Vote below for Maryland's Week #2 Girls XC Runner of the Week from the September 10th weekend of meets. This week's nominees includes Howard's Courtney Mann, Walter Johnson's Abigail Green, Catoctin's Julien Webster, Maryvale Prep's Emily Craig, Damascus' Heather Delaplaine and the B-CC duo of Virginia Brown and Zoe Nuechterlein.
The girls' race at the Howard County Invitational this past Saturday was tightly packed until about the final half-mile, when Howard senior Courtney Mann grabbed the lead and did not look back. Within minutes, she turned a neck-and-neck battle into a runaway victory, finishing 26 seconds ahead of the next competitor. Out in Western Maryland, Damascus junior Heather Delaplaine was the top Maryland finisher and third overall finisher at the Rebel Invitational, defeating last week's Seahawk Invitational champion Reilly Caldwell with a final time of 20:00.
At the Track and Trail Invitational, state-title hopeful Abigail Green made her season debut in the large school race and did not disappoint, covering the full 5K course in a blistering 17:54. It's a great time for any conditions, but considering the unseasonable heat and humidity present on Saturday, it was a truly remarkable performance. In the small school race, Catoctin's Julien Webster improved to 2-0 on the season with a comfortable victory. Her performance would ultimately help the Catoctin girls capture the small school team title on Saturday.
Another girl who helped her team win on Saturday was Maryvale Prep's Emily Craig. The defending MIAA champion ran away from the field at the Lake Forest (DE) Invitational, clocking a winning time of 20:01.80 and leading her team to victory. Lastly, earlier in the week the B-CC duo of Virginia Brown and Zoe Nuechterlein finished second at the Woodward Relays and were the top Maryland duo. Their performance led to an impressive team victory over their intercounty rivals at Walter Johnson.
Voting closes at 11 PM on Thursday! Voting is unlimited and feel free to share with your coaches, family, friends, teammates, teachers, and more!