It's rare for a winter weekend to go by in Maryland without any high school track and field action at the PG Sportsplex. However, Saturday was still a busy day around the state: 1A and 2A West kicked off the 2016-17 indoor regional championships at Hagerstown Community College, and private schools from around the Washington area met at Georgetown Prep for the Private Schools Invitational.
One of the top performances of the day came courtesy of Bullis' Cierra Pyles. The junior already held the top spot on the Maryland triple jump leaderboard by nearly a foot heading into Saturday's meet, but she decided that it wasn't enough, becoming the first girl this season to clear 39 feet. Her personal best effort of 39'0.25 is also currently a US #17 mark.
Two of the top seven boys 4x200 relays met at Georgetown Prep on Saturday. Bishop McNamara sits at #2 on the state leaderboard, and they were given a run for their money by Maryland's seventh-fastest team from DeMatha. Their 1:31.18 and 1:31.38 performances, respectively, are the first- and fourth-fastest times in the state this season on a flat track. The 4x400 might have been an even better race, with DeMatha (3:29.49) edging Riverdale Baptist (3:29.50) and McNamara (3:29.71) in one of the best finishes of the season.
Mount de Sales' Samantha Facius came off her victories at the IAAM Championships and ran one of the fastest 1600s in the state to date. Her 5:02.80 effort is more than ten seconds faster than her previous personal best and is the third-fastest in Maryland this season. She is also now US #3 when it comes to sophomores in the 1600.
Ashton Allen - the youngest of the Bullis brothers - had himself quite a day. First he clocked a 35.51 300 - his first race on a flat track - which was easily the fastest time of the day by a Marylander. He also set a new personal best in the 55 hurdles, and his 7.78 is the third-fastest freshman time in the nation (Reservoir's Jesse Parsons is first). Finally, he showed off his range by clearing 6'4 in the high jump, which ties him for second on the Maryland leaderboard.
Allen's teammate Alexis Postell added even more drama to the girls 55 hurdle rankings on Saturday. Her 8.12 effort moves her into a tie with Lackey's Sydney Williams atop the current Maryland state rankings. Both Friendly's Karryngton Harrison and McNamara's Taylor Grimes sit within three hundredths of a second behind on the current leaderboard.
Over at Hagerstown Community College, Antoinette Bradley led the way for the Friendly girls. She won both the 500 and 800 and finished second in the 300; along with Karryngton Harrison, Callie Relerford and Cameron Davis, Bradley and the Patriots dominated the sprints and mid-distance events en route to a regional title.
There was one MD #1 girls mark set at HCC on Saturday. Walkersville's Kelcie Robertson became the first girl in the state this season to clear 11'6 in the pole vault, moving into the top position in Maryland. The 2A state championships should feature a good matchup between Robinson and Hereford's Alexandra Butz.
