Photo by Brandon Miles
Any number of slight altercations to the outcome in any event on Tuesday night could have changed the outcome. But instead of focusing on the slightest of changes, we highlight the two Wildcats who led Arundel to an indoor county team title by just a half a point over South River.
Junior Hafis Upshaw, a transfer from Imhotep Charter High School in Philadelphia, immediately found success at his first Anne Arundel County championship meet. First, Upshaw upset top-seeded Camron Winborne (Old Mill) in the 300 meter dash, breaking through the 36-second barrier (his 35.50 performance is a MD 4A #5 time). He then came back and broke another barrier - running a personal best 6.59 - in the 55 meter dash, once again taking down Winborne, who finished as the runner-up in each event. Finally, Upshaw anchored the Wildcats' 4x200 relay to a come-from-behind victory to contribute to his third county title of the evening.
Upshaw's teammate, senior Ali Ilupeju, scored three points of his own by finishing sixth in the 55 meter dash. However, it was in the middle of the track - in the pits, specifically - where he made his best contributions. Ilupeju won both the long and triple jumps on Tuesday, racking up 20 points in the two events alone. He will likely have to wait until the spring to get another chance in the horizontal jumps, but he does lead all 4A boys in the long jump this winter.
We'll recap the rest of the best performances from Tuesday's meet later in the week when we review all of the county and conference championship action from Monday-Friday!