We unveil our all-Anne Arundel County team of the decade (2010-11 through 2019-20).
Boys Runner of the Decade: Ryan Forsyth (Severna Park High School, Class of 2014)
Photo by Tom Veazey
Personal Bests: 16:27 3M, 15:12 5K
Medals: 1 county, 1 region, 1 state
Forsyth became the first true face of a Severna Park dynasty that won six state titles this decade and finished in the top two in all but one season (2010, Forsyth's freshman year). After running 9:50 in the 3200 as a freshman he got his first taste of true varsity racing in 2011, finishing fifth at the county meet and tenth at the state meet, helping the Falcons to a surprising second-place finish. Forsyth and the Falcons reached a new level in 2012. He led Severna Park at the Bull Run Invite, taking down the four-time defending state champions from Walter Johnson. Forsyth finished second and third, respectively, at the county and regional meets, where Severna Park won handily. His performance at the state meet was one of the more legendary moments of the decade; after losing his shoe at the very beginning of the race, Forsyth charged ahead, eventually finishing second and leading Severna Park to the school's first ever state title. As seniors Forsyth and teammate Rhys Burgett were nearly unstoppable; Forsyth easily swept the county, region and state titles, as did the team. Forsyth beat the 2A champion Chase Weaverling, 3A champion Ben Freed and Foot Locker Nationals qualifier Tai Dinger at the Battle of the Potomac the weekend between states and Thanksgiving. The cherry on top of Forsyth's high school cross country career was a seventh-place finish at NXR Southeast, leading the Falcons to a runner-up finish and NXN berth. In Oregon, Forsyth finished 52nd to round out his career as Severna Park (the only team this decade to qualify for NXN, which they did twice in 2013 and 2014) placed 13th.
Forsyth's time of 15:41 at McDaniel College (the site of the 2013 state meet, as well as past conference, county and regional championships) ranks as the fastest time of the decade, edging Chase Weaverling's 15:42 effort (also from the 2013 state meet). His 15:12 mark is the third-fastest of the decade by a Maryland runner at NXR Southeast, and only two runners (Eldad Mulugeta and Matt Jablosnki) finished higher than Forsyth did at Nike Cross Nationals. His 16:14 time at Smokey Glen Farm (site of the Battle of the Potomac) is 20 seconds faster than any other Maryland runner this decade.
College: University of Colorado
Personal Bests: 14:55 5K, 23:14 8K, 24:13 5M, 29:21 10K
Forsyth was a standout at the University of Colorado, where he was a three-time top-ten finisher at the PAC-12 Conference championships and three-time NCAA DI National qualifier. As a senior in 2018 Forsyth finished 11th at nationals, setting a college XC 10K personal best in the process.
Nick Boogades (South River High School, Class of 2017)
Photo by Craig Amoss
Personal Bests: 15:32 3M, 15:59 5K
Medals: 1 county, 2 region
Boogades did not run track at South River until his sophomore season and did not come out for cross country until he was a junior in the fall of 2015. He took to the sport quickly, running 16:34 in his first meet on his home course at the Seahawk Invitational. After not having finished higher than fifth at any race heading into counties, Boogades placed second, breaking up Severna Park's front pack and helping lead the Seahawks to a second-place team finish. He took advantage of the Falcons not running Joshua Tucker or Andrew Forsyth at regionals, winning his first major title by a large margin (16 seconds) on Arundel's challenging home course. He kicked off his senior season with a seventh-place finish at the Seahawk Invitational, which would be his lowest finish of the season. He won titles at the Hood College and Chaptico invitationals, then a county title (his only sub-16 5K performance) and a second consecutive regional title. He wrapped up his senior season on the course with a third-place finish at the state meet, which was the highest by a South River runner in over 20 years until Sam Keeny won the 2019 title.
Boogades' 15:32 three-mile time is the eighth-fastest by a county athlete this decade. He and Keeny are the only two-time 4A East champions during the 2010s. Boogades is one of just two county runners this decade to finish in the top two multiple times at both counties and regionals.
