Sparrows Point's Mya King won a historic battle in the 55 meter hurdles last season; she was one of three girls who took down the previous 1A state meet record. (Photo by Craig Amoss)
Examining and acknowledging state meet records helps put excellent performances into context. We preview every meet record at the 1A state meet and how likely it is to fall based on the performances from the season to date. Most of the leaders in the events will qualify for the state meet from regionals.
The Key
0 stars - This one might stand for awhile.
1 star - Looks safe for this year.
2 stars - Someone might have an outside shot.
3 stars - There's a decent chance someone challenges it.
4 stars - At least one person has a good shot.
5 stars - It would almost be surprising if it *wasn't* broken.
55 dash
Boys: 6.35 (Anthony Cole, Oakland Mills, 2004) - 1 star
Get used to seeing a lot of Oakland Mills on the 1A boys records. Breakout races in the 55 dash are not uncommon, but a drop from 6.53 (current 1A leader Charles Townsend's season best) to 6.35 would be quite the jump.
Girls: 7.18 (Malia Watkins, Frederick Douglass-PG, 2019) - 4 stars
Could the 1A girls 55 meter dash record be broken for the third consecutive season? It will likely ride on the shoulders of standout Surrattsville sophomore Diamond Richardson, who ran 7.18 (the current record) at the Prince George's County Championships.
300 dash
Boys: 34.14 (Kyle Farmer, Oakland Mills, 2001) - 0 stars
Kyle Farmer christened the PG Sportsplex by running 33.90 (hand-timed) at the first-ever state meet held at the venue. Nearly 20 years later, nobody in any classification has touched his time at the state meet.
Girls: 40.26 (Malia Watkins, Frederick Douglass-PG, 2019) - 2 stars
While Watkins' 55 meter dash record may be in jeopardy, her 300 meter dash record looks to be safe for now. Only one girl, Central's Chandler Ransome, has come within even a second and a half of Watkins' state-record time.
500 dash
Boys: 1:06.38 (Justin McIntyre, Henry E. Lackey, 2019) - 1 star
1:06.38 isn't quite as daunting a performance as some of the other 1-stars on the list, but there also doesn't appear to be a standout in the 1A field, at least heading into regionals: only Central's Temitayo Oluokin (1:08.66 season best) and Largo's Aharon Luster (1:09.00) are within striking distance at the moment.
Girls: 1:16.16 (Sharon Dorsey, Western Tech, 2013) - 1 star
If anyone has a shot at Dorsey's state meet record in the 500 it might be fellow Wolverine Laila Gaynor. The sophomore is one of just two 1A girls who have run under 1:23 along with Catoctin's Emma Strickland.
800 run
Boys: 2:00.11 (Donovan McClellan, Boonsboro, 2019) - 2 stars
Largo's Anthony Hill is far and away the current 1A state leader in the 800 at 2:02.05. That could actually play in his favor if he ends up running alone (and out of traffic) at the state meet.
Girls: 2:20.88 (Sharon Dorsey, Western Tech, 2013) - 2 stars
Catoctin's Emma Strickland is the defending indoor champion and came fairly close last year (2:23.68), as well as being the current 1A leader. Meanwhile, Bohemia Manor's Brooke Walz is the defending outdoor champion and ran 2:18.03 last spring.
1600 run
Boys: 4:28.50 (Izudin Mehmedovic, Oakland Mills, 2002) - 1 star
Kaleb Berhanu leads all 1A boys in the 1600 (4:38.03) and 3200 (10:07.96). He is currently the only 1A boy to have run under 4:50.
Girls: 5:06.36 (Haley Wright, Boonsboro, 2016) - 1 star
Aside from Wright's 5:06 performance in 2016, no other 1A champion has run faster than 5:20.97 over the past decade.
3200 run
Boys: 9:31.42 (David Wilson, Smithsburg, 2010) - 1 star
Since Wilson ran 9:31 at the 2010 state meet, no 1A boy has broken ten minutes. Even if they did, they would still be nearly 30 seconds shy of the record. Not this year.
