District 3
Location: Pike County Fairgrounds (Bowling Green)
Teams in Attendance
Atlanta, Columbia Independent, Glasgow, Higbee, Keytesville, La Plata, Marion County, Meadville, New Franklin, Northeast (Cairo), Northwestern (Mendon), Prairie Home, Salisbury
What To Watch
Delaney Straus is the name on everyone's mind in District 3. The Marion County sophomore hasn't been the world-beater we had expected heading into this season, but as one of only four girls in Class 1 under 20:00, she's still a virtual lock to bring home the individual win Saturday and compete for gold on the 9th. The fastest girl not under 20:00 is Kjirsten Guilford who, in almost every other district, would be the favorite. Here, though, she'll have to dig deep to take down Straus. Impossible? No. But we'll have to see, Saturday. It's another tight race for the team title, but it would appear the two front-running individuals should lead their teams to state berths.
On the boys side, the biggest story will be if the Columbia Indepedent freshman Quentin Hermann can take down seasoned veterans Zy'shonne Cowans and Sam Ridgeway. Hermann's consistency gives us reason to believe he has the chops, but can he hold off the upperclassmen in his first district meet? Salisbury and New Franklin will duke it out for the team title with Meadville and Glasgow looming. New Franklin could put five in the top ten, though, which would definitely help their cause mightily.
Top 2 Teams and Top 5 Individuals (Prediction)
Boys
2. Quentin Hermann - Columbia Independent
4. Sam Ridgeway - New Franklin
5. Tyler Perkins - New Franklin
Teams
1. New Franklin
2. Salisbury
Girls
1. Delaney Straus - Marion County
2. Kjirsten Guilford - Salisbury
Teams
1. Salisbury
2. Marion County