College: University of Tennessee
Personal Bests: 19:12 6K, 26:12 8K
At the University of Tennessee Boogades ran an 8K personal best of 26:12 at the 2018 UAB Blazer Classic.
Hale Bullen (Annapolis High School, Class of 2013)
Photo by Steve Lee
Personal Bests: 16:13 3M, 16:13 5K
Medals: 1 county, 1 region, 1 state
Bullen began to make headway into the upper ranks of Anne Arundel County as a sophomore in the fall of 2010. That year he finished fourth at the county championships, then 23rd at the 4A state meet (where he ran a minute faster at Hereford than he did earlier in the year at Bull Run). As a junior, Bullen rose to second place at both the county and 3A East regional meet, then finished ninth at the 3A state meet (only Chesapeake's Alex Love ran faster among Anne Arundel County runners at the 2011 state championships). He opened his senior season by winning his first major race, the Howard County Invitational, and continued that success throughout the season. He won the county title by 20 seconds that year and beat Howard's Daniel Rau by 12 seconds at the 3A East regional. Bullen was part of one of the better state meet races of the decade at the 2012 state meet when he outlasted Rau and Hereford's duo of Jon Luckin and Gabriel Rivera to grab the 3A title.
Bullen's 16:19 time from the 2012 3A state meet was the fastest by a county runner at the old Hereford course between 2010-12; since 2005, only Broadneck's Matthew Centrowitz ran faster. Bullen and Nick Boogades are the only two county athletes to have finished in the top two more than once at both counties and regionals.
College: U.S. Naval Academy
Personal Bests: 24:29 8K, 24:38 5M, 31:09 10K
Bullen ran his 8K and 10K personal bests in the fall of 2014 at Navy; he finished 14th at the Patriot League Championships and 39th at the NCAA DI Mid-Atlantic regionals. He improved to third at the Patriot League Championships in the fall of 2015 and turned in a similar finish (41st) at the regional meet.
Rhys Burgett (Severna Park High School, Class of 2014)
Photo by Jeff George
Personal Bests: 16:58 3M, 15:31 5K
Medals: none
Had it not been for his teammate, Ryan Forsyth, Burgett would likely have more to show for his outstanding career in the "medals" department. He finished between 10th and 12th five different times as a sophomore in 2011 (including counties and regionals) and medaled at the 4A state meet. In 2012 he cracked into the top ten at the Anne Arundel County championships, finished tenth at the state meet as an important scorer on the school's first-ever state championship squad, and set what was then a 5K personal best of 16:16 at NXR Southeast. Burgett and Forsyth were the state's top duo as seniors in 2013; Burgett finished no lower than seventh at any race, often times tagging along right behind Forsyth (such as at the Spiked Shoe Invitational and county meet). He was one of just four boys across all four classifications to break 16 minutes at the 2013 state championships at McDaniel, good for third place in the 4A race. He was also the team's second finisher at both NXR Southeast (15th) and NXN (81st) to round out his career with the Falcons.
Burgett's 15th-place finish at NXR Southeast in 2013 is also the 15th-best (and 15th-fastest) finish by a Maryland runner this decade at the meet. His 16:04 time at NXN in 2013 is the fifth-fastest at the meet by a Maryland runner during the decade.
College: University of Maryland - Baltimore County
Personal Bests: 15:47 5K, 25:25 8K, 32:58 10K
Burgett ran his 25:25 8K personal best for UMBC at the 2015 Princeton Invitational. He competed twice at the America East Conference championships, finishing 38th in 2016, and twice at the NCAA DI Mid-Atlantic regionals, finishing 125th in 2015.
