Photo by Craig Amoss
The annual Track and Trail Invitational features one of the more unique venues in all of Maryland. The horse track course leads to a spectator - and runner - friendly invitational capable of featuring some very fast times. Despite being located in the far northeast corner of the state the meet routinely draws top competition from around the state, and this year was no exception. These were the top moments of this year's Track and Trail Invitational.
New Year, Same Story For Haley Cummins
As a freshman, Haley Cummins only lost one cross country race in the state of Maryland: the Track and Trail Invitational. It was her first race and she went up against Walter Johnson's Abigail Green, and Cummins finished second in the large school race. Since then she hasn't lost a race within the borders of Maryland, and that streak now overlaps into 2017. Cummins outdueled Annapolis' Anna Coffin in the large school race to earn her first big win of the season. The Mustangs are set to travel out of state this weekend to the William and Mary Invitational where she finished fourth last year.
Richard Montgomery Boys: Dark Horses At States?
They aren't quite as deep as the top two teams from last year's 4A state meet (Dulaney and Severna Park) but one of the best trios of runners in Maryland has Richard Montgomery looking more and more like a dark horse in the 4A classification. Mark Unger and Garrett Suhr - both underclassmen - went 1-2 in the large school boys' race by dipping under 16 minutes for the first time in their respective careers. Senior Joachim El-Masry finished fifth and the Rockets won with a mere 26 points. A 1:11 spread between their third and fifth runners appears to be their biggest weakness, but with two runners who could finish in the top five at the state meet, they could put up some low team scores in November.
Bohemia Manor Boys Look Ready To Defend 1A Title
Last week the Southern Garrett High School boys looked primed to give defending 1A champion Bohemia Manor a run for their money with both the individual state favorite and improved depth. This week the Bohemia Manor boys opened their season in impressive fashion. They looked especially strong up front, placing three boys among the top five in the small school division, but also put two more sophomores under 18 minutes. As of this week it certainly looks like the two teams are on another collision course for a meeting in November.
Wootton Girls May Be Walter Johnson's Biggest Threat In 2017
Last year the young Wootton girls' squad took down the then-three-time defending state champions from Walter Johnson at the Track and Trail Invitational. However the Wildcats were racing without many of their top runners and went on to sweep the county, regional and state titles for the third consecutive year. The Wootton girls were the runners-up at all three meets and could be in for an even bigger finish this year. They put six girls in the top 18 on Saturday, led by junior Jessica Trzeciak, and only one of those girls was a senior.