After an unexpected victory at the 3A South regional championships, is Great Mills' Cooper Brotherton more than a dark-horse state title contender? (Photo by Keeley Olson)
3A North Regional (Results - Photos - Videos)
Boys
In a matchup of potential 3A contenders, senior Caleb Zylka kept his winning streak rolling as he beat Towson's Peter Sorensen by 22 seconds last Thursday. Zylka's third consecutive win reaffirms his status as Anish Nanjappa's top challenger at this week's 3A state meet. Meanwhile the Wright boys won the rematch of last year's tight 3A North battle with Towson by going 4-5-6-8 led by freshman Ashton Tolson. The UCBAC and regional champions, along with Towson, North Point and Centennial will all be battling for at least a top-two spot at Hereford on Saturday. A large point differential separated the fourth (Hereford) and fifth - and final state meet qualifying - spot in the team scores, which was grabbed by Aberdeen.
Girls
Mackenzie Morrison and the Bel Air girls continued their march to a potential 3A state title with another win at 3A North. Morrison won her first XC regional title, beating Wright's Lindsay Perry by 17 seconds in the rain at Dulaney. The Bobcats beat Towson by ten points with four runners finishing in the top 13. The absence of junior Caroline Benda dropped the Hereford girls to 82 points, although even with Benda they would not have beaten the Generals for second place. Wright and Edgewood came in just behind Hereford in fourth and fifth, respectively, and all five teams are good enough to at least finish in the top ten this weekend. The Baltimore Poly girls grabbed the sixth and final state meet spot.
3A South Regional (Results - Photos)
Boys
In a rematch of the two teams that were separated only by a sixth-runner tiebreaker at the SMAC Championships, the North Point boys put some distance between themselves and Chopticon to win the 3A South title. Senior DeVion Bryant was a major key; after spending most of the season as the team's #2 runner behind junior Joshua Doughty, Bryant won Thursday's meet (as Doughty finished second). It was the first major win of his cross country career, and gives North Point two potential top-five finishers at Saturday's state meet. Three teams fought for the final two state qualifying spots, and - like the SMAC title - it went right down to the slimmest of sixth-runner tiebreakers. Great Mills' Tyler Arends beat James M. Bennett's Harrison Duncan by one second to punch the Hornets' ticket to the state meet.
Girls
Great Mills sophomore Cooper Brotherton kept her excellent sophomore season rolling on Thursday with a surprising victory at 3A South. After a third-place finish at the SMAC Championships, Brotherton beat the conference champion, Oakley Olson, by 13 seconds to win her first regional title. Olson's Patriots got the job done in the team battle as they scored nearly half as many points (35) as the runners-up from Huntingtown (68), setting them up for a rematch with Bel Air as they shoot for their fourth consecutive state title. Great Mills and Chesapeake finished third and fourth, respectively, to extend their seasons.
3A East Regional (Results - Photos - Videos)
Boys
Anish Nanjappa kept his undefeated season alive on Thursday heading into the state meet. An early lead led to a 20-second victory for the River Hill senior who won his second XC regional title. The much bigger surprise was Centennial giving River Hill a true fight for the regional title; the Hawks went 1-6-7, but if it weren't for a five-place advantage between each team's fifth runner, Centennial would have scored a major upset on their home course. One of the biggest questions heading into the state meet will now definitely be whether or not the River Hill boys are as heavy favorites as they have been seemingly the entire season. Just last week, they beat Centennial at the Howard County Championships, scoring just 37 points to the Eagles' 71. The Atholton boys beat Long Reach by 19 points to secure the final spot at the state meet.
Girls
There was no such near-miss for Centennial in the girls' race. While they weren't as closely packed together as they were at the county meet, their 47-second 1-5 spread was still easily the smallest of the race and they handily won their third straight 3A East title. The individual race was, similarly, fairly anti-climactic as Manchester Valley sophomore Rubie Goffena took an early lead and never looked back, picking up her second regional XC title (to go along with the 3A West championship she won last year as a freshman). Westminster edged Mount Hebron by 11 points to grab the final state meet qualifying spot.
3A West Regional (Results)
Boys
Damascus senior Tamrat Snyder ran virtually unopposed last Thursday, winning his first regional XC title by over 50 seconds. The Linganore boys' duo of senior Carson Buck (second) and freshman Cole Williamson (fourth) was too much for the rest of the field to overcome as they won their third straight 3A West title. The James H. Blake boys pulled out a close sixth-place finish over Gov. Thomas Johnson to grab the final spot at Saturday's state meet.
Girls
Thomas Johnson's Jayden Fosburg was a surprising regional champion on Thursday; the victory was the first cross-country victory of her career. It wasn't quite enough to power the Patriots to the state meet, however, as they Fosburg and the Thomas Johnson girls finished 13 points behind North Hagerstown for the fifth and final qualifying spot. Thursday's team battle was one of the best of the day, as well; Linganore edged Frederick by just three points after the teams had traded head-to-head victories at the CMC and Frederick County championships.