500 Meter Dash
Northwood senior Eldon Phillips is on a quest to defend his 4A 500 state title from last winter. (Photo by Phil Ponder)
| Athlete | Season Best | Regional Performance |
| Eldon Phillips, Northwood | 1:05.33 (RHFitPro Invite) | 1:10.99 (1st, 4AW) |
| Ra'Mel Manley, Henry A. Wise | 1:07.31 (PG Champs) | 1:09.91 (3rd, 4AE*) |
| Malik Prince, Eleanor Roosevelt | 1:07.70 (4A East Regionals) | 1:07.70 (1st, 4AE*) |
| Taylor Blake, C.H. Flowers | 1:08.02 (PG Invite) | 1:08.29 (2nd, 4AE*) |
| Donovan Johnson, Dulaney | 1:09.12 (Frostbite Invite) | 1:10.93 (1st, 4AC) |
Northwood's Eldon Phillips, the defending state champion in the 500 meters, is back and looking for his second state title. His only loss in the event this season came at the Montgomery Invitational, where he filled in for a teammate and ran out of a slow heat, finishing second overall to Milford Mill's Aariq Nixon who won the fast section.
Unfortunately, only four out of the top eleven boys on the current 4A 500 leaderboard will be competing at the state meet. A trio of Prince George's County competitors, Ra'Mel Manley, Malik Prince and Taylor Blake, are the only others in that group besides Phillips. Manley and Prince are also competing for the state title in the 300 which could serve to help Phillips.
Dulaney's Donovan Johnson won the 4A Central Regionals with a faster time than Phillips ran two days later at 4A West. Ten out of the twelve competitors in the 500 have run under 1:10 so far this winter, but it will probably take something under 1:07 to challenge Phillips for the state title.