55 Meter Dash
Northwest's Khaloni Mganga (left) and Paint Branch's Justin Page (second from left) will get to go head-to-head again at the state meet. (Photo by Brandon Miles)
| Athlete | Season Best | Regional Performance |
| Khaloni Mganga, Northwest | 6.47 (MoCo Champs) | 6.80 (4th, 4AW) |
| Justin Page, Paint Branch | 6.59 (MoCo Champs) | 6.73 (1st, 4AW) |
| Demetri Morsell, Henry A. Wise | 6.62 (4A East Regionals) | 6.62 (1st, 4AE*) |
| Jared Jackson, Perry Hall | 6.63 (MoCo Invite) | 6.83 (5th, 4AC) |
| Malik Moore, Laurel | 6.63 (PG Champs) | 6.64 (2nd, 4AE*) |
Northwest's Khaloni Mganga has held a stranglehold on the 4A 55 meter leaderboard for the entire season, peaking at a 6.47 winning effort at the Montgomery County Championships. Up until the 4A West Regionals he had not finished outside of second in either a prelim or final in the event all winter. However, some other contenders have emerged from the pack.
After a slow start to the season, Paint Branch's Justin Page broke out at the county championships, finishing second at 6.59. He is still the only boy in the 4A classification besides Mganga to go under 6.60 seconds this season. He proved that the race was no fluke at the 4A West Regionals when he won, clocking a 6.73 55 at the Armory (the fastest of any 4A runner this season at the Armory).
The rest of the list is not exhaustive, as I only listed the three other runners who have run 6.63 or faster this season. Beyond that it gets crowded, with many more boys coming in between 6.64 and 6.70. The picture will hopefully become a bit clearer after the 55 prelims next Tuesday, but based on the state leaderboard at the moment it looks like it will be Mganga's race to lose - especially since he won't have any races between the 55 prelims and finals, should he advance.