3200 Meter Run
This fall, Linganore's Michael Belmaggio became the fifth Lancer to have finished in the top four at the 3A state cross country meet since 2011. What does he have in store for an encore? (Photo by Craig Amoss)
| Athlete | Season Best | Regional Performance |
| Michael Belmaggio, Linganore | 9:44.53 (HoCo Winterfest) | 9:57.78 (1st, 3AW) |
| Greg Oldham, Northern | 9:42.35 (HoCo Winterfest) | 10:07.96 (5th, 3AE) |
| Kai Muniz, Reservoir | 9:44.19c (Hispanic Games) | 10:04.16 (3rd, 3AE) |
| Greg Costello, Centennial | 9:53.34 (HoCo Champs) | 9:59.36 (1st, 3AE) |
| Nathaniel McKinsey, North Hagerstown | 9:59.82 (Dwight Scott Invite) | 10:13.21 (3rd, 3AW) |
While some runners are doubling (or even tripling) at the state meet, Linganore's Michael Belmaggio is focused on one race and one race only: the 3200. After finishing seventh at the HoCo Winterfest in December (where he ran the third-fastest time by a 3A runner this winter), he has gone undefeated in the event and is aiming to sweep the county, regional and state titles. Belmaggio ran the fastest regional time of any 3A runner in his win at 3A West.
While he cruised to a fifteen-second victory, it was chaos at the 3A East Regionals. Five boys entered the final lap with a reasonable shot at winning, but Centennial's Greg Costello found another gear (or five) in the last 200 meters to make the final margin of victory (four seconds) seem rather comfortable. It was the second straight race that the Centennial senior employed his sit-and-kick strategy, and it has worked to perfection both times.
It will be interesting to see how this year's 3A boys 3200 unfolds with Belmaggio and Costello entering the race fresh. Will Belmaggio try to put enough distance between them to cancel out Costello's closing speed? Will Oldham and Muniz be able to match the leaders coming off of the 1600? If it's as exciting as the 3A East regional race was then it will be a race you won't want to miss.