As crazy as it sounds, the regular cross country season ended Saturday, giving the athletes that competed one last fight before the championships. The champs will be kicked off this weekend with the MVAL Championships (Friday) and the Montgomery County Championships (Saturday).
Montgomery County has been traditionally known to be one of the deepest in the state. Several of the top female individuals and top male teams are from Montgomery. In 2005, six MoCo girls placed within the top fifteen at the 4A State Championships, including 3rd and 4th place finishers Lousie Hanallah (Winston Churchill) and Emma Eckerstrom (Northwest). On the boys side, Sherwood, Quince Orchard, Walt Whitman and Richard Montgomery were beat only by Broadneck at the state meet.
This year, the county is lead primarily by the same athletes that lead last year, less \'05 county champ Ryan Janes (Gaithersburg). This Friday, over 300 athletes and over 40 teams will compete to take home a county title.
Boys Race Preview
Individuals
CHRISTOPHER MOEN (Junior, Walter Johnson)
Although Moen has only had one phenomenal performance this year (1 second win over Andrew Revelle at Howard County Invite), it would be foolish to underestimate his ability to pull out a win when he needs it.
COULD BE: #1 SHOULD BE: #1
KYLE GAFFNEY (Senior, Blake)
Moen and Gaffney have been at eachother\'s heels since the year of Moen\'s freshman and Gaffney\'s sophomore campaigns, when they finished 40th and 41st at these championships. Even if Gaffney doesn\'t take the title this year, he will not let Moen win it without a strong, strong fight.
COULD BE: #1 SHOULD BE: #2
CHRIS BARNARD (Senior, Sherwood)
Barnard has not given any hint that he is the third fastest runner in Montgomery County in his performances this season, but last year\'s county runner-up may have more in store than he has shown yet this fall.
COULD BE: #3 SHOULD BE: #5
ELIAS TOUSLEY & CHRISTOPHER BOWIE (Seniors, B-CC)
The B-CC duo finished only a couple seconds behind Kyle Gaffney at the Bull Run Invitational, but they could finish anywhere Friday. Wherever they do finish, they\'ll probably be together.
COULD BE: #3 & 4 SHOULD BE: #3 & 4
WILLIAM PALMER (Senior, Walt Whitman)
Palmer is another great runner who could finish anywhere from 3rd to 7th on Friday without much surprise. He finished just a few seconds behind Barnard at the Oatlands Invitational
COULD BE: #3 SHOULD BE: #6
REAGAN LYNCH (Senior, Quince Orchard)
Lynch has only really had one good race this year, at the Peter Gereghty Invitational, before he got sick. His placing Friday will depend on how efficiently he has slipped back into place.
COULD BE: #4 SHOULD BE: #7
WIL ZAHORODNY (Junior, Damascus)
Wil acts as the connector between the \"top dogs\" and the \"best of the rest.\" He will get a chance Friday to establish himself in one group or the other.
COULD BE: #6 SHOULD BE: #7
TOMMY MULLINGS (Senior, Sherwood)
COULD BE: #6 SHOULD BE: #8
DAVID LARATTA (Junior, Quince Orchard)
COULD BE: #6 SHOULD BE: #9
SAM EPSTEIN (Senior, Walt Whitman)
COULD BE: #10 SHOULD BE: #10
ANDREW PALMER (Freshman, Walt Whitman)
COULD BE: #9 SHOULD BE: #11
GREG BOVE (Senior, Quince Orchard)
COULD BE: #8 SHOULD BE: #12
JARED SCHNEIDER (Senior, Walter Johnson)
COULD BE: #12 SHOULD BE: #13
BRIAN MARSHALL (Senior, Seneca Valley)
COULD BE: #12 SHOULD BE: #14
Other Athletes to Watch:
Chris Boyd (Wooton); Sam Boimov (Gaithersburg); Brian Sickles (Richard Montgomery); Neal Darmody (Quince Orchard)
Teams
QUINCE ORCHARD
The nationally ranked QO boys team is the deepest boys team to compete in the state in years. They will have no problem stealing the title from Sherwood this year.
COULD BE: #1 SHOULD BE: #1
GAITHERSBURG
Gaithersburg showed the county and state what they\'re made of at Bull Run. Like Quince Orchard, they don\'t have any superstars on their team, but they are incredibly deep.
COULD BE: #2 SHOULD BE: #2
SHERWOOD
A great program with a great coach, although lacking the talent they had last year. They need great races to snatch top two.