Garrison Clark (Severna Park High School, Class of 2019)
Photo by John Roemer
Personal Bests: 15:03 3M, 15:05 5K
Medals: 2 county, 1 region
During Clark's first two years at Severna Park, they did something they have grown accustomed to not doing: they finished second at the state meet. Clark's seventh-place finish at the state meet as a sophomore in 2016 was not enough as Dulaney defended their title by one point. However, Clark's blossoming into one of the best runners of the decade coincided (not so coincidentally) with Severna Park's rise back to the top of the state podium. His sixth-place finish to open the 2017 season would easily be his lowest finish through the state meet; he broke 16 minutes at the Barnhart Invitational, then smashed that by running 15:24 to win the county title. He also won the regional title and finished second at the state championships, leading the Falcons back to the top of the team standings. Clark's true emergence in the state spotlight came at NXR Southeast, where he ran 15:12, finishing seventh and earning an individual berth at NXN. To kick off his senior season Clark won at Seahawk and Bull Run, then clocked a state-leading 15:05 5K at Great American. Clark repeated as county champion, but an injury forced him to miss the regional meet. He returned to lead the Falcons at states (fourth) and NXR Southeast (14th) but was clearly not in the form that allowed him to run 15:05 earlier in the season, perhaps robbing him of a chance at runner of the decade honors.
Clark's 15:05 performance at the 2018 Great American XC Festival was the fastest time by a county runner this decade, as only Sam Keeny came within five seconds. Only Tanner Piotrowski ran a faster three-mile time than Clark, who ran 15:03 as a junior in 2017. His seventh-place finish at NXR Southeast tied Ryan Forsyth for the top finish by a county runner at the meet during the 2010s, and only six other boys across the state matched a finish that high this decade. Only Forsyth, Matt Jablonski and Eldad Mulugeta finished higher than Clark did at NXN (54th) and he was the only non-senior to qualify individually this decade.
College: U.S. Naval Academy
Personal Bests: 15:53 5K, 25:00 8K
In his freshman year at Navy, Clark ran a 25:00 personal best at the Paul Short Run and finished 30th at the Patriot League Championships.
Sam Keeny (South River High School, Class of 2020)
Photo by Dan Loughlin
Personal Bests: 15:10 3M, 15:07 5K
Medals: 2 region, 1 state
Keeny was a freshman at South River in the fall of 2016 when fellow all-decade member Nick Boogades was a senior. As a freshman Keeny medaled at regionals and states; he was the second-fastest freshman at the 4A state meet and helped the Seahawks finish third, their highest placing in school history. From there Keeny went nowhere but up. He finished third or better three times as a sophomore (including counties) and sixth at the state meet. Keeny broke 16 minutes for the first time at the 2018 Anne Arundel County Championships (where he finished third), then took advantage of Garrison Clark's absence at regionals and won his first major cross country race. He began his senior season with three consecutive runner-up finishes, including the Bull Run Invitational and the Anne Arundel County championships. His lowest finish was perhaps his best performance, when he clocked a state-leading 15:07 5K at the Great American XC Festival. He defended his 4A East title in a dramatic, come-from-behind fashion in muddy conditions, edging Severna Park's Jake Gelfand. After finishing fifth and third at states as a sophomore and junior, respectively, Keeny finally had his time to shine as a senior. Keeny shattered the post-2013 Hereford course record, one that had stood since the course's inaugural season in 2014, by seven seconds to win the 4A title.
Keeny is the only boy to have run under 15:40 at the post-2013 Hereford course. Despite having never won a county title, he is the only Anne Arundel County boy to have finished in the single digits at the state meet three separate times, and the only Anne Arundel County freshman to have finished in the top 20 at the state meet this decade. His 15:07.70 5K personal best is the third-fastest by a Maryland runner this decade behind Dalton Hengst and Garrison Clark.
