County/Conference Championships Wrap-Up - Part One

The eventual girls Baltimore County individual champion, Marissa Dailey, sat behind the leaders for much of the race before pulling ahead for her first major cross country victory. (Photo by John Roemer)

Allegany County Championships

Mountain Ridge senior Hannah Muir has quickly become one of the top runners to watch heading into regionals in the 1A classification. (Photo by Craig Amoss)

Boys

If it weren't evident before the Allegany County Championships, the Allegany boys are maybe the most well-equipped 1A team in the state to take down Williamsport at the state meet. Junior Logan Trautwein led the Campers to a 1-4 finish at the county meet with a 17:13 5K effort and all four boys ran 18:11 or better. The biggest question for Allegany will be their fifth runner; at the county meet, their fifth runner finished over 90 seconds behind their fourth runner.

Girls

Mountain Ridge senior Hannah Muir is going to be a runner to watch heading into the region and state championships. Muir has won back-to-back races and ran a season-best 19:53 three mile at Frank Keyser. That was almost a minute and a half faster than she ran at Frank Keyser last year, and in 2018 she finished 13th at the 1A state meet. Only Smithsburg's Daylie Younker has run a faster three-mile time this year among 1A runners.

Anne Arundel County Championships

South River's course wasn't nearly as sunny or dry on Tuesday as it was earlier in the season at the Seahawk Invitational, but that did not seem to affect Tanner Piotrowski. (Photo by Keeley Olson)

Boys

In a highly-anticipated rematch between two of the top runners in the state, Arundel's Tanner Piotrowski pulled away from South River's Sam Keeny on Keeny's home course to win the county title. There were no illusions about sitting and kicking in Tuesday's race as the two frontrunners were by themselves by the time they hit the mile mark well under five minutes. They matched each other almost stride for stride until the final half mile when Piotrowski emerged ahead from the woods and ended up putting ten seconds between himself and Keeny by the end. Despite the poor weather conditions Piotrowski ran a second faster than he did at Frank Keyser. The two will meet again on Halloween at the 4A East regional which will be the final time they meet before the state meet.

As expected the Severna Park boys dominated Tuesday's race behind junior Jake Gelfand. The Falcons put five runners in the top eight and under 16 minutes. They may not have a runner capable of winning the individual title at regionals or states, but no other team appears to be close to matching their 1-7 depth.

Girls

The rain picked up considerably during the middle of the girls race on Tuesday, which may or may not have been a factor in the way the race played out. Unlike the boys race, the girls field was still tightly-grouped through two miles, with five or six girls all running in the top pack. However, by the time they came out of the woods with half a mile to go the race had thinned out with another Arundel senior - Niya Torres - out in front. Torres ended up crossing the line nine seconds ahead of runner-up Sophia Zell and the rest of the field followed in closely. Torres, Zell and the majority of the county field will face each other - as well as the Howard and Leonardtown girls - at the 4A East regionals.

The Severna Park girls followed the boys' example and took home the Anne Arundel County title, but it the Broadneck girls certainly made things interesting. The Bruins essentially matched Severna Park's top three runners (all within the top eight), but Severna Park's depth showed when they put their 4-7 runners ahead of Broadneck's fourth. Still, Broadneck showed that they still have a shot at a top-three finish at the state meet, competing with teams like Walter Johnson, Whitman and Dulaney.

Baltimore City Championships

Baltimore Poly junior Jackson Waller was a top-50 finisher at last year's 3A state meet and will be looking to lead the Poly boys back to states out of a competitive 3A North region. (Photo by John Roemer)

Boys

Baltimore Poly's Jackson Waller was the runaway winner at Wednesday's Baltimore City Championships. Waller has a season-best time of 17:05 and ran 17:49 earlier this year at Bull Run. Waller was 46th at last year's state meet, and while Poly will have a good chance at qualifying out of the 3A North region on Halloween, Waller could probably qualify for the state meet individually.

Girls

ACCE senior Emeralda Romero won the Baltimore City title on Wednesday a year after she finished seventh. She will be one of the top runners at the 1A North regional that features mainly Baltimore City schools.

Baltimore County Championships

Carver A&T's Guinivere Roberts (eighth) and Catonsville's Jessica McDivitt (tenth) were the only runners not from Dulaney, Hereford or Towson to medal at this year's county championships. (Photo by John Roemer)

Boys

Towson's Peter Sorensen was the top Baltimore County finisher earlier this year at the Barnhart Invitational. Last weekend he left no doubt as to who the top runner in the county is as he put 27 seconds on the rest of the field at Dulaney High School. Sorensen went under 16 minutes (15:54) for the first time and his time is currently tied with Tamrat Snyder and Jacob Marks for 16th-fastest in the state. Among 3A runners, only Caleb Zylka has run a faster 5K time. It's also the fourth-fastest time by a junior.

However, Sorensen's performance was not enough to stop Dulaney from winning their seventh straight county team title. The Lions put four runners in the top six and their top seven runners all finished between 16:21 and 17:01. That tight spread (just 31 seconds between their first and fifth finishers) will be their key if they want to take down Northwood at the 4A North regional meet next week. Meanwhile the runner-up Towson boys will get set for a rematch with C. Milton Wright at the 3A North regional meet, a race which they won last year by four points.

Girls

There was much more drama in the girls race at the Baltimore County Championships on Saturday. Hereford's Caroline Benda had won the original meeting between the three teams at Barnhart, but this time it was a different junior - Dulaney's Marissa Dailey - who came out on top. Dailey came from behind to defeat Towson's Madeline Till as the top four runners - three of them from Dulaney - finished within ten seconds of each other.

