Meet Page - Results - Photos
Maryland's Track and Trail Invitational is aptly named - it features, well, a track and a trail. But after the 2016 installment, it should probably be changed to the Montgomery County Invitational. Saturday's hot and humid conditions weren't exactly conducive to fast times in a cross country race, but that didn't stop Walter Johnson's Abigail Green. She dropped a 17:54.70 5K at the Fair Hill Racetrack, a full two minutes faster than anyone in the large school race. Her huge opening performance is a good sign for the Wildcats, who are going for their fourth straight state title. They finished just seventh in team scores, but they didn't have nearly their entire varsity squad with them.
Instead, it was the Wootton girls who turned in a dominant performance on Saturday. They placed four runners - all sophomores - in the top 12 in the large school race. That quartet of girls were never healthy all at the same time last cross country season, but it's apparent that they have the potential to be one of the top teams in the county and the state for years to come.
In the large school boys race, Rohann Asfaw improved to 2-0 against the rest of Maryland, clocking a modest 16:10.60 time in the heat. He'll see a step up in competition next weekend at the Oatlands Invitational. In terms of team scores, the Northwest boys solidified their front pack of runners and cruised to a team win after a second place finish at the Brunswick Invite last week. Their entire top five finished between places 6-11 with an overall spread of just 21 seconds. That tight group was their expected strength heading into the season, and will be their biggest advantage as they shoot for county - and possibly state - titles this season.
After the Moco schools packed up and left, the small schools rolled in for the blazing hot afternoon session. Catoctin's Julien Webster entered having dominated in her season debut at the Brunswick Invite last weekend, and Saturday was more of the same. Her final time of 19:16.30 was over a minute and a half faster than the second runner, Webster's teammate Lillie Perella. With the 1-2 finish, the Lady Cougars picked up a solid win over 2A west rivals Winters Mill and Century.
On the boys side, Winters Mill senior Devon Caples was able to outlast both the sun and the rest of the field, crossing the line at 17:19.40. It was the Century boys, however, who looked strong in their season debut, placing four boys among the top nine runners for the team title.