Isabel Sagar (Loyalsock Township)
Regionals Performance: Sagar, a Harvard University signee, kept her season alive with a strong race to place sixth at NXR-Northeast. She went out aggressively, hanging with the leaders in the opening mile or so. Sagar hung tough and earned the fourth of five individual spots in NXN, coming home in a time of 18:53.
Season Recap: On the heels of a good spring on the track, Sagar, who transferred to Loyalsock from Texas before the start of her sophomore season two years ago, was ready for a big XC season on the trails.
Right off the bat, Sagar showed she would be a serious contender. She dropped an eye-opening 17:31 to win at Lock Haven. She followed that up with a win at Penn State's Spiked Shoe Invitational and then a second place finish to Marlee Starliper at the Paul Short Run.
She rolled to the victory at the Shikellamy Boosters Classic and then put down arguably the best performance of her career at the PIAA District 4 Championships. On a chilly Bloomsburg morning, Sagar shattered the course record, running 17:56 and winning by over two and half minutes.
Loyalsock changed classifications for this season. After taking 9th last season in Class AA, Sagar came into the state meet as the overwhelming favorite in Class A. She didn't disappoint. Sagar rolled to the win in 19:12 on Hershey's course, 39 seconds ahead of second place.
NXN Outlook: Saturday will also be Sagar's first on the national stage. She fared well in some of the bigger races this season, though she has mostly dominated fields this season. When she took second at Paul Short, she was just 8 seconds behind Starliper. Look for her to race aggressively similar to how she strategized at NXR-NE. Sagar could surprise some in Portland like how Katie Dammer ran to a 23rd finish last season.