All-Decade Cross Country Teams: Montgomery County

Dec 19, 2019

We unveil our all-Montgomery County team of the decade (2010-11 through 2019-20).

Boys Runner of the Decade: Chase Weaverling (Poolesville High School, Class of 2014)

Photo by Brandon Miles

Personal Bests: 15:02 3M, 15:22 5K

Medals: 2 county, 1 region, 1 state

Weaverling medaled at the 2A state meet in all four seasons, finishing no lower than seventh after his freshman year. He went undefeated throughout his junior season, including wins at Bull Run and Frank Keyser, as well as a showdown with senior Will Bertrand at the Montgomery County Championship, which Weaverling won in the final few meters. A late-season injury cost him a shot at capturing a state title (although he would still finish seventh), but Weaverling came back strong during his senior season. His only loss in 2013 came in a runner-up effort at Oatlands as he swept county, region and state titles. Weaverling finished 11th at the Foot Locker Northeast regional meet, one spot away from qualifying for Foot Locker Nationals.

Weaverling's 15:25 effort at the 2012 county championships has not been matched at Bohrer Park, before or since. He owns the top performances of the decade at the Brunswick, Don Stoner and Georgetown Prep invitationals. His 15:28 Oatlands performance is ten seconds faster than any other Maryland runner this decade and just three seconds slower than Foot Locker Solomon Haile ran as a senior.

College: University of Virginia

Personal Bests: 18:54 6K, 23:32 8K, 29:39 10K

Weaverling was All-ACC at the conference cross country championships three times (2015, 2016 and 2017). He was also All-Southeast Region three times (2014, 2015 and 2016). His top finish at the NCAA Championships came in 2015 when he finished 55th.

Rohann Asfaw (Richard Montgomery High School, Class of 2017)

Photo by John Roemer

Personal Bests: 15:31 3M, 15:15 5K

Medals: 2 county, 2 region, 1 state

Asfaw's first taste of success came in the freshman/sophomore race at the 2013 Montgomery County championships. He ran 15:58 as a sophomore and finished eighth at the state meet, but it was during his junior year that he ascended into the state spotlight. His only losses during 2015 came at Oatlands (fourth place) and a runner-up effort at the state meet to Dulaney's Eric Walz. He ran 15:21 at NXR Southeast to finish sixth, but unfortunately was one spot away from a trip to nationals. Asfaw made yet another jump during his senior season, as his only loss was a muddy photo-finish at the Glory Days Invitational. Asfaw swept counties, regionals and states before returning to Cary, NC, for another crack at qualifying for nationals. There was no similar heartbreak this time, as he ran 15:15, good for fourth place, and earned a ticket to Nike Cross Nationals in Oregon (where he finished 94th).

Asfaw's 15:33 time at the county meet at Bohrer Park is fourth all-time, behind Weaverling, Will Bertrand and Ryan Lockett. Asfaw and Weaverling are the only two runners to win multiple Montgomery County titles this decade. He is the only runner to win multiple 4A West regional titles during the decade, and the first since Andrew Jesien in 2003-2004. His Oatlands and Interstate Classic bests are both third-best among Maryland runners this decade.

College: University of Virginia

Personal Bests: 24:19 8K, 31:02 10K

As a sophomore, Asfaw finished 39th at the NCAA Southeast Regionals, fifth on the team.

Will Bertrand (Clarksburg High School, Class of 2013)

Photo by Rollie Jacobs

Personal Bests: 15:01 3M, 15:22 5K

Medals: 1 region, 1 state

As a soccer player throughout his first three years of high school, Bertrand had only one season of cross country to put together an all-decade resume. As such, Bertrand's lone campaign on the course was nothing short of spectacular. Bertrand did not lose until Glory Days where he finished fourth in 15:27. Bertrand narrowly missed out on a county title when he lost to Chase Weaverling in the closing seconds of the race; his 15:25 time is still second all-time at Bohrer Park. Bertrand's signature moment came at the 2012 4A state meet which Bertrand won by 25 seconds. His 16:02 time fell just shy of what had proven to be a nearly unbreakable barrier; between 1995 and 2012 (the last year the pre-2014 course was contested), only Solomon Haile and Matthew Centrowitz ran faster at the state meet. Bertrand capped off his senior season with a 12th-place finish at the Foot Locker Northeast regionals, just four seconds away from qualifying for Foot Locker Nationals.

Bertrand leads all Maryland runners at Glory Days over the past decade, and his 15:27 time was the fastest by a Maryland runner since Quince Orchard's Neal Darmody in 2007. His 15:01 performance at Frank Keyser in 2012 is the third-fastest of the decade behind only David Dorsey and Anish Nanjappa. Bertrand is one of only four Maryland runners this decade (Dalton Hengst, Weaverling and Will Merritt) to run sub-16 at the Foot Locker Northeast regional in New York.

