Schuylkill Valley enters the 2021 District III AA girl’s championship as the favorite. They have a loaded roster on the track and in the field. Greenwood (and potentially Wyomissing) will try to keep things close, but I think the Panthers have too much fire power and will prevail as team champion come close of business Saturday.
Using the final performance list as a guide, here are the top 6 teams heading into this weekend, based on seeds from the final performance list. In other words, if everyone places as they are seeded on the performance list, this is how the meet will turn out:
Any discussion about the Panthers title hopes needs to start with Ashlyn Giles. The senior is committed to the University of Nebraska and recently broke the state record in the discus. She is the most dominant athlete in the meet and will win the shot put and the discus, ensuring 20 team points for Schuylkill Valley. She is seeded with a shot put nearly 11 feet further from her nearest competitor and with a discus effort nearly 50 feet further than the 2nd seed. Just for fun, she’s also picked up Javelin responsibilities this year and is the #3 seed in that event. For as dominant as she is in her individual events, teammate Madison Ziska (jr) may end up being responsible for more team points. Ziska is seeded 1st in the Long Jump, 200m, 400m, and will run on the team’s top ranked 4x100m relay! Giles (field) and Ziska (track) could sweep “Athlete of the Meet” honors. Ziska leads a strong contingent of 4 Schuylkill Valley athletes looking to score points in the Long Jump. Emily Starr (sr) is seeded 3rd, Annie Gao (fr) is seeded 4th, and Nia Wagner (so) is tied for 6th heading into Friday’s competition. Yet another athlete looking to score big points for the Panthers is senior Abigail Searfoss. She is the #1 seed in the 100mH and is the #3 seed in the Pole Vault. She will also contribute on the 4x100m relay.
Greenwood appears most ready to challenge Schuylkill Valley for the team title. They are projected to score in 14/18 events, matching Schuylkill Valley in that regard. Seniors Amiyah Priebe, Montana Paul, and Abigail Taylor lead the way for the Wildcats. Priebe, a Dickinson College commit, will be going for the distance quadruple this weekend, starting with the 3200m run on Friday where she is the #3 seed. She starts her day on Saturday with the 4x800m (2nd seed) and then follows that up with the 1600m (2nd seed) and 800m (2nd seed). This is a tough task on any weekend, but especially one with temperatures hovering around 90 degrees. Montana Paul will look to add points in the shot put and javelin. She is seeded 2nd in both events. Abigail Taylor (sr) will compete in the horizontal jumps and is the #2 seed in the triple jump and tied for the 6th seed in the Long Jump. Emma Rolston (jr) is Greenwood’s lone #1 seed, securing the top spot in the High Jump.
Other events and athletes I am excited to watch:
- Ella Ahner (jr, Tulpehocken) will try to fend off Kutztown’s Elisabeth Schwarz (sr) and Taylor Conroy (jr) to win the 100m. Ahner is also the #2 seed in the 400m.
- Grace Kuhn will go for the distance double as she is the top seed in both the 3200m and and 1600m runs. She is also listed as one of the possible runners on Wyomissing’s #3 ranked 4x800m relay.
- Peyton Ellis (so, Boiling Springs) will have a busy Saturday. She’ll anchor the Bubblers #1 seeded 4×800, run the 800m (seeded 1st), and run on their #1 seeded 4x400m relay. Triple gold is very possible.
- The triple jump should see a competitive battle between Bermudian Spring freshman Alison Watts and Greenwood’s Taylor. Both have jumped over 37-feet this season.