Those top three runners for Dulaney gave them an advantage that Hereford was unable to overcome, even after the Bulls put their fifth runner before Dulaney's fourth. It was the Lions' first Baltimore County title since they beat Hereford by one point in 2016. The Dulaney girls will be favorites back on their home course next week at the 4A North regionals. Meanwhile, Hereford will compete in one of the most competitive regional fields alongside Towson and UCBAC powerhouses Bel Air, C. Milton Wright and Edgewood.

Bayside Championships

Kent Island's Finn Walsh (left) broke a Cambridge-South Dorchester course record held by three-time 1A state champion Ty Franks. (Photo by Craig Amoss)

Boys

Kent Island junior Finn Walsh made history on Wednesday as he broke Ty Franks' five-year-old course record at Cambridge-South Dorchester. Walsh's 15:28 three mile time is a personal best and currently ranks eighth in the state (second among 2A runners behind Oakdale's Kyle Lund). Meanwhile North Caroline's William Christophel finished second in 16:12, followed by Cambridge-South Dorchester sophomore John Condon. Condon's 16:19 time ranks fourth in the state among 1A runners and eighth among sophomores this year.

The Kent Island boys, behind Walsh and fellow junior Isaiah Schulties, extended their Bayside winning streak on Wednesday. It wasn't a walk in the park, however, as Cambridge-South Dorchester put four runners between the Bucs' fourth and fifth runners. Kent Island will go up against Fallston and Harford Tech at the 2A East regionals. Meanwhile, the Vikings will likely be favorites heading into the 1A East regionals which features mostly Bayside schools. Wednesday's impressive show of depth on their home course tabs them as contenders for a state trophy this year.

Girls

Kent Island was far more dominant in the girls race. Senior Charlotte Kratovil-Lavelle was the runaway winner in 19:17 (fourth-fastest among 2A runners) and was followed by freshmen Sarah van Ornum and Reese Delp to round out a 1-2-3 sweep for the Bucs. They may need to tighten up their 2:48 1-5 split going forward into regionals and states, but they are well set up for the postseason; they rank fourth among 2A teams by three mile team scores. Meanwhile, defending 1A state champion Sarah Condon finished fourth in 20:11, the third-fastest 1A time in the state.

Carroll County Championships

At this point in the season, Grace Siehler has to be considered the favorite for the 2A state title. (Photo by John Roemer)

Boys

The Liberty boys continue to be the class of Carroll County; with six of the top 11 runners, they scored just 27 points on their way to the county team title. Senior Woodrow Kashima led the way, beating out Century's Hayden Hebert by two seconds for the individual title. It was a matchup between three runners - Kashima, Hebert and South Carroll's John Kettula, who finished third - who will see each other again at both regionals and states going forward.

The Lions get another crack at the Oakdale boys on Halloween at the 2A West regionals. Last year, Oakdale took down Liberty by way of a sixth-runner tiebreaker; a tiebreaker that itself was decided by just one place. Of course, Liberty would rebound to capture their fourth straight 2A state title a week later. How will things play out this time? The last time they met, Oakdale won handily on Liberty's home course at the Crossfire Invitational.

Girls

South Carroll's Grace Siehler continued her winning ways at her home course on Thursday. Siehler still has just one loss on the season, a runner-up effort in the small school race at Bull Run. Going forward she will be the runner to beat at both regionals and states. Winters Mills' Kathryn Hopkins was Thursday's runner-up while Rubie Goffena rounded out the top three.

None of those top three runners led their team to a county title, however. Instead, it was the Liberty girls - who went four through seven - who came out on top. Among 2A teams, no teams have a better 1-4 group of runners. Senior Christian Lemaster was the team's fifth runner on Thursday and her tenth-place finish was more than enough for the Lions to take the team title. They will get their biggest test of the year on Halloween when they go up against fellow 2A contenders from South Carroll and Middletown.

CMC Championships

Kyle Lund and the Oakdale boys have made strong cases as the runner and team to beat in 2A this fall. (Photo by Craig Amoss)

Boys

Oakdale's Kyle Lund won his second consecutive CMC title in a Bull Run rematch with Williamsport's Zane Chalker. His 15:25 three-mile performance leads all 2A runners this year and further cemented his status as the runner to beat at the state meet this year. Meanwhile Chalker's performance was another in an impressive breakout season for the senior, one which seems more and more likely to end in an individual state title.

Another strong performance from the Oakdale boys strengthens their case as the team to beat in 2A, even with the four-time defending champions from Liberty having another good year. We'll know more after the two teams face off at regionals in a week. Meanwhile, Williamsport's second-place finish - with all five runners coming in at 17:32 or better - helps bolster their case as a potential top-25 team in the state. This is not just a small-school wonder.

Girls

Erin McQuitty just keeps on rolling as the top runner for Middletown. Without her the Knights wouldn't have a shot at taking down 2A rivals South Carroll or Liberty, but with the state's top public-school freshman leading the way, they will have a shot next week at 2A West. Meanwhile the Urbana girls dominated the CMC once again winning their third straight title behind senior Sara Jarman, the individual runner-up. However, it was a pair of freshmen - Ivy Coldren and Lula Masters - who finished fifth and seventh, respectively, as well as second and third on the team. Their emergence this year has helped keep Urbana steadily within the top 15 teams on our weekly team rankings and one that could compete for a top-five spot at the 4A state meet.

Table of Champions