College: Princeton University

Personal Bests: 24:01 8K, 30:47 10K

Bertrand was first team All-Ivy League in 2016, the same year he was named a team captain for the Tigers. He was also All-Mid-Atlantic Region twice (2014, 2016). As a senior in 2016 he finished sixth at the Ivy League Championships and ninth at the Mid-Atlantic Regionals.

Obsaa Feda (Northwood High School, Class of 2019)

Photo by Phil Grove

Personal Bests: 15:44 3M, 15:20 5K

Medals: 1 county, 2 region, 1 state

As a sophomore in 2016 Feda finished 22nd at the state championship - it would easily be his lowest finish at the state meet throughout his career. Feda erupted at the county meet as a junior, finishing fourth in 15:38 (his first time breaking 16 minutes). He captured his first championship medal at the 4A North regional meet in 2017 shortly afterwards, and finished his season by finishing 11th at the state meet and 30th at Nike Cross Southeast regionals. Feda, however, had another level - he went undefeated throughout his senior season, which included wins at the Hood College and Carlisle invitationals. Feda and teammate Eldad Mulugeta went 1-2, respectively, at the county, regional and state meets, as Feda's 15:44 time was just three seconds off the post-2013 Hereford course record. Feda then ran 15:20 at Nike Cross Southeast, finishing eighth and punching a ticket (along with Mulugeta) to Nike Cross Nationals, where he finished 112th.

Feda's 15:44.05 performance at Hereford currently sits sixth in course history. Feda also set his home course record at Northwood at the 2018 Consortia Championships when he ran 16:03. His 15:49 time at the 2018 Carlisle Invitational was second among Maryland runners this decade to only Jack Wavering, and his 15:53 time at the Hood College Invitational ranks third in meet history.

College: Miami University (OH)

Personal Bests: 25:03 8K

Ryan Lockett (Poolesville High School, Class of 2018)

Photo by Craig Amoss

Personal Bests: 15:44 3M, 15:32 5K

Medals: 1 county, 2 region, 2 state

Lockett began his career at Poolesville in 2014, finishing 12th at the 2A state meet. After a one-year hiatus at Gonzaga College High School in DC, Lockett returned to Poolesville High School and was immediately a star. He broke out in the junior race at DCXC in 2016, where he set a three-mile personal best of 15:44. Lockett followed up that performance with a runner-up, 15:53 showing at the Montgomery County Championships, his first time breaking 16 in the 5K. Lockett found postseason success, winning regional and state titles as a junior. Although his senior cross country season got off to an uneven start, he soon found his groove, finishing third in the senior race at DCXC and winning the Glory Days title. He then went on to sweep county, region and state titles, joining Weaverling, Asfaw and Feda as the only Montgomery County athletes to do so this decade. Lockett rounded out his senior season by placing 12th at Foot Locker Northeast in New York City, just two places away from qualifying for Foot Locker Nationals.

Lockett's 15:32 time at the 2017 Montgomery County Championships ranks third all-time at Bohrer Park (where the meet has been contested since 2011). He sits at fifth place on the state's decade rankings at the Foot Locker Northeast regionals, and his 12th-place finish as a senior is tied with Bertrand as the fourth-highest Maryland finish in the seeded boys race at Foot Locker Northeast since 2010.

College: University of Virginia

Personal Bests:

Chris Miller (Northwest High School, Class of 2011)

Photo by Tim Hagen

Personal Bests: 16:09 3M, 15:35 5K

Medals: 1 county, 1 state

As the senior member of this list, Miller's career at Northwest High School began back in 2007, when he finished seventh at the 4A state meet. It would be his lowest finish at the state meet as he placed sixth as both a sophomore and junior. Miller broke 16 minutes in the 5K for the first time at Glory Days in 2009 where he finished seventh overall, and he followed that up by placing second at the county championships as a junior. Miller's breakthrough cross country performance came one year later at the 2010 Glory Days Invitational, where he ran 15:35 and captured the first major win of his cross country career. He ran 15:37 and won his first county title in the last year the meet was contested on the grounds of Gaithersburg High School. After a brief setback at regionals (fourth place), Miller rebounded to win a thrilling 4A state meet battle and challenged the 16-minute barrier on the old Hereford course.

Miller ranks second on Maryland's all-decade list at both the Glory Days (15:35) and Octoberfest (15:58) invitationals. His 16:09 performance on the certified Hereford three-mile course (active between 1995 and 2012) ranked fifth, behind Haile, Centrowitz, Bertrand and River Hill's Shane Stroup.

