Kyle Lund's 1:53.45 performance at the 2A West regional meet is the fourth-fastest time in the country. (Photo by Craig Amoss)
January 27: Howard vs. Anne Arundel County
Not only do the Hammond boys have the top 55 meter hurdler in the state in senior Loick Amouzou, but they also have another potential state meet scorer in junior Jadon Ra-Akbar. His 7.85 time at Monday's meet moves him into 15th on the overall Maryland state leaderboard and sixth among what is a strong 3A boys field this year.
January 29: Bayside League Meet #6
Ra-Akbar's time wasn't the top performance of the week in the hurdles, however. That distinction belonged to Crisfield's Kyle Noll, who ran a MD #5 time of 7.68 at the final Bayside league meet on Wednesday. We highlighted Noll's performance as a reason why he should be considered one of the most likely 1A state meet record-breakers. He also cleared 6'2 for the first time all season, tying Lake Clifton's Eric Browner for the top mark in 1A.
February 1: 1A West Regional
Photo by Craig Amoss
He is the runaway favorite to defend his 1A indoor pole vault title, and Brunswick's Jackson Tuomey continues to make his case as the top pole vaulter in the entire state. His 14'9 vault at Saturday's regional meet was a personal best and more than a foot better than the current 1A state meet record of 13'7.
One of the better freshman milers in the state last winter, fellow Railroader Michelle Cincotta won both the 1600 and 800 at Saturday's regional meet. In the latter she beat defending 800 meter indoor state champion Emma Strickland and also took over the top time in 1A (2:26.45, to Strickland's season best of 2:26.51).
In the shot put, Fort Hill's Ryann Bennett raised her season best to 36'1.50, just shy of her 36'7 overall personal best from last spring. She currently ranks third on the 1A leaderboard behind the Largo duo of Sade Panton and Sierra James.
February 1: 2A West Regional
Photo by Craig Amoss
Century senior Tyler Dregely provided a bit of clarity to what was previously a free-for-all field in the 2A boys 500. By running 1:07.25 at the regional meet, he jumped into the top spot on the 2A leaderboard, and only Milford Mill's Marquise Miller has also run sub-1:07.50 this year.
Earlier this week we had highlighted Kyle Lund as one of the likely state meet record-breakers in the boys 800, using his previous season best of 1:55.06 as the proof. If anyone needed some more convincing, Lund provided that - and more - on Saturday, running 1:53.45 at HCC (without spikes, no less!), more than three seconds faster than the current state meet record that he partially owns. It's currently the fourth-fastest time in the country. The Oakdale boys also broke 3:30 in the 4x400, becoming just the second team to do so and setting up a showdown with Milford Mill at states that could also go a long way in deciding the team standings.
South Carroll picked up ten points in the boys pole vault, but it wasn't from senior Patrick Tunkel. Instead, it was sophomore Peyton Thomas clearing the 14-foot mark for the first time, joining his teammate as the only two boys in the 2A field to have done so this season. He is also the only sophomore to have cleared 14 feet this year.
After a surprising victory in the 800 at the Howard County Championships, Glenelg sophomore Kaila Spence seems to be hitting her stride at the right time. She lowered her season best time in the event to 2:23.94 in her win on Saturday, moving into the top ten in the state. Spence also ranks second among sophomores (behind Juliette Whittaker) and 2A runners (behind Nia Warren). The Glenelg girls also won a big showdown with the Oakdale girls as the two teams ran MD 2A #1 and #2 times in the 4x800 relay.
Saturday's girls 3200 featured a bit of an upset, as Winters Mill junior Kathryn Hopkins beat out Middletown freshman Erin McQuitty, who had won her last two 3200 races. The 2A field looks even more interesting when factoring in Hopkins' new season best, as she joins McQuitty and Calvert's Kristen Prince between 11:27 and 11:31.
Both the South Carroll boys and girls figure to rack up plenty of points in the pole vault at the state meet. Junior Zelda Hirsch upped her own personal best to 10'9 in her win on Saturday, tying North Caroline's Sierra Reynolds for the top mark in 2A.
February 1: Private Schools Invitational
Juliette Whittaker's performance in the 1000 was truly special, but Henry Hardart's performance in the boys 1000 did not go unnoticed, either. The Spalding senior ran 2:30.13, the ninth-fastest time in the country as of the weekend. It's the second-fastest time by a Maryland runner since 2010 behind only Dalton Hengst (2:25.30).
Mount St. Joseph senior Teddy Wimberly lowered his own personal best in the 55 meter dash to 6.46 in winning the finals on Saturday. It was his third consecutive sub-6.50 performance and one that bumped him into the top ten in the state.
Two of the top sophomores in the DC area faced off on Saturday in the girls 1600. Stone Ridge's Katherine Strong ran a personal-best 5:11.21 to beat Georgetown Visitation's Lili Grant, clocking the fifth-fastest 1600/mile time in the state in the process. Strong also currently ranks eighth in the state in the 3200, having run 11:18 (also at Georgetown Prep) a week earlier.