The 2021 MPSSAA 2A Region Championships were held on Thursday, Nov. 4. All four sections (2A East, 2A North, 2A South and 2A West) competed in different regions in Maryland.
(Brady Medeiros outpaces James Ortt to become the 2A East Boys Champion)
Photo: Craig Amoss
The Boys Varsity Race was a headbanger. Kent Island's Brady Medeiros and North Harford's James Ortt went neck-in-neck for the first-place title. However, it was Medeiros that walked away with the win, finishing first with a time of 18:01.68. Ortt followed close behind in second with a time of 18:04.62. The third-place finisher was Harford Technical's John Saltysiak with a time of 18:22.56. Then, another Kent Island athlete joined the ranks with Trey Donnelly taking fourth with 18:25.40. Easton's Harrison Fike rounded out the podium with a fifth-place finish and time of 18:41.72.
Regarding the team title, Harford Technical (42 points) secured the win after placing four of their athletes within the top 10: John Saltysiak (3rd, 18:22.56); Nathan Deveno (6th, 18:48.86); Tyler Marrow (7th, 18:59.78); Quentin Santiago (9th, 19:09.87). The runner-up for the team title was Kent Island, led by Medeiros. The Kent Island boys (73 points) put on an impressive performance after placing three of their athletes within the top 10: Brady Medeiros (1st, 18:01.68); Trey Donnelly (4th, 18:25.40); and Isayah Stewart (10th, 19:17.93). The third team was Queen Anne's County, led by Dylan Hurlock (8th, 19:05.47), with 84 points.
(Sarah van Ornum pictured during the 2021 Seahawk XC Invitational)
Photo: Craig Amoss
Kent Island secured another individual title for the meet. For the Girls Varsity Race, Kent Island's Sarah van Ornum was victorious. She dominated the race with an incredible first-place performance of 19:52.93, which granted her a lead of over a minute and a half. She also was the only girl to run sub-20 and sub-21. The next finisher was North Harford's Finley Lavin, taking second with a time of 21:28.30. She was the only other girl to run sub-22 at the meet. Easton's Sophie Leight finished third with 22:32.04. Another North Harford athlete then joined the ranks as Ava Carberry finished fourth with a time of 22:32.04. The final girl to make it within the top 5 was Zoe Crawford from Queen Anne's County. Crawford took fifth with a time of 22:36.48.
The North Harford girls (35 points) took home the team title after placing three of their top athletes within the top 10: Finley Lavin (2nd, 21:28.30); Ava Carberry (4th, 22:32.04), and Sierra Weaver (6th, 22:48.65). The runner-up was Rising Sun, led by Emily Wishart (10th, 23:03.82), with 66 points. Third was Harford Technical, led by Annika DeVos (7th, 22:52.03), with 87 points.
2A North
For the Boys Varsity Race, it was expected to be a battle between Carver A&T's Evan Calderon and Eastern Tech's Bryant Adams. It was indeed a battle as the two stayed with each other for the majority of the race; Adams led the race with Calderon on his tail. Adams was victorious, taking first place with an impressive 17:34.00, which served as a new PR for him. Calderon was just 5 seconds behind, finishing second with a time of 17:39.00. The last three spots within the top 5 were all taken by Hereford boys: Michael Schmidt (3rd, 17:52.00); Justin Brown (4th, 18:10.10); and Kyle Turnbaugh (5th, 18:26.00).
(The Hereford boys pose with their first-place plaque)
Photo: John Roemer
Regarding the team title, the
Hereford boys took home first after a very impressive performance as a team. The team placed six of their top athletes within the top 10:
Michael Schmidt (3rd, 17:52.00); Justin Brown (4th, 18:10.10); Kyle Turnbaugh (5th, 18:26.00); Justin Gasparini (6th, 18:26.00); Nathan Mitcherling (8th, 18:46.00); and Mark Causey (10th, 19:04.90). With almost their entire varsity squad placing in the top 10, the Hereford boys easily took home the title with just 26 points. The Carver A&T boys, led by runner-up Evan Calderon, took second with 57 points. Eastern Tech snagged third place with 81 points.
(Madison Ward becomes the 2A North Region Champion)
Photo: John Roemer
The
Hereford team once again dominated. This time, it was in the Girls Varsity Race. The
Hereford girls had an incredible performance as they went 1-2-3-4-5 for a perfect score (a mere 15 points!). Sophomore
Madison Ward led the pack with a first-place finish with a time of 20:58.00. She was the only girl to run sub-21 for the meet. The next
Hereford athlete was
Scarlett Seitz, also a sophomore, taking second with a time of 21:05.00. Seitz and Ward were the only girls to run sub-22 at the meet. The next three spots were a battle.
Elaine Bodendorfer ended up snagging third with a time of 22:04.00. Her teammate,
Ridley Lentz, was just a second behind with a time of 22:05.00. A second behind Lentz was
Sylvia Snider, taking fifth with a time of 22:06.00.