Tanner Piotrowski (Arundel High School, Class of 2020)
Photo by Matthew Hazdic
Personal Bests: 15:01 3M, 15:21 5K
Medals: 1 county
Piotrowski first hinted at his potential as a sophomore in the fall of 2017, when he finished in the top 15 at both counties and regionals and 38th at the 4A state meet. As a junior, Piotrowski and teammate Jacob Molina went back and forth leading the Wildcats. Piotrowski turned in top-five finishes at almost every race he ran, including the large school races at the Bull Run and Frank Keyser invitationals, as well as both the county and regional championships. His 11th-place finish at the 2018 state championships was the highest by an Arundel runner in 20 years. After winning an indoor state title in the 800 meters, Piotrowski emerged in 2019 as one of the state's leading distance runners. His senior season resumé included wins at the Howard County and Bull Run invitationals and a 15:02 three mile performance at Frank Keyser. He ran even faster in a downpour at the county meet where he gapped Sam Keeny by nearly ten seconds in the final mile. After a subpar regional performance, Piotrowski ran strong as the 4A state meet, finishing second (behind Keeny) and nearly dipping below the post-2013 course record himself. He finished his cross country career with a tenth-place finish at NXR Southeast, the highest by any Maryland runner in the race (in a field that included Keeny and Howard County runner of the decade Anish Nanjappa).
Piotrowski's 15:01 three-mile time is the seventh fastest by a Maryland runner this decade, and his 15:21 5K time is the 13th-fastest. His 15:42.44 time from the state meet ranks fourth on the post-2013 Hereford course behind Keeny, Nick Fransham and David Eisenhauer. His 15:25 time from the Howard County invitational ranks second on Centennial's three-mile course, which has been active since 2015 (it was a course record until Anish Nanjappa ran 15:21 at the county championships in October).
All-County Second Team:
Andrew Forsyth (Severna Park High School, Class of 2016)
Jake Gelfand (Severna Park High School, Class of 2021)
Kevin Hines (Severna Park High School, Class of 2015)
Brent Musselman (South River High School, Class of 2014)
Jimmy Shipley (Severna Park High School, Class of 2013)
Carson Sloat (Severna Park High School, Class of 2021)
Joshua Tucker (Severna Park High School, Class of 2016)
Table of Champions:
2010 (Arundel HS): Cody Vernon (Old Mill) - 16:57
2011: Sam Pershall (Severna Park) - 16:31
2012: Hale Bullen (Annapolis) - 16:29
2013 (Annapolis HS): Ryan Forsyth (South River) - 16:06
2014 (South River HS 5K): Kevin Hines (Severna Park) - 16:07
2015 (Chesapeake HS): Joshua Tucker (Severna Park) - 15:47
2016: Nick Boogades (South River) - 15:59
2017: Garrison Clark (Severna Park) - 15:24
2018 (Kinder Park): Garrison Clark (Severna Park) - 15:34
2019 (South River HS 3M): Tanner Piotrowski (Arundel) - 15:01
Girls Runner of the Decade: Maria Coffin (Annapolis High School, Class of 2017)
Photo by Melissa Rose
Personal Bests: 17:10 3M, 17:23 5K
Medals: 3 county, 3 region, 2 state
The mid-to-late 2010s is one of the true peaks of girls distance running in Maryland state history, and perhaps no runner has shone brighter and for a longer stretch than Maria Coffin. As a freshman in 2013 she finished just one spot outside the top 25 at the state meet; it would be the last time she would ever finish outside the top three in a race on Maryland soil. As a sophomore she won her first of three county and regional titles and placed second at the state meet behind Nora McUmber, dropping 66 seconds from her time at Hereford earlier in the year at Bull Run. She also finished 34th at Foot Locker Northeast that year, which was easily her lowest finish at the race in her career. Coffin didn't lose a single in-state race as a junior in 2015, setting what was then a Hereford post-2013 course record at Bull Run, running 14:21 at the Manhattan Invitational (seventh in the Eastern States championship race) and sweeping counties, regionals and states. She returned to Van Cortlandt Park in November and placed third at the Foot Locker Northeast regional, becoming the first Maryland girl to qualify for Foot Locker Nationals since 2011 (she finished 27th). After adding three more state titles on the track as a junior, Coffin returned better than ever in 2016. She did lose an in-state race as a senior (second at Frank Keyser behind Lake Braddock's Kate Murphy) but she also improved her Manhattan Invitational finish (fourth place) and easily won her third straight county and regional titles. The 2016 state race will go down as one of the best in history; Coffin held off Walter Johnson's Abigail Green as both girls became the first two runners to break 18 minutes on the new Hereford course. Later that month Coffin was one of four Maryland girls to finish in the top ten at Foot Locker Northeast (she led them all with a third-place finish) and went on to finish tenth at Foot Locker Nationals.
