Diamond Richardson finished third or better at the state level in three different sprint events as a freshman. (Photo by Craig Amoss)
We continue our indoor preview by highlighting some of the top returning girls individuals in the 1A classification.
*Note: outdoor performances are only taken into consideration if the athlete also participated during indoor track.
Sprints
Angel Davis (Senior, Friendly) - 7.83 55, 43.64 300, 1:23.48 500, 27.35 200, 1:03.43 400
Photo by John Roemer
Davis finished fifth in the 500 meter dash at last year's indoor state meet, and only one of those who finished ahead of her will be back in 1A this year. She spent last spring specializing in the 300 meter hurdles.
Laila Gaynor (Sophomore, Western Tech) - 43.47 300, 1:24.58 500, 26.30 200, 58.72 400, 2:28.53 800
Her 1:24.58 performance in the 500 at the 1A state meet was the tenth-fastest time by any freshman throughout the state last winter. She is coming off a fourth-place finish in the 400 at last spring's state meet, and her 58.72 personal best in the event is second among 1A returners.
Chandler Ransome (Sophomore, Central) - 7.45 55, 41.87 300, 12.57 100, 25.57 200, 58.29 400
Photo by John Roemer
As a freshman last indoor season, Ransome finished sixth at the PG County Championships in the 300 meter dash, then fifth in the 400 at the outdoor meet. Her 41.87 personal best in the 300 is easily the best mark among 1A returners in the event.
Diamond Richardson (Sophomore, Surrattsville) - 7.32 55, 44.23 300, 11.99 100, 24.54 200
Richardson was a fixture at the top of results pages as a freshman. She won county titles in both the 100 and 200 meter dashes in the spring and racked up three separate top-three finishes at the 1A state meet level. Her 7.32 personal best in the 55 meter dash is easily the fastest among all 1A returners.
Elizabeth Willman (Junior, Brunswick) - 1:26.82 500, 59.75 400, 2:42.82
Willman is one of just three 1A returners to have run under 60 seconds in the 400 last spring. She exclusively ran the 500 last winter, finishing eighth at the 1A state meet as a junior, and is coming off her second consecutive top-seven finish at the cross country state championships.
Distance
Logan Bierer (Senior, Pikesville) - 2:55 800, 5:56 1600, 12:45 3200
Photo by John Roemer
Bierer has two runner-up finishes in her XC and track career and four more finishes in third place. One of those runner-up efforts came in the 3200 at last year's 1A indoor state meet. Of the six top girls in last winter's race, one graduated and four will be competing in 2A this year - which leaves Bierer. She is the only girl in 1A who brings back a sub-13:00 time.
Michelle Cincotta (Sophomore, Brunswick) - 2:50 800, 5:39 1600
Cincotta finished third at last year's indoor state meet as a freshman for the Railroaders. Her 5:41 time was one of the top 25 freshman times in the state last winter.
Alison Laverty (Junior, Brunswick) - 3:03 800, 12:40 3200
Laverty's 12:37 personal best from last year's 1A West regional meet ranks second among 1A returners behind only McDonough's Kavina McDonald. Laverty is also coming off her best cross country season yet, which ended with a tenth-place finish at the 1A state meet.
Kavina McDonald (Junior, McDonough) - 2:38 800, 5:46 1600, 12:35 3200
Photo by Craig Amoss
McDonald's 12:35 3200 time from last year's outdoor state meet (where she finished sixth) is the top returning time among 1A girls. She won four regional titles between last indoor and outdoor seasons. She did not run cross country this year so keep an eye out for her name in results early this winter.
Hannah Muir (Senior, Mountain Ridge) - 2:46 800, 5:52 1600, 12:54 3200
This fall was Muir's breakout campaign, as she ran a sub-20 three mile effort at Frank Keyser and placed sixth at the state meet. Muir has not qualified for an indoor or outdoor track state meet in her career, but if her success translates from the course she will be one of the top distance runners in 1A.
Jena Rhodes (Junior, Brunswick) - 2:53 800, 5:41 1600, 7'6 PV
Rhodes qualified for the track state meet for the first time last spring in the 1600. Her 5:41 personal best mark from the regional meet ranks just behind her teammate Cincotta as the fifth-fastest returning time in 1A. Like many of her teammates she is also coming off a successful cross country season, placing fifth at the state meet.
Rebekah Shullenbarger (Junior, Brunswick) - 1:29.16 500, 2:24.22 800
Photo by John Roemer
As a sophomore Shullenbarger finished third in the 800 at both the indoor and outdoor state meets (she also finished third at the outdoor state meet as a freshman in 2018). She is coming off a cross country season during which she finished in the top 16 at the state meet for the third consecutive year.
Emma Strickland (Senior, Catoctin) - 44.01 300, 1:20.04 500, 2:23.68 800, 1:01.16 400, 5:32.01 1600
Strickland runs everything from the 300 to the 1600 and the hurdles, but during the winter she specializes in the middle-distance races - the 500 and 800. She is the defending indoor state champion in the latter (which came not long after finishing third in the 500) and then was the runner-up in the event at the outdoor state meet.
Brooke Walz (Senior, Bohemia Manor) - 2:18.03 800, 5:11.81 1600
Walz, who plays soccer for the Eagles in the fall, won three state titles last year as a junior (indoor 1600, outdoor 800 and 1600). Her returning season bests in the events are both the top marks by any 1A girl and likely make her the preseason favorite for both races on the 1A state level.
Hurdles/Field
Caryn Butler (Sophomore, Surrattsville) - 4'10 HJ
As a freshman last winter, Butler was one of just two underclassman 1A girls to clear 4'10 in the high jump, which earned her fourth place at the PG County Championships.
Savanna Drummer (Junior, Surrattsville) - 35'3 SP
Drummer's 35'3 shot put last spring was third-best among 1A returners (two of those ahead of her, Fort Hill's Ryann Bennett and Key's Elizabeth Mahoney, will be competing in 2A this winter). When factoring in those who graduated and those who moved up to 2A, she has the second-best returning mark in the event from last year's 1A indoor state meet.
Jenna Green (Senior, Mountain Ridge) - 9.35 55H
Green's 9.35 time in the 55 meter hurdles is the fastest mark by a 1A returner by three tenths of a second. Although she didn't qualify for states in the event last winter, she found success in the spring, finishing ninth in the 300 hurdles and 11th in the 100 hurdles at the state championships.
Alysha Robinson (Senior, Largo) - 9.81 55H
Photo by John Roemer
Like Jenna Green, Robinson settled in more with the hurdle events during the spring. She placed seventh at states in the 300 hurdles and eighth (seventh in the prelims) in the 100 hurdles. Robinson and Green are the only two returning 1A girls to have run under 10 seconds in the 55 hurdles.
Sanaya Ross (Senior, Largo) - 5'2 HJ, 16'1.75 LJ, 35'2.25 TJ
Ross cleared 5'2 for the first time at last year's indoor state championships, and it won her the 1A title in the high jump. She finished fourth at the outdoor state meet by clearing 5'0, and she and Endia Scales are the only two returning 1A girls to have reached that mark.
Endia Scales (Senior, Friendly) - 1:28.55 500, 2:58.64 800, 1:02.24 400, 5'4 HJ
Photo by John Roemer
Scales finished fourth at the indoor state meet in the high jump, but she took her game to a completely different level in the spring. Scales won the event at the outdoor state meet by clearing 5'4 for the first time and is the only returning girl in 1A to have cleared that height.