Seahawk Invitational:
Results I Photos I Videos
After being postponed due to inclement weather, the 2021 Seahawk XC Invitational finally prevailed! As always, the meet was hosted by South River High School in their own backyard in Edgewater, Md. The meet consisted of a maximum of 25 teams, and the 3-mile course included a mixture of grass fields and a wooden trail. There were four distinct races: Boys Varsity A; Girls Varsity A; Boys Varsity B; and Girls Varsity B.
Boys Varsity A Race:
(Luke Coffin leads the Boys Varsity A Race early on)
The first race of the day had an exciting start. Right off the bat, Annapolis senior Luke Coffin gave himself an early lead. Coffin ended up holding on to this lead, finishing in first place with a 20-second gap between him and the next finisher. He had the fastest time of the meet with a time of 15:24.00. The next three spots were a battle. Arundel senior Tucker Sangster led the pack with Gilman senior Pieter Heesters and Walt Whitman senior Jackson Megary right behind. Sangster was able to get a leg-up, taking home second place with a time of 15:44.00. Heesters and Megary were neck-in-neck, but Heesters ended up outpacing Megary. Heesters finished third with a time of 15:45.00, while Megary finished fourth with a time of 15:45.90. Another battle ensued, but this time for fifth place. Loyola-Blakefield senior Colin Verrett and Mount St. Joseph sophomore Charlie Butler had an all-out sprint to the finish. However, Verrett was able to get the lead by less than a second, finishing fifth with a time of 15:50.40. Butler finished sixth with a time of 15:50.90.
(Luke Coffin pictured during the last stretch of the race, on pace to become the first-place finisher)
Girls Varsity A Race:
The second race of the meet was the Girls Varsity A Race. Unlike the first race, there were several contenders early on. Leonardtown athletes Elena Blodnikar and Parker O'Brien stuck together as leaders, alongside Arundel senior Katherine Leddy. The pack stayed strong until the last mile, which is when Leddy swooped in and become an individual leader. Leddy held on to first and finished in a time of 18:30.50, which gave her a lead of 13 seconds. The next finishers were the Leonardtown girls taking 2nd and 3rd: Blodnikar with a time of 18:43.20 and O'Brien with a time of 18:52.50. The fourth-place finisher was Calvert senior Kristen Prince with a time of 19:06.50. She was followed by Kent Island junior Sarah van Ornum with a time of 19:12.00.
(Katherine Leddy becomes the winner of the Girls Varsity A Race)
Boys Varsity A Race:
(Alex Nabit outpaces Severna's Matthew Nolan to get the first-place title)
The Boys Varsity A race was full of surprises. The first half of the race was led by Severna junior Matthew Nolan. However, the last stretch of the race was anyone's race. This was proven as Gilman freshman Alex Nabit came from behind, challenging Nolan for the first-place title. The two went head-on as they approached the finish line. Ultimately, Nabit was outkicked Nolan to take first place in a time of 18:17.00. Nolan finished close behind in a time of 18:17.90. The third-place finisher was Walt Whitman freshman Alex Murray with a time of 18:20.50. For fourth place, Mount St. Joseph freshman Reed Hubert and South River freshman Will Mendez fought for the spot. It was a close finish as Hubert took fourth with less than a second to spare. He finished with a time of 18:28.00, while Mendez finished fifth with a time of 18:28.60.
Girls Varsity B Race:
Once again, the B race was full of surprises. This time, it was the Girls Varsity B Race that was had unexpected results. For the majority of the race, Severna sophomore Kaylee Jenish led as the individual leader. She had a huge lead in comparison to the rest of her competitors. Adding to this impressive feat was the fact that the Severna squad had five of their top girls in the top 8. However, the Walt Whitman girls did not back down. Their top three runners fought against Severna, taking three spots in the top 10. Most notable was Walt Whitman freshman Ella Werkman catching up to Jenish and taking the lead. Werkman separated herself from the pack, as Jenish had done at the beginning of the race. Werkman was victorious, taking first place in a blistering time of 20:04.00, which granted her a lead of a whopping minute and 14 seconds. Jenish took second with a time of 21:18.40. The rest of the top 5 spots were filled by the Severna girls: Madison Davis (3rd, 21:24.80); Becca Jimeno (4th, 21:37.00); and Jackie Testerman (5th, 21:44.10).