2A North
Photo by John Roemer
Since moving to the 2A North region in 2013 the Hereford boys and girls have been unstoppable, winning both regional titles in all three seasons heading into 2016. That streak was nearly ended on Thursday, however, thanks to Taylor Baranoski and the Eastern Tech boys. The first-year cross country runner dominated en route to a 56-second victory, covering the course in 16:33. With four boys in the top 15, they put up just 44 points.
The Hereford boys, however, won by the slimmest of margins: on a sixth-runner tiebreaker. Even while they sat out some of their top runners the Bulls had enough depth to pull out another regional championship; they haven't lost a regional meet dating back to at least 2004.
Kadiv Wallace (third) and Cyrus Haynes (fourth) led the Dunbar boys to a third-place team finish, while Loch Raven and Sparrows Point grabbed the final two state qualifying spots. Western Tech's Vanison Showell was the lone individual to advance to the state meet next week at Hereford.
The Hereford girls also sat out some of their top runners - including 2A contender Kelly Wesolowski - but had little problem extending their regional streak to three years in a row. Sophomore Olivia Holbrook led a team of underclassmen that grabbed the first five spots of the race, and the Hereford girls scored a perfect 15 points.
A trio of Loch Raven seniors (Lilianna Mischke, Emily Lane and Brittany Trees) finished among the top 12 finishers, but only Mischke qualified for the state meet as an individual as only 35 girls ran. With just four complete teams, the top three advanced to the state meet: Hereford, Carver A&T and Eastern Tech.