Girls 3000m | |||||
Event Info: 2020 Winner: Karrie Baloga (Cornwall) 9:34.52, State Record: 9:01.81 Meet Record: 9:15.35 | |||||
State of the Action: Karrie Baloga (Cornwall) is the reigning State Champ in the event, and set the Freshman Meet Record last time she was here. Now a Junior, and with a fourth place finish at Foot Locker under her belt, she is poised to challenge for another title to add to her collection. She's the State Leader, but the time isn't a blow out on the field. Her 9:42.66 is only three seconds ahead of the next seed, which isn't much at this level. The key here is the progression. Baloga, after a long XC campaign, took some time off in the middle of Indoor, and has only slowly been coming back. By early February, she was in 10min shape for the 3000m. Two weeks later, she improvement rate began to spike, dropping a 4:47 in the mile. While her 9:42 is only marginally above the field, there's indication that time could improve dramatically when the time counts. That's not to say the race is decided before the gun goes off. Right on Baloga's heels are a pair from FM, Hannah Kaercher (Fayetteville-Manlius) at 9:45.10 and Izzie Sullivan (Fayetteville-Manlius) at 9:50.20, the latter of which upset Baloga at the XC State Meet. Speaking of XC, Baloga will be joined by her Foot Locker Teammate Emily Toth-Ratazzi (Rome Free Academy), who's run 9:57.54, and two members of the State Meet dominating team, Sheridan Wheeler (Saratoga) and McKinley Wheeler (Saratoga). | |||||
Tracking Shot | |||||
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