1A/2A East Regional Preview by Eric Baranoski

Teams will converge at "The Jungle" for the 2019 1A/2A East Region Championships hosted by Cambridge-South Dorchester High School.

1A Boys 

Sophomores Cameron Dunne (front) and Berkeley Tisch give Patterson Mill two potential top-five finishers that could help them contend for a top spot at the 1A East regional meet. (Photo by Craig Amoss)

Vying for the 1A boy's regional championship will be two sophomores in Cambridge-South Dorchester's John Condon and Bohemia Manor's Day Leone. Leone, a winner at the Cecil County Invite, finished ninth in 16:09 at the UCBAC Championships this past week. Meanwhile, Condon, running on his home course, crossed the line in 16:19 for third at the Bayside Championships. The two met earlier this year at Bull Run with Leone besting Condon on the state course.

The 1A team championship will be decided between Cambridge-South Dorchester and Bohemia Manor. Bo Manor are the two-time defending 1A East Region Champions, but the course is being run at Cambridge-South Dorchester's home course. CSD just gave Kent Island a run for their money at the Bayside Championships as they finished runners up and put all five of their runners in the top 15. Meanwhile at the UCBAC Championships, Bo Manor finished 6^th in a field loaded with teams from 2A and 3A. Cambridge-South Dorchester won the only head to head matchup this year beating Bo Manor at Bull Run.

1A Girls

Adeline Murray of Havre de Grace has the second-fastest three mile time of any 1A freshmen this year, and be in the mix for a top-ten spot at the 1A East regional meet. (Photo by Craig Amoss)

Sophomore Maya Osborne of Bohemia Manor and senior Sarah Condon of Cambridge-South Dorchester will both be in contention for the girl's 1A East title. Condon, the 2018 1A Maryland state champ will try to claim her first region title. Osborne has been Bo Manor's "low stick" all year long and will look to add a regional title to her resume. At Bull Run in September, Condon bested Osborne in the small school division. Will Osborne take control of the flat course and cruise to a victory or will Condon be victorious running her home course for the final time?

Similarly to the boy's race, the girls team race will be a head to head battle between Bohemia Manor and Cambridge-South Dorchester. Bo Manor are the defending champions after narrowly edging C-SD 33-38 last year. At Bull Run this year, C-SD bested Bo Manor by a mere nine points, which should make for an exciting regional race as both the weather and racing conditions have changed.

2A Boys

Finn Walsh is coming off of a record-setting run at the Bayside Championships. He beat Tikiob and Daly earlier this year at the Spiked Shoe Invitational. (Photo by Craig Amoss)

Probably the most competitive regional race this year is the 2A East region as seven kids realistically have a shot to win the title. Just like in both the 1600m and 3200m races this past track season, Will Tikiob of North Harford, Finn Walsh of Kent Island, William Christophel of North Caroline, Giles Daly of Fallston and the trio from Harford Tech - seniors Daron and Zach Taylor as well as Kevin Baranoski - will look to be crowned regional champ. This race has conference champions, individual race winners, and seven boys who are looking to make a name for themselves in the state of Maryland. Junior Finn Walsh of Kent Island just won the Bayside Championship on the regional course at in 15:28, a course record. Junior Kevin Baranoski of Harford Tech is coming off a second consecutive runner-up performance at the UCBAC Championship as well as a small school Bull Run win. Senior Will Tikiob of North Harford was the 2A East regional champ from last year; he was also last spring's 2A East 3200 champ in a race in which all seven runners competed. Senior William Christophel of North Caroline was the runner up at the Bayside Conference Championship this fall. Senior Daron Taylor of Harford Tech has three top five finishes this year as well as a 2019 2A East title in the 1600, another race in which all seven runners raced. Daron's brother, Senior Zach Taylor of Harford Tech has two top five finishes including a fourth-place finish at the UCBAC Championship this year. Lastly, Senior Giles Daly of Fallston has two top five finishes including a third-place finish at the UCBAC Championships. This race is one of those that may certainly come down to the last 400 meters.

The team race is equally competitive as the individual race as last year's defending champions Harford Tech, last year's runner up Kent Island and last year's third place finisher Fallston will all be in contention for the team title. Fallston, with their tight spread of just 68 seconds at the UCBAC championships, finished second and were just five points away from the title. Harford Tech has a trio that is amongst the best in the state in Baranoski and the Taylor brothers. Those three will lead the Cobras, but the question remains: will the four and five of Harford Tech close the gap? The Bayside Champions Kent Island will look to win the region after losing to Harford Tech by just a point last year. One might think that they will be extra motivated to bring home the hardware this year.

2A Girls

Rising Sun sophomore Heather Horst (left) finished fifth at last year's 2A East regional and has already taken off nearly 30 seconds from her three mile personal best this fall. (Photo by Craig Amoss)

Just like the 2A boys, the 2A girl's race is wide open. Last year's runner up from North Harford, junior Laurel Brown, is back. Kent Island has two freshmen in Sarah van Ornum and Resse Delp who finished second and third respectively at the Bayside Championships. North Caroline's Zoe Durner, a senior, has also put her name in the mix after finishing fifth at the Bayside Conference meet. And how could we forget last year's highest finishing freshman in Heather Horst from Rising Sun? She has improved in her sophomore season finishing as the runner up at the Cecil County Invite as well as posting a top ten finish at the UCBAC Championship.

The team race starts with Kent Island who dominated the Bayside Championships, going 1-2-3 and winning with just 28 points. They are the clear favorite to win the team title. Queen Anne's is also in the mix after finishing as the runner up at the Bayside Championships by placing three runners in the top 15. From the UCBAC, North Harford and Rising Sun should factor in as they had a close race at the UCBAC Championship with North Harford coming away with the head to head victory by just 14 points.

"It pays to run so keep running"

-Eric Baranoski