Eldad Mulugeta (Northwood High School, Class of 2019)

Photo by Craig Amoss

Personal Bests: 15:44 3M, 15:15 5K

Medals: none

Mulugeta did not break out for the Gladiators until his junior track season. Running alongside fellow all-decade member Obsaa Feda did no favors for Mulugeta's medal count, but Mulugeta gained enough momentum over the course of his senior season to be considered one of the top Montgomery County runners of the decade. He went 1-2 with Feda five times during his senior season, including the three postseason meets (counties, regionals and states), helping lead Northwood to a second-place finish at the state meet. Mulugeta didn't beat his teammate until NXN Southeast, when he finished fourth with a huge 5K personal best of 15:15. Both Mulugeta and Feda earned trips to Oregon for Nike Cross Nationals, where Mulugeta finished 38th overall.

Mulugeta's 15:38 time is the fastest by a Maryland runner at Nike Cross Nationals this decade, and only Andrew Palmer and only Loyola-Blakefield's Matt Jablonski finished higher (30th). His 15:15.50 5K time ranks eighth among Maryland runners this decade; only Asfaw has a faster time among Montgomery County runners. Mulugeta's also ranks eighth on the post-2013 Hereford course records, just ten seconds off the course record.

College: Iowa Central Community College

Personal Bests: 16:04 5K, 19:05 6K, 25:24 8K

All-County Second Team:

Evan Laratta (Quince Orchard High School, Class of 2012)

Adam Nakasaka (Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, Class of 2018)

Nick Regan (Walter Johnson High School, Class of 2011)

Garrett Suhr (Richard Montgomery High School, Class of 2020)

Alex Willett (Walter Johnson High School, Class of 2011)

Evan Woods (Walt Whitman High School, Class of 2015)

Diego Zarate (Northwest High School, Class of 2015)

Table of Champions:

2010 (Gaithersburg HS): Chris Miller (Northwest) - 15:37

2011 (Bohrer Park): Evan Laratta (Quince Orchard) - 16:00

2012: Chase Weaverling (Poolesville) - 15:25

2013: Chase Weaverling (Poolesville) - 15:31

2014: Diego Zarate (Northwest) - 15:48

2015: Rohann Asfaw (Richard Montgomery) - 15:34

2016: Rohann Asfaw (Richard Montgomery) - 15:33

2017: Ryan Lockett (Poolesville) - 15:32

2018: Obsaa Feda (Northwood) - 16:00

2019: Garrett Suhr (Richard Montgomery) - 15:35

Girls Runner of the Decade: Abigail Green (Walter Johnson High School, Class of 2018)

Photo by Lisa McArthur

Personal Bests: 17:14 3M, 17:44 5K

Medals: 3 county, 4 region, 1 state

Green burst onto the scene for the Wildcats in 2014 and emerged as the face of one of the greatest dynasties the state has seen. They had upset the defending state champions from B-CC at the 201 state meet, and Green's presence as a freshman gave them the firepower to continue their winning ways. Green won the 4A West regional title as a freshman - the first of four regional titles in her cross country career - and finished fourth at the state meet, the lowest she would ever finish. In fact, if not for Annapolis' Maria Coffin, Green could have won three state titles instead of just one during her senior year. She finished second to Coffin in what may have been the greatest race in state meet history as a junior in 2016, then came back to win convincingly during her senior year. The Wildcats never lost a state meet during Green's career. To top it off, Green was also a two-time Foot Locker Nationals finalist; she finished 21st as a junior and 12th as a senior.

Green is the only Maryland female runner this decade to qualify twice for a national championship race. Her 12th-place finish at Foot Locker Nationals is tied with Catholic's Ellie Gonzalez for third-best finish at either national meet this decade. Her 17:46 time at Bohrer Park is second-best behind fellow Wildcat Jenna Goldberg in course history. She leads all Maryland runners this decade at Glory Days, Oatlands (tied with Juliette Whittaker), Track and Trail and the Manhattan HS Invitational.

College: University of Virginia

Personal Bests: 17:16 5K, 20:04 6K

As a freshman in 2018, Green led the Cavaliers at the ACC Championships with a ninth-place finish, earning her all-conference honors. Green then ran a personal-best 20:04 6K at the D1 Southeast regionals, finishing seventh overall to earn a trip to the D1 National Championships (where she placed 95th).

