Photo by Craig Amoss
Annapolis' Maria Coffin turned in the best performance by a Maryland runner last weekend at the 4A State Championships. She won her second straight 4A state title and became the first girl to break 18 minutes on the three mile course at Hereford High School. Coffin left no doubt that she is not only the top runner in her class, but one of the best distance runners the state has ever seen.
While Coffin's victory was undeniably impressive, it was not nearly as unexpected as the one turned in by Wright freshman Haley Cummins. Not only did she win the 3A State Championships in her first-ever race at Hereford, she led wire-to-wire, racing out to an early lead and never looking back. She became the first freshman, boy or girl, to win a cross country state title since 2012.
Patuxent senior Hayley Jackson also made history on Saturday by winning her third straight 2A state title. The feat had not been accomplished since 2008-10 when Century's Maura Linde (now coaching at the school) won three straight. Jackson's time of 18:19 was the third-fastest time clocked on Saturday behind Coffin and Walter Johnson's Abigail Green (second in 4A).
The biggest surprise of the afternoon came from Northern Garrett's Ana Rhoten who erased an early deficit and ran away with the 1A state title. It was especially shocking considering her fifth-place finish at the 1A West Regionals. The Huskies had a very successful state meet as Rhoten's teammate Faith Parandhamaia surged to a third-place finish.
Over at the MD-DC Private School Championships, Stone Ridge's Genevieve Dibari finished second in the large school girls race (behind DC's Page Lester). Dibari's teammate Isabel Barnidge finished in third place behind Dibari. In the small school girls race, St. Andrews' Joy Reeves finished in second place, leading her team to their third straight small school title.