Coffin's 17:49 time at Hereford still stands as the post-2013 Hereford course record, although Walter Johnson's Jenna Goldberg came close this year. Her 14:21.50 performance at the Manhattan Invitational is the second-best by a Maryland runner this decade, only one tenth of a second behind Abigail Green's 2016 time. No Maryland runner this decade has finished higher than Coffin did at Foot Locker Northeast, and Hayley Jackson is the only other Maryland runner (pending this year's race) to finish in the top ten at the national championship. Both her three mile and 5K personal bests rank among the top two performances by a Maryland girl this decade.
College: Providence College
Personal Bests: 17:21 5K, 20:22 6K
Coffin has improved her finish in each of her three Big East Championship races, including a fourth-place finish this past fall. She has done the same at the NCAA DI Northeast Regional, where she ran a 6K personal best this fall en route to a 32nd-place finish. Coffin competed once at the NCAA DI National Championships as a freshman.
Anna Coffin (Annapolis High School, Class of 2019)
Photo by John Roemer
Personal Bests: 17:44 3M, 17:56 5K
Medals: 2 county
Coffin carried on her sister's legacy at the Anne Arundel County championships; by winning in 2017 and 2018 she made it five straight seasons in which the family won the county title, and six times this decade an Annapolis girl won the title. As a freshman in 2015 Coffin actually finished higher at states (23rd) than her sister did as a freshman, and the pair went 1-2 at the 2016 county championships. Anna also finished fourth at the state meet that year, clocking the fastest sophomore time of the day. As a junior, she picked up wins at the Arundel, Chesapeake and Frank Keyser invitationals and also broke 18 minutes in the 5K for the first time at that year's county meet. She finished that season with second-place finishes at both the 4A East regional and 4A state championships. Coffin began her senior year on a roll, winning the large school race at Bull Run and defending her Frank Keyser Invitational and Anne Arundel County titles. She finished her career with a third-place finish at the 4A state championships, the third year in a row she finished fourth or higher.
Her 17:44 three-mile performance ranks as the 11th-fastest three mile time of the decade in Maryland, and second to only her sister among county runners. The Coffins are the only two runners this decade to win multiple Anne Arundel County titles as well. She currently sits 16th on the post-2013 Hereford course leaderboard after running 18:56 at the 2017 state championship.
College: University of Maryland
Personal Bests: 18:13 5K, 22:11 6K
In her first season at the University of Maryland, Coffin finished in the top 100 at the Big Ten Championships and placed 106th at the NCAA DI Mid-Atlantic Regionals.
Allysa Combs (Severna Park High School, Class of 2020)
Photo by Mike Piotrowski
Personal Bests: 18:33 3M, 19:00 5K
Medals: none
Combs began her career at Archbishop Spalding High School where she twice finished within the top five at the IAAM Championships. She arrived at Severna Park as a junior in 2018 and immediately became an important contributor on a rapidly improving-Falcons team. She was the team's highest finisher when they handily won the elite race at the Bull Run Invitational as well as at the Great American XC Festival where she ran 19:21. She set a 5K personal best at the county championships where she finished fifth (again the team's highest finisher), and after a dropping to ninth at regionals, she rebounded with her best race of the season at states. Combs finished fourth and the Falcons won their first state title since 2009. She finished her junior season by placing 38th at NXR Southeast. As a senior, Combs turned in plenty of top-ten performances throughout the fall, including an eighth-place finish at Frank Keyser where Severna Park nearly took down Howard. She finished fifth once again at the county meet, and, as was the case in 2018, she rebounded from a poor regional race and finished fifth at the state meet. She finished her high school cross country career with a 19:07 performance in the rain at this year's NXR Southeast.
