freshmen who make an immediate impact. One of those will probably be Devin Coon of Schuylkill Valley. She is the top seed in the 100 and is the 2nd seed in the 200. She\'ll face tough races in the 100 from Ruth Brown of Milton Hershey and Melissa Miller of Athens, which was AAA last year. In the 200, she will face Milton Hershey\'s Abibail Johnson, the top seed. Last year\'s state champ in the 200 and 100 medalist, Mary Dell of Boiling Springs, is injured. Johnson also is a top seed in the 400. She will be head-to-head against Kameesha Worthington of E&S. Defending champ Lacey Cochran of Freeport is also in the race.
Another newcomer to the PIAA state meet will make an impact in the Hurdles. Masterman\'s Dara Wilson is the only one under 15 - at 14.79 to be precise - in the 100 Hurdles. Milton Hershey\'s Crystal Polite is the 2nd seed. Wilson is also a top seed in the 300 Hurdles, with Amanda Seigworth, Northwestern, and Dailyn Cooney, Wellsboro, in strong competition.
Katie Roll of Shady Side Academy has been on a... well, you know. She is the top seed in the 3200, and has run 11:03 this season. Closing in on her with two PRs in her last two races is frosh Kara Millhouse of Boiling Springs. The 4th seed in the race isn\'t a newcomer to the challenge because has a championship under her belt from cross country in AA, Rachel Erny of Brentwood. Roll faces the prospect of the 1600 as well. She will be racing against the defending champ, Kate Vernon of Gwynedd-Mercy; Saint Basil\'s Christina Morelli, and Fairview\'s Ashley Keck. In the 800, Vernon will be defending another title. Back again is Springfield Montco\'s Faye Korich. The top seed, however, is E&S frosh Benita Taylor. Her teammate, LaVaughn Jones, is also in the race, along with Quaker Valley senior Eryn Correa.
There are two girls over 18 feet in the Long Jump, including Kelsey Buffenmyer of Donegal and Holly Motter of Mount Union. Top leapers in the Triple Jump are Brianna Liebold of Chartiers Houston, Megan Brown of Northwestern Lehigh, and Jill Albee of Hanover.
In the Shot Put there will probably be a 40-footer to win as defending champ Bradlee Foerschner of North East will face Allyn Laughlin of Center and Natalie Clickett of Union City.
Clickett is the defending champ in the Discus. She will have a challenge from Nicole Wilson of Iroquois and Becky Rautzhan of Lewisburg. Penn Relays champ Elisha Jones of Eisenhower is the 2nd seed in the Javelin. The top seed is Northern Cambria\'s Susan Yuhas who has thrown 142-01 this season.
The High Jump could come down to Lakeland sophomore Trina Carito, the defending champ, and Kelsey Buffenmyer of Donegal and Brittany Maun of Reynolds.
The Pole Vault top seed is sophomore Amber Gaffey of Susquehanna Community.