Photo by Keeley Olson
Who was the top boys runner of the first week of the 2019 cross country season? Vote below!
Arundel's Niya Torres kicked off her senior cross country season with an outstanding performance at the Seahawk Invitational where she finished fifth. Her 18:41 three-mile personal best was a huge breakout performance (her previous personal best was 20:52) and led the Wildcats to a ninth-place finish in the team scores.
Atholton's Aanchal Kasargod is coming off a strong sophomore track season which included a 3A East regional title in the 3200 and a 5:24 1600 personal best. She has picked up where she left off this fall, as she paced the Raiders at the Interstate Classic where she finished second. The Raiders went on to win the large school division over Richard Montgomery.
Ella Gaul and Jenna Goldberg could be one of the top duos in the state this season, and the Walter Johnson girls dominated the tag-team relay at Saturday's Woodward Relays. They finished over two minutes ahead of the next pair of runners from Holton-Arms, and set the stage for the rest of the cross country season.
Zoe Benitez clocked the seventh-fastest 5K among freshmen last fall, and on Saturday she picked up the first win of her cross country career at Key High School. Benitez gapped a large field of girls at the Spiked Shoe Invitational that included Flowers' Javon Watts, Notre Dame Prep's Julia Merriman and some out-of-state competition from Strath Haven (PA).
South Carroll's Grace Siehler did not run cross country as a sophomore, but her 5:14 1600 effort during the past spring track season hinted at what could be a triumphant return to the course. That came to fruition on Saturday when she put 20 seconds on the rest of the field at the Brunswick Invitational. Her 19:27 three-mile effort pegs her as one of the top runners to watch at all of South Carroll's meets this season going forward.