Combs' 19:16 time on the post-2013 Hereford course ranks sixth by an Anne Arundel County runner. She is one of only four Anne Arundel County girls this decade with multiple top-five state meet finishes, even though she only had two years to do so.
Kamryn Eveleth (Severna Park High School, Class of 2019)
Photo by Craig Amoss
Personal Bests: 17:48 3M, 18:07 5K
Medals: none
Eevelth was an immediate star for the Severna Park girls as a freshman in the fall of 2015. Starting in the large school race at Bull Run she finished in the top four in five straight meets, including counties (third) and regionals (fourth). Her 17th-place finish at states that year would be her lowest finish in any race on Maryland grounds until her senior year. As a sophomore she picked up her first major win at the Gunpowder Invitational and went on to finish among the top five at counties, regionals and states. She rounded out her sophomore year by cracking 19 minutes at NXR Southeast. In the fall of 2017 she finished in the top ten in every race she ran through the state meet. That season Eveleth also set personal bests in both the three mile (17:48 at Frank Keyser) and 5K (18:07 at counties), both third place finishes. In fact she finished third at all three championship races. Her third-place finish at the state meet was enough to lead the Falcons back to the state podium for the first time since 2009, as they placed second behind Walt Whitman. While Eveleth did not quite reach those same heights as a senior, she did play a key role on arguably the best Anne Arundel County team of the decade as the 2018 squad won both regional and state titles (she was the team's second finisher in both races). Her last race on the course for the Falcons was a 19:49 effort at the 2018 NXR Southeast race.
Eveleth's 17th-place finish at states as a freshman is the fourth-highest by a county runner this decade. Along with Allysa Combs and the Coffin sisters she is one of four county runners with multiple top-five finishes at the state meet. Her 18:07 5K personal best ranks fourth among Anne Arundel County runners this decade. Eveleth and the Coffin sisters are the only county runners to have gone under 19 minutes on the post-2013 Hereford course.
Natalia Jacobo (Broadneck High School, Class of 2017)
Photo by Debbi Persinger
Personal Bests: 19:37 3M, 18:50 5K
Medals: none
As a freshman Jacobo finished 52nd at the 4A state championships, the seventh-fastest freshman in the race. Jacobo then jumped to another level during her sophomore year in the fall of 2014; she was the runner-up at the Anne Arundel County championships behind fellow sophomore Maria Coffin, and she improved to 18th at the state meet. She capped off her sophomore season with her first sub-19 5K at NXR Southeast. As a junior she won her first major XC race at the 2015 Track and Trail Invitational, set a 5K personal best at the Gunpowder Invitational and never finished lower than seventh in any race leading into the state meet. It was in the fall of 2015 she registered her top finishes at all three championship meets (second at counties, third at regionals and ninth at states). She also improved her finish at NXR Southeast, from 76th as a sophomore to 68th as a junior. Jacobo was still one of the county's top runners as a senior in 2016; she finished in the top three at the county championships for the third consecutive year - the Coffin sisters are the only other runners to have done so during the 2010s. She also finished in the top five at regionals for the third straight year, and placed 11th at the 4A state meet. Jacobo ran 19:35, good for 92nd place, at the 2016 NXR Southeast meet to round out her cross country career.
Jacobo's 18:50 5K personal best ties Niya Torres for the seventh-fastest 5K time of the decade by an Anne Arundel County girl. Her 19:37 time from the 2015 Bull Run Invitational also ranks her eighth among county runners on the post-2013 Hereford course.
