Photo by Phil Ponder
From 2010-2015 just two Maryland runners qualified individually for a national cross country championship: Loyola's Matt Jablonski in 2010 and Tyler Spear in 2013. On Saturday that number was more than doubled.
Up in New York City, McDonogh's Dalton Hengst and Smithsburg's Will Merritt finished fifth and sixth at the Foot Locker Northeast Regionals to secure trips to San Diego. Down in North Carolina, Richard Montgomery's Rohann Asfaw finished fourth at the Nike Cross National Southeast Regionals and earned a berth at Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon.
Photo by Steven Pisano
How historic is today? Saturday marks the first time since 2009 that Maryland boys qualified individually for both the Foot Locker and Nike national championships. It is the first time since at least 2001 that two Maryland boys qualified individually for nationals in the same race. Three total boys is one of the most the state has ever sent to nationals in one season.
Photo by Steven Pisano
After Saturday the debate begins: who is the best runner in Maryland? Merritt lost to Asfaw at both the Interstate Classic and Oatlands Invitational, but after clocking the fastest time at states and finishing just a second behind Hengst he has clearly made a strong case. Meanwhile, Asfaw and Hengst have sadly never raced on the cross country course and never will (at least in high school). Asfaw's NXNSE time of 15:15 was just short of Hengst's MD #1 mark of 15:11.
While the debate may never be settled, runners and fans around the state will all be watching both national meets closely and supporting three of the top runners in the country.