2A West
Meet Page - Boys Preview
Results
It's been a very successful 2016 for the Liberty boys coming off their 2A state title last fall. Their loss at the hands of the Century boys back at the Mountain Run Invitational seems like a distant memory as they have beaten their crosstown rivals now in three straight meets, including this past week's 2A West Regionals. Senior Nick Tilson once again led the way in 16:42.80, and sophomore Daniel Saxon finished second ahead of Oakland Mills' Joey Navarro and Century's Jacob Spera.
The Century boys used their depth - a meet-best 28 second scoring spread - to make the team scores close (30-40) but with two legitimate state title contenders, Liberty will be hard to beat next week at Hereford. Oakland Mills, who nearly beat Liberty at last year's state meet, was the only other team under 100 points in the deep 2A West region.
South Carroll, Winters Mill and Marriotts Ridge secured the final three state qualifying spots. Walkersville's Will Staab and F.S. Key's Evan Ruhl also advanced to the state meet as individuals.
The girls' individual race came with a little less drama, as Catoctin's Julien Webster continued her outstanding senior campaign by winning by well over a minute. She will figure to have much more competition at next week's state meet when she tries to upset the two-time defending 2A state champion, Hayley Jackson.
Middletown's Reilly Caldwell made her return to the course on Thursday, outdueling Century's Natalie Poulton for second place. Carroll County champion Emma Kartalia finished fourth and led her Winters Mill squad to a huge regional win on the heels of the school's first-ever county championship. The Marriotts Ridge girls gave them a good fight but were edged by six points; the Catoctin girls, who have been strong all season, could not overcome a seven-minute spread between their first and fifth runners and finished fifth in the team scores.
South Carroll, Century, Catoctin and Liberty were the four remaining schools to advance to the state meet. Caldwell, Walkersville's Megan Bertolette, Oakland Mills' Grace Chaverini and Williamsport's Skylar Detrick made it as individuals.