Anna Bosse (Walter Johnson High School, Class of 2011)

Photo by T. Patrick O'Dowd

Personal Bests: 19:26 3M, 18:40 5K

Medals: 1 region, 1 state

Bosse was a force in Montgomery County beginning in her sophomore cross country season in 2008. That fall she finished fifth at the Montgomery County Championships, breaking 19 minutes for the first time. It would be the last race she lost that season, as she went on to win the 4A West regional title and run 19:38 at the state meet, the fastest time of the day. Those performances would be the only two championship season victories of her career, although she finished no lower than fourth at counties, regionals and states in her junior and senior years (including a second-place finish at the state meet as a senior). Bosse's top 5K performance came at the 2009 NXR Southeast regional where she ran 18:40, good for 25th place.

Bosse finished in the top three at the 4A state meet from 2008-2010; during that time period she is one of four girls to finish in the top three in the highest classification at the state meet three separate times.

College: Loyola University (MD)

Personal Bests: 21:45 6K

Bosse finished in the top 100 at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals twice at Loyola. She finished 18th at the MAAC Championships in 2012 and 28th at the Patriot League Championships in 2013.

Jenna Goldberg (Walter Johnson High School, Class of 2020)

Photo by Mike Piotrowski

Personal Bests: 17:50 3M, 17:28 5K

Medals: 1 county, 1 region, 1 state

Goldberg started to emerge as a key contributor for the Wildcats in the fall of 2017 during Abigail Green's senior season. Her sixth-place finishes at counties and regionals, along with a 14th-place effort at states, hinted at a future breakout. That didn't come during her junior season, however, as she dropped out of the top 15 at counties and regionals and finished just 56th at the state meet. A better track season (11:08 3200, third at both the indoor and outdoor state meets) set the stage for a huge senior season on the course. In her second race of the fall she finished fourth at Oatlands; her 18:25 time was nearly a 45-second personal best. As it turns out, it would also be the only race she lost between then and states. Goldberg set to work taking down Green's times at the same races, which included breaking her Bohrer Park course record at the Montgomery county Championships by a staggering 18 seconds. She also came within one second of Maria Coffin's post-2013 Hereford course record in yet another runaway victory at the state meet. She rounded out her record-setting senior season by, of course, qualifying for Foot Locker Nationals, making Walter Johnson the only team with two separate qualifiers for the meet this decade.

Goldberg's 17:28 5K personal best is the fifth-best time of the decade. She owns course records at Bohrer Park and the post-2018 version of High Point Farm, while her 17:50 time from the state meet is second to only Maria Coffin. Her 18:25 Oatlands performance ranks third by a Maryland runner in the decade, trailing only Green and Juliette Whittaker.

Caroline Guiot (Walt Whitman High School, Class of 2012)

Photo by Marleen Van den Neste

Personal Bests: 19:27 3M, 18:26 5K

Medals: 1 region, 1 state

Guiot won the freshman/sophomore race at the county meet as a freshman in 2008, but raced sparingly in her first two years. It wasn't until her junior season in 2010 that she began to emerge as a force for the eventual state-champion Vikings; she finished ninth, seventh and eighth at counties, regionals and states, respectively. An 11:28 3200 on the track that spring hinted at what was to come her senior year, although she didn't quite find her stride as a senior until the second half of the fall. After losing to freshman Lucy Srour by one second at the county meet, she won her first two major races at regionals and states, becoming Whitman's second consecutive individual state champion and leading them to a second-place team finish. She closed out her career with a personal-best 18:26, 16th-place effort at NXR Southeast.

Guiot's 18:26 personal best at WakeMed is the 15th-best time by a Maryland runner of the decade. She also owns the state's fifth-best time at Paul Short since 2010, and is one of six girls since then to have run under 19 minutes at Lehigh University.

College: Middlebury College

Personal Bests: 18:52 5K, 23:05 6K

Guiot twice finished in the top ten at the NEICAAA championships at Middlebury. She placed 45th at the NCAA DIII New England regional meet as a junior in 2014, and finished 88th at the NCAA DIII national championships a week later.

Nora McUmber (Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, Class of 2015)

Photo by Jon Fleming

Personal Bests: 18:35 3M, 17:34 5K

Medals: 3 county, 2 region, 1 state

McUmber joined Bethesda-Chevy Chase as a freshman and immediately made an impact, leading the Barons to two consecutive state titles in 2011-12. She was the team's top finisher (eighth) at the state meet as a freshman and second finisher (third overall, while Caroline Beakes won) as a sophomore; she also won her first county and regional titles as a sophomore. McUmber repeated as county and regional champion once again in 2013 (her 18:09 performance stood as a course record for two years), and after finishing second at the state meet she ran perhaps her best race as a Baron. McUmber became Maryland's first and only champion at either Nike or Foot Locker regional of the decade, running 17:34 to win NXR Southeast at WakeMed. She went on to finish 48th at Nike Cross Nationals. She won her third consecutive county title as a senior and, after a subpar performance at regionals (seventh place), broke through to win her first and only XC state title. Her last high school cross country race was a seventh-place finish at NXR in 2014, finishing just shy of a second-straight nationals berth.