(Two of the Hereford girls pictured in-sync with each other)
Photo: John Roemer
It was to no surprise that the
Hereford girls (15 points) won the race. This victory allowed the
Hereford team to call themselves the 2A North Region Champions for both the boys and girls. The runner-up was once again
Carver A&T. The team put on an impressive performance with three of their top athletes in the top 10:
Nadira Cantey (6th, 22:12.00);
Marissa Bookoff (8th, 23:09.00); and
Charlotte Barkhouser (9th, 24:05.00). The third-place team was
Overlea, led by
Mariam Sanni (7th, 23:08.00) with 72 points.
(The Hereford girls pose with their first-place plaque)
Photo: John Roemer
2A South
The 2A South Region Championships were held at Oak Ridge Park in La Plata, Md. 10 schools across the 2A South Region participated in the end-of-season test before the state championships.
For the Boys Varsity Race, it was a
Calvert sweep. The
Calvert boys went 1-2-3 to become the 2A South Region Champions.
Jack Hartsig led the pack with a first-place finish and an impressive time of 17:04.59. His teammate,
David Rodenhaver, finished second with a time of 17:10.00. The third-finisher was yet another
Calvert athlete with
Aidan Lundberg with a time of 17:48.34. Hartsig, Rodenhaver and Lundberg were the only athletes to run sub-18 in the meet. The last two athletes to make the top 5 were both from
Henry E. Lackey.
Edwin Hall finished fourth with a time of 18:29.31. His teammate,
Timothy Warren, finished fifth with a time of 18:34.50.
Once again, the
Calvert team dominated, this time in the Girls Varsity Race. The
Calvert girls went 1-2 (and almost 1-2-3-4-5), which solidified their team victory.
Kristen Prince led the team with a first-place finish and time of 19:29.06, which granted her a lead of over a minute. Prince was the only athlete in her race to run sub-20. To add, Prince had the fastest girls' time in the entire 2A Region. Her teammate,
Madison McCurry, finished behind her in second with a time of 20:42.59. McCurry and Prince were the only girls to run sub-21 and sub-22. The third finisher was
Patuxent's Savannah Hall who broke up the potential 1-2-3-4-5
Calvert sweep. Hall finished with a time of 22:11.82. The last two spots within the top 5 were taken by two more
Calvert athletes.
Victoria Vo finished fourth with a time of 23:02.21. Her teammate,
Shayla Singletary, finished fifth with a time of 23:22.74.
It was evident that the
Calvert girls would take home the top honors. To add to their impressive feat, all seven athletes in their varsity squad placed within the top 10:
Kristen Prince (1st, 19:29.06), Madison McCurry (2nd, 20:42.59); Victoria Vo (4th, 23:02.21); Shayla Singletary (5th, 23:22.74); Hayleigh Spicknall (6th, 23:23.35); Riley Haller (9th, 23:53.72); and Ava Jabara (10th, 23:54.06). The girls ended up getting a perfect score of 15 points. The runner-up was La Plata, led by Karley Nicholl (7th, 23:23.88) and Ivy Phillips (8th, 23:53.72), with 51 points. The third team was Maurice J. McDonough with 88 points. 2A West
The 2A West Region Championships were held at Liberty High School in Sykesville, Md. Athletes across 11 schools competed in this important, which would determine the state-qualifiers.
(Ethan Aidam pictured during the 2021 Howard County XC Championships)
Photo: Zoey Scott
On the Boys side, it was predicted that
Oakland Mills' Ethan Aidam would take the individual title. This is exactly how the meet played out with Aidam on top once again. Aidam finished first with a time of 16:44.47 and was the only athlete to run sub-17 in not only this meet, but all other 2A Region meets. Furthermore, his time granted him a lead of 15 seconds, which proved just how fast he really was. The runner-up for the race was unexpected.
Glenelg's Timothy Cherry ended up finishing second with a time of 17:01.96, beating out
Century's Peyton Dill who was the second seed for the race. The third finisher was
Poolesville's Caleb J. Dastrup with a time of 17:11.67.
Century's Peyton Dill was fourth, just three seconds behind Dastrup, with a time of 17:14.92. The final spot in the top 5 was another
Poolesville athlete.
William D. Beane finished fifth with a time of 17:21.44.
Regarding the team title, the
Poolesville boys dominated by scoring a mere 38 points. They secured the win after placing four of their top athletes within the top 10:
Caleb J. Dastrup (3rd, 17:11.67);
William D. Beane (5th, 17:21.44);
Dylan J. Derewonko (6th, 17:24.16); and
Aaron G. Longbrake (8th, 17:34.06). The runner-up for the team title was
Liberty, led by
Davis Trump (7th, 17:26.07), with 106 points.
Glenelg, led by Cherry, finished third with 118 points.
For the team title, the
Liberty girls took home first-place after placing three girls in the top 10: Izzy Lucas (6th, 21:19.63); Julia Lucas (7th, 21:26.96); and Cora Broske (9th, 21:44.69). Overall, they scored 47 points. The runner-up title was a battle between Glenelg and Century. Both schools scored 75 points; However, Glenelg, led by Spence, secured the second-place title, while Century finished third.
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