Photo by Craig Amoss
Who was the top boys runner of the third week of the 2019 cross country season? Vote below!
Tamrat Snyder is back on the cross country course in a big way this season. After a 16:12, fourth-place effort at the Rebel Invitational on September 14, Snyder ran away from the medium school boys field at Saturday's Bull Run Invitational. His 16:36 time was the 14th-fastest on the day, even more impressive considering he did it at what was probably the hottest point of the day.
One of the runners Snyder will face at the 2A state meet, Finn Walsh, finished just ahead of Snyder's time in the elite boys race. Walsh cracked the top ten in the deep field, and Severna Park's Jake Gelfand and Carson Sloat were the only non-seniors to finish ahead of Walsh. He also ran a personal-best 16:00 three mile earlier in the week at the Rumble in the Jungle, which stands currently as the 22nd-fastest three mile time in the state.
The last boys champion to be crowned at Bull Run was Harford Tech's Kevin Baranoski in the small school race. Baranoski pulled away in the final mile and held off a charge from Liberty's Woodrow Kashima in the final 100 meters. Baranoski will also be a contender at the 2A state meet along with the two runners above.
Our fourth candidate did not run at Bull Run, but did pick up a mid-week win at the Broadford Invitational out in Western Maryland. Northern Garrett sophomore Garrison Barlow broke 18 minutes for the first time and picked up the first win of his cross country career. After a freshman track season during which he ran 10:21 at the state meet, could Barlow be a 1A state title candidate in the making?