Finn Walsh set a new course record at The Jungle for the second straight week en route to his first regional title. (Photo by Craig Amoss)
2A North Regional (Results)
Boys
Carver A&T went 1-2 as sophomore Evan Calderon won his first career regional title. A 10:19 two-miler and coming off a 17:09 performance at the Baltimore County Championships Calderon could have a chance at medaling at the 2A state meet next Saturday. The 1-2 finish wasn't enough for Carver A&T, however, as Lansdowne put five runners before Carver's fourth to win the 2A North title. Both Digital Harbor and Carver A&T finished within 12 points of the winners from Lansdowne.
Girls
Carver A&T swept the individual titles on Thursday as junior Guinivere Roberts won the 2A North title by nearly 30 seconds. Sparrows Point's Macy Gerbes was the runner-up; last year's 1A 3200 champion has raced sparingly in her junior cross country season, but still has the ability to challenge for a top-25 spot at the state meet next weekend. The Wildcats were able to take advantage of their low stick in the girls race, beating Digital Harbor by 11 points for the team title.
2A South Regional (Results - Photos)
Boys
Carter Singletary was the runaway winner at Thursday's 2A South regional championship. The Cavaliers aren't the dominant force they have been over the past couple of years, but were still able to comfortably win another 2A South title by putting seven runners in the top 16 (including big contributions from two freshmen, David Rodenhaver and Jack Hartsig). The fifth and final state meet qualifying spot went to Potomac, who edged Henry E. Lackey by 11 points.
Girls
The Calvert girls were even more dominant than their boys team. Kristen Prince, Dana Miller and Emily Mutchler (who went 1-2-3) give the Cavaliers one of the best trios in the state and a team capable of finishing in the top three at next week's state meet. Only four schools fielded full teams, and three (Calvert, Patuxent and La Plata) qualified, although there were a handful of individual qualifiers including the Lackey duo of Annie Landgraf and Kaylee Alvey, who finished fifth and sixth.
2A East Regional (Results - Photos)
Boys
For the second week in a row, Kent Island's Finn Walsh broke the course record at Cambridge-South Dorchester's home course, "The Jungle". His 15:24 effort was three seconds faster than he ran at the Bayside Championships, and it was necessary as Harford Tech's Kevin Baranoski finished close behind in 15:26. Both boys are juniors, too, meaning they could face each other again next year in a 2A East rematch.
The Harford Tech boys closed the gap on Fallston, but it wasn't quite enough. The Cobras went 2-3-6, but Fallston put five runners between Tech's third and fourth finishers to edge them by one point. Both teams will be gunning for a potential podium finish at next week's 2A state meet along with Oakdale and Liberty. Both Elkton and Queen Anne's County grabbed the final spots for the state meet.
Girls
Charlotte Kratovil-Lavelle continued Thursday's pattern of Kent Island runners following up Bayside titles with a 2A East title on the same course. The first-year cross country runner won her third race at The Jungle this year, running her fastest time of the year on the course (she has run 19:30, 19:17 and 19:12 at The Jungle this year). Her 41-second victory brought about as much drama with it as the team battle did, as the Bucs went 1-3-4 (1-2-3 in team scoring) and scored less than half as many points as the runners-up from North Harford. The race for the final state meet spot was tight, as Harford Tech beat Rising Sun by just eight points for the fifth and final position.
2A West Regional (Results)
Boys
Could a new state title favorite have emerged last Thursday evening? Oakland Mills junior Baidy Ba finished just ten seconds behind Anish Nanjappa at the Howard County Championships before beating Kyle Lund and Collin Dempsey at the 2A West regional. Their 2-3 finish was more than enough for the Bears to win their second straight regional title, however, beating Liberty on their home course by 11 points. No other teams were close to the top two teams, who may be the top teams in 2A this year. Three teams were left to battle for the final two spots at the state meet, and Glenelg (169 points) and Poolesville (170) finished 5-6 while Boonsboro (176) just missed out on a ticket to Hereford.
Girls
Grace Siehler continues to roll through 2A this season, winning last Thursday's regional meet by over 30 seconds and only further establishing her status as the runner to beat at next week's state meet. That low stick wouldn't quite be enough for the Cavaliers, however, as Liberty defended their home course and used just a 64-second 1-5 split to win the regional team title. As with the boys' race, there was quite a battle for the final state qualifying spot; and, as with the boys' race, Poolesville punched the sixth and final ticket, this time beating Century by a mere two points.