Photo by Brandon Miles
Vote below for Maryland's Week #9 Girls XC Runner of the Week from the October 29th week of meets. This week's batch of nominees includes Spalding's Lacey Eden, Winters Mills' Emma Kartalia, Boonsboro's Camryn Harper, Kent Island's Amanda Fine and Patuxent's Hayley Jackson.
Spalding freshman Lacey Eden has been arguably the top freshman runner in the state this season and this past week she added a huge win to her already-impressive resume. Eden outdueled Maryvale senior Emily Craig - last year's IAAM champion - at Tuesday's IAAM Championships, falling just shy of her personal best of 19:02 that she ran on the same course earlier in the season at the Spiked Shoe Invitational. Eden's teammate and fellow freshman Allysa Combs finished third, and it's clear that the duo could be a considerable force in Maryland for years to come.
On Thursday a pair of upperclassmen led their teams to county titles. Winters Mill senior Emma Kartalia won the Carroll County Championships in 20:03, leading her team to the school's first-ever girls county title. Farther west, Boonsboro junior Camryn Harper defended her home course in winning the Washington County title, leading her Boonsboro team to a win over Smithsburg.
Photo by Robin Campbell
Kent Island senior Amanda Fine did the same on Wednesday, winning the Bayside League title and leading the Kent Island girls to a team victory as well. The performance was made even more dominant as Brandon Nichols and the Kent Island boys also won the meet, giving the Buccaneers a rare sweep of the meet. Across the bay, Patuxent's Hayley Jackson won her third straight SMAC title at Chaptico Park, simply running away from a field that included defending 3A state champion Annie Imhof and the state-hopeful Northern girls.
Voting closes at 10 PM on Thursday! Voting is unlimited and feel free to share with your coaches, family, friends, teammates, teachers, and more!