Bronwyn Patterson (South River High School, Class of 2021)
Photo by Craig Amoss
Personal Bests: 17:59 3M, 18:45 5K
Medals: 1 state
Patterson enjoyed one of the most successful freshman seasons by a county runner this decade in the fall of 2017. Her season included top ten finishes at the Hood College and Spiked Shoe invitationals along with an 18:38 three mile performance at Frank Keyer that led all freshman runners in Maryland that year (no other girl broke 19 minutes). Her 18:58 time at the Anne Arundel County championships also ranked as the second-fastest freshman mark in the state behind Leonardtown's Nelle Ray. After finishing ninth at the 4A East regionals she closed out her freshman cross country campaign with an 11th-place finish at states - only Broadneck's Mollie Fenn has finished higher as a freshman among county runners this decade. Patterson came into 2018 an even better runner - her fifth-place finish at the Seahawk Invitational to open the year was her lowest finish through states. She captured her first win in the elite section of the Bull Run Invitational, but finished second at the county meet behind Anna Coffin and third at regionals. Despite the win at Bull Run earlier in the year she was not the favorite entering the state meet, but she pulled away from the field over the course of the final 600 meters to earn her first state title. Patterson finished the year by finishing 24th at NXR Southeast where she ran 18:45, tying her personal best mark from the county meet. She did not compete in 2019.
Patterson and Maria Coffin are the only Anne Arundel County girls to win XC state titles during the 2010s. She is also the only 4A state champion this decade to have never finished in the top two at regionals (B-CC's Caroline Beakes finished second at the 4A West regional in 2012 before she won states, while every other 4A state champion won at least one regional title). She is one of just four Anne Arundel County runners to have broken 18 minutes in the three mile, and her performance at states ranks her fourth among county runners on the post-2013 Hereford course.
Niya Torres (Arundel High School, Class of 2020)
Photo by Mike Piotrowski
Personal Bests: 18:20 3M, 18:50 5K
Medals: 1 county
Unlike most of the other runners on this list, Torres made the cut on the strength of one particularly strong season as a senior. Entering the 2019 season she had only run under 22 minutes in the 5K once and had qualified for states just once, finishing 67th as a junior. However, her first race as a senior - finishing fifth at the Seahawk Invitational - proved that she had taken a major leap forward. Torres won her first two major XC races at the Howard County and Bull Run invitationals, as well as the Arundel Invitational on her home course. She impressively beat a strong field at the county championships, finishing just seven seconds off the three mile personal best she had set at Frank Keyser despite a steady downpour throughout the entire race. Torres then went back-and-forth with Howard's Amanda Eliker, losing to her at the 4A East regional race but coming back to beat her and grab third place at the state meet. She is one of just four Anne Arundel County girls to have finished third or higher at the state meet along with Kamryn Eveleth and the Coffin sisters.
Her 19:08 time from the state meet ranks fifth among county runners on the post-2013 Hereford course. Torres is one of just seven girls (and one of just two outside of Howard County, along with Claudia Wendt) to run under 19 minutes on the Centennial High School three mile course. Her 18:50 5K personal best is tied with Natalia Jacobo for seventh-fastest by a county runner this decade.
All-County Second Team:
Carly Bunting (South River High School, Class of 2014)
Katie Ericson (Annapolis High School, Class of 2020)
Mollie Fenn (Broadneck High School, Class of 2022)
Ashley Hayes (Severna Park High School, Class of 2013)
Anna Janke (Broadneck High School, Class of 2018)
Olivia Janke (Broadneck High School, Class of 2020)
Reilly Wagner (South River High School, Class of 2015)
Table of Champions:
2010 (Arundel HS): Stephanie Crane (Broadneck) - 21:01
2011: Ashley Hayes (Severna Park) - 19:59
2012: Sarah Sykora (Annapolis) - 20:26
2013 (Annapolis HS): Carly Bunting (South River) - 20:01
2014 (South River HS 5K): Maria Coffin (Annapolis) - 18:16
2015 (Chesapeake HS): Maria Coffin (Annapolis) - 17:36
2016: Maria Coffin (Annapolis) - 17:25
2017: Anna Coffin (Annapolis) - 17:56
2018 (Kinder Park): Anna Coffin (Annapolis) - 18:36
2019 (South River HS 3M): Niya Torres (Arundel) - 18:27