Photo by Brandon Miles
The first full week of October brings us to the crossroads of the invitational and championship meet season here in Maryland. For the second straight week, two mid-week invitationals elevate the excitement beyond the usual slate of division and league meets. On Tuesday, Liberty High School hosted the Crossfire Invitational, which served as a preview for this season's upcoming 2A state championships. Nick Tilson picked up the victory on his home course for the second straight year and the Liberty boys rebounded from last week's loss to Century by beating them, 37-43. Julien Webster picked up another win to continue her outstanding senior season and the Catoctin girls won their second straight invitational by one point.
Photo by Brandon Miles
On Wednesday, Winter Place Park in Salisbury was the site of the annual Tidewater Classic. The Northwest boys and girls continued their winning streaks at the meet: the boys, their third straight and the girls, their fourth straight. Sussex Tech's (DE) Ben Bamforth was the winner on the boys' side, while the Northwest senior-freshman duo of Sofia Zarate and Helena Lee finished 1-2 on the girls' side.
This week also saw the unofficial start to the 2016 cross country championship season. On Tuesday, the UCBAC Susquehanna Divisional Championships were held at Perryville Park. Elkton's Evan Shrewsbury took home the win in 17:34.15, just ahead of Aberdeen's Daniel Foster. However, Shrewsbury's win was not enough to lift the Elkton boys past Perryville, as the Perryville boys captured the team championship on a dramatic sixth-runner tiebreaker. On the girls' side, the Rising Sun duo of Emma and Arianna Wheeler finished together a minute and half ahead of the competition. The Rising Sun girls dominated the team scores, winning with just 18 points.
The other half of the UCBAC, the Chesapeake Division, ran its championship meet on Thursday. Bel Air's Kieran McDermott kept his oustanding junior season going with a victory in 16:10.20. He was followed by a trio of Bohemia Manor boys, led by junior Grant Franceschina, who carried them to a team victory with just 49 points - 32 of them coming from their fifth runner. The girls' race featured a pair of standout freshmen: C.M. Wright's Haley Cummins ran away with the race, winning in 19:41.10. Bel Air's Rebekah Cross earned a runner-up finish with a time of 20:17.70, just a few seconds ahead of Patterson Mill's Ashley Betz, who is only a sophomore. All three of C.M. Wright's top runners were freshmen and that youth wave carried them to an impressive team victory.
Crossfire Invitational (Oct. 4)
Winners
Boys: Nick Tilson (Liberty) 16:52.90
Girls: Julien Webster (Catoctin) 19:24.30
Boys Team: Liberty
Girls Team: Catoctin
Susquehanna Divisional Championships (Oct. 4)
Winners
Boys: Evan Shrewsbury (Elkton) 17:34.15
Girls: Emma Wheeler (Rising Sun) 20:44.27
Boys Team: Perryville
Girls Team: Rising Sun
AACPS Inter-County Meet #2 (Oct. 4)
Winners
Boys: Anthony Anastasi (Southern-AA) 17:20.30; Paul Squires (Broadneck) NT
Girls: Sophie Chance (Southern-AA) 21:58.50; Anna Coffin (Annapolis) 20:29.40
Boys Team: Southern-AA; NTS
Girls Team: Chesapeake; Severna Park
Tidewater Fall Classic (Oct. 5)
Winners
Boys: Ben Bamforth (Sussex Tech) 16:33.18
Girls: Sofia Zarate (Northwest) 19:21.13
Boys Team: Northwest
Girls Team: Northwest
Hagerstown City Championships (Oct. 5)
Winners
Boys: William Jones (St. Maria Goretti) 15:47.62
Girls: Cassie Lavin (St. Maria Goretti) 20:22.42
Boys Team: South Hagerstown
Girls Team: North Hagerstown
PVAC Mid-Season Challenge (Oct. 5)
Winners
Boys: Wells Dwiggins-Thomason (Field School) 17:30.52
Girls: Rhya Evans (Washington International) 21:36.63
Boys Team: Charles E. Smith Jewish Day
Girls Team: Oakcrest
Chesapeake Divisional Championships (Oct. 6)
Winners
Boys: Kieran McDermott (Bel Air) 16:10.20
Girls: Haley Cummins (C.M. Wright) 19:41.10
Boys Team: Bohemia Manor
Girls Team: C.M. Wright
Division/League Meets