McUmber's 17:34 time at WakeMed is the best by any Maryland runner at the course this decade and the sixth-fastest time regardless of venue. Catholic's Ellie Gonzalez is the only girl to have finished higher at NXN this decade (she finished 12th in 2013, the same year that both McUmber and Dulaney's Isabel Griffith qualified). McUmber finished 43rd or higher at NXR Southeast in all four years of her career.

College: Jacksonville University

Personal Bests: 17:23 5K, 21:09 6K

Three times McUmber finished in the top six at the Atlantic Sun Championships for Jacksonville, highlighted by a third-place finish as a sophomore (where she ran her 5K personal best time of 17:23). She set her 6K personal best at the DI South regional meet in 2017, her third consecutive top-50 individual finish at the regional meet.

Anna Ryba (Walt Whitman High School, Class of 2012)

Photo by Marleen Van den Neste

Personal Bests: 19:16 3M, 18:27 5K

Medals: 1 county, 1 region, 1 state

For four years, Ryba was a fixture at the front of the county, regional and state fields. She began her career in 2007 with a fifth-place finish at the state championships, and her sophomore season featured almost identical 5K season bests (19:15) and state meet finishes (fifth). In 2010, Ryba finally broke through; after runner-up finishes at the Peter Geraghty Invitational and Georgetown Prep Classic, she won her first major race at the county championships. That roll did not stop, as she went on to sweep both county, regional and state titles as a junior, leading the Vikings to team titles in all three races, as well. While she didn't quite repeat her winning spree during her senior season, she still finished in the top four at all three championship races while her teammate and fellow all-decade county runner Caroline Guiot won the regional and state titles.

Ryba and Abigail Green are the only Montgomery County girls of the decade to sweep county, regional and state titles while their teams do the same. She was the only Maryland runner to break 19 minutes at the Octoberfest Invitational this decade, and she was one of just six girls to break 19 minutes at the Paul Short Run.

College: Williams College

Personal Bests: 19:05 5K, 23:48 6K

Ryba turned in her best performances at the NESCAC and ECAC championships as a freshman in 2012. She ran her 6K personal best at the NESCAC Championships, where she finished 74th.

Charlotte Turesson (Richard Montgomery High School, Class of 2021)

Photo by Brandon Miles

Personal Bests: 17:46 3M, 17:42 5K

Medals: 1 county, 1 region

As a freshman, Turesson finished just one spot (26th) away from all-state honors at the 4A state meet; she followed that up with a 19:08 personal best at NXR that fall. In 2018, Turesson wrestled control of Montgomery County, running away with both the county and 4A West regional titles. Those performances came on the heels of an 18:09 performance at Great American, a time that would stand as the fastest in the state in 2018. She ended her junior season with a runner-up finish at the state meet to fellow sophomore Bronwyn Patterson. Turesson might have added more medals to her count during her junior season had she not been surpassed by a fast-rising Goldberg, but she still ran under 18 minutes in two consecutive races (17:42 at Great American, 17:51 at counties) to further establish herself as one of Maryland's elite runners. She finished behind Goldberg at counties, regionals and states and will look to regain control of the county - and, potentially, the state - after Goldberg graduates this spring.

Turesson's 17:42 personal best at Great American is the eighth-fastest 5K by a Maryland girl this decade, and the second-fastest at the course at WakeMed in Cary, NC, behind only McUmber. She has the third-fastest time at Bohrer Park behind Goldberg and Green, and her 18:10 three-mile time at the Interstate Classic is also the fastest at the meet since at least 2010.

All-County Second Team:

Caroline Beakes (Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, Class of 2015)

Abbey Daley (Clarksburg High School, Class of 2013)

Sophie El-Masry (Richard Montgomery High School, Class of 2016)

Emily Murphy (Walter Johnson High School, Class of 2016)

Lucie Noall (Clarksburg High School, Class of 2015)

Lucy Srour (Winston Churchill High School, Class of 2015)

Bethlehem Taye (Paint Branch High School, Class of 2016)

Table of Champions:

2010 (Gaithersburg HS): Anna Ryba (Walt Whitman): 18:27

2011 (Bohrer Park): Lucy Srour (Winston Churchill): 18:51

2012: Nora McUmber (Bethesda-Chevy Chase) - 18:25