COULD BE: #2 SHOULD BE: #3
WALT WHITMAN
COULD BE: #3 SHOULD BE: #4
BETHESDA-CHEVY CHASE
COULD BE: #4 SHOULD BE: #5
RICHARD MONTGOMERY
COULD BE: #5 SHOULD BE: #6
WALTER JOHNSON
COULD BE: #4 SHOULD BE: #7
Girls Race Preview
Individuals
HALSEY SINCLAIR (Senior, Montgomery Blair)
For three years, Halsey Sinclair has fought her way to the top of the county for when it counted, including last year\'s meet, where the race she ran to win her third consecutive title was one of the only good ones she ran all year. By no means does Sinclair have her fourth title secured, but she certainly has the athletism to capture it one last time.
COULD BE: #1 SHOULD BE: #1
EMMA ECKERSTROM (Junior, Northwest)
Emma started the season a little less prestigiously than we may have come to expect from her after she won the 4A 3200m state title last year, but she has been on an upward trend all year. She is likely to be Sinclair\'s top competition for the title, and will certainly take it if Sinclair isn\'t at her best.
COULD BE: #1 SHOULD BE: #2
CARA HARRISON (Senior, Quince Orchard)
Harrison has had a season to be proud of, and she has not lost to Eckerstrom, nor been ranked below her. But she will need to run a brilliant race in order to beat Eckerstrom on Friday. She is very capable of doing this, as she is of defeating Sinclair if Sinclair isn\'t trucking.
COULD BE: #1 SHOULD BE: #3
LOUISE HANNALLAH (Junior, Winston Churchill)
Hannallah, like Eckerstrom, is improving from an average season start, following the same pattern as last year when she surprised everyone with a third place finish at the 4A State Championships. She is in the same talent range as Eckerstrom and Harrison - this race will determine who is tougher.
COULD BE: #2 SHOULD BE: #4
MORGANE GAY (Junior, Walt Whitman)
Morgane Gay has had some great performances this year, but she is not in the same league as the top four. Friday will be a great chance for her to upset and eliminate that idea.
COULD BE: #4 SHOULD BE: #5
ASHLYN SINCLAIR (Senior, Montgomery Blair)
The second Sinclair twin tends to lose power as the season progresses, but still performed well at last year\'s county final.
COULD BE: #4 SHOULD BE: #6
VERONICA SALCIDO (Junior, Wooton)
Although her performances this season are no suggestion, Salcido is one of the county\'s most prestigious athletes. The county race may be a breakthrough for her.
COULD BE: #4 SHOULD BE: #7
KATHY AHERNE (Junior, Northwest)
COULD BE: #6 SHOULD BE: #8
JENNIFER SPENCER (Freshman, Walter Johnson)
COULD BE: #5 SHOULD BE: #9
LAURA MCCARY (Senior, Magruder)
COULD BE: #9 SHOULD BE: #10
ABBY SPITLER (Freshman, Gaithersburg)
COULD BE: #7 SHOULD BE: #11
TAYLOR COLBERT (Sophomore, Damascus)
COULD BE: #10 SHOULD BE: #12
LUYANG LIU (Junior, Richard Montgomery)
COULD BE: #11 SHOULD BE: #13
BECCA STINNER (Junior, Northwest)
COULD BE: #12 SHOULD BE: #14
Other Athletes to Watch:
Debbie Isen (Walt Whitman); Stephanie Alberico (Walter Johnson); Maryam Fikri (Winston Churchill); Tara Weiss (Gaithersburg); Sarah Britton (Richard Montgomery)
Teams
NORTHWEST
Strongest team in the county has not been the best so far this year. Friday may be the turning point.
COULD BE: #1 SHOULD BE: #1
RICHARD MONTGOMERY
No. 1 ranked team has had a strong season, will need to be well prepared to top Northwest at the county.
COULD BE: #1 SHOULD BE: #2
WINSTON CHURCHILL
They best Northwest at the Paul Short Invitational, but they will need to pull out some new tricks to match Northwest and Richard Montgomery\'s championship races.
COULD BE: #2 SHOULD BE: #3
QUINCE ORCHARD
COULD BE: #3 SHOULD BE: #4
WALT WHITMAN
COULD BE: #4 SHOULD BE: #5
WALTER JOHNSON
COULD BE: #4 SHOULD BE: #6