Girls: 11:24.12 (Abby Culp, Manchester Valley, 2013) - 1 star
While not quite as fast as the boys' 3200 record, only one girl (XC state champion Daylie Younker) has run within even 75 seconds of the state meet record.
55 hurdles
Boys: 7.65 (Aaron Hackett, Largo, 2018) - 4 stars
Crisfield senior Kyle Noll recently lowered his personal best time in the hurdles to 7.68, just a few hundredths off of Hackett's record. Western Tech's Elijah Jarvis (7.80 seconds) isn't far off, either.
Girls: 8.19 (Mya King, Sparrows Point, 2019) - 1 star
Last year was a historically strong field for the 1A girls hurdlers as three seniors (King, McDonough's Alliayah Ottley and Lackey's Taylor Williams) all broke the previous 1A state meet record of 8.49 seconds. The field isn't nearly as strong this year; Largo's Alysha Robinson currently leads all 1A girls at 9.28.
4x200 relay
Boys: 1:31.97 (Carver Vo-Tech, 2011) - 1 star
The field is still without a favorite heading into regionals, with three teams - Surrattsville, Largo and Friendly - bunched between 1:34.23 and 1:34.99. It could make for an exciting close race, but one not likely to set any records.
Girls: 1:44.05 (Henry E. Lackey, 2018) - 1 star
The same three teams as above rank 1-3, respectively, on the 1A girls leaderboard. As with the boys' teams, none of them currently sit within striking distance of the state meet record set by Lackey two years ago.
4x400 relay
Boys: 3:27.97 (Digital Harbor, 2007) - 2 stars
Digital Harbor set both 4x400 meet records on the same day 13 years ago. The Largo boys, with their sprint and mid-distance depth, would at least appear to have an outside shot
Girls: 4:05.00 (Digital Harbor, 2007) - 1 star
The Largo girls also lead the 1A field in the 4x400, but sit further off (by almost 15 seconds) the state meet record.
4x800 relay
Boys: 8:17.10 (Williamsport, 2003) - 1 star
We'll get a better idea of the 4x800 field after regionals, but this year's 1A field doesn't look especially deep as only two teams (Smithsburg at 8:46 and CMIT Academy at 8:58) have gone under nine minutes.
Girls: 9:48.90 (Poolesville, 2004) - 1 star
The Brunswick girls have the distance depth to win the state title in the 4x800, but they would have to run more than 50 seconds faster than their current season best to take on Poolesville's 1A record.
Shot Put
Boys: 55'10.00 (Andrew Long, Oakland Mills, 1998) - 1 star
Three 1A boys have thrown between 48'2 and 49'6.25 this year, which could make for a down-to-the-wire competition, but it's unlikely any of them challenge the 55'10 1A record.
Girls: 41'4.50 (Paige Shirk, Clear Spring, 2009) - 2 stars
The Largo duo of Sade Panton (38'7) and Sierra James (38'3.50) have been far and away the best throwers in 1A this year, and three feet is not an insurmountable (though still not easy) distance to add.
High Jump
Boys: 6'4 (Jason Redmon, Boonsboro, 1991/Nathan Gill, Manchester Valley, 2015) - 3 stars
Both Lake Clifton's Eric Browner and the aforementioned Kyle Noll have cleared 6'2 in the high jump this season, and it only takes one jump for the opportunity to leap into the record books.
Girls: 5'9 (Kathy Messner, Catoctin, 1998) - 0 stars
Messner holds the current state meet record for all classifications. This one's not going down anytime soon.
Pole Vault
Boys: 13'7 (Carter Nave, Allegany, 2017) - 5 stars
The pole vault is the only meet record that looks likely to fall, at least prior to regionals, because of Brunswick's Jackson Tuomey. One of the top vaulters in the state, Tuomey won last year's title and has cleared 14'6 twice so far this year.
Girls: 11'1 (Sasha Smallwood, Pikesville, 2009) - 1 star
Only two girls have cleared eight feet in the pole vault this season, let alone 11.