Of the 12 Maryland boys who have thrown 50-plus feet this season, three hail from Towson. (Photos by John Roemer)
Another way of framing this exercise is examining which teams featured the most high-end depth in specific events. It's not perfect - we don't take relays into account (since teams can't have multiple scorers in the event) and there were cases when some of the better athletes in the state didn't qualify for the championships in the event, but it does give a good idea as to which programs had the best scoring groups in specific events.
The criteria? Simply score more than ten points (meaning at least two scorers) in any individual event. Some teams may fall through the cracks by having multiple low-end scorers; the Paint Branch boys scored nine points in the 55 meter hurdles, and the Urbana girls did the same in the high jump. But the spirit of the exercise is to find where teams really racked up a good chunk of their points outside of simply scoring ten points by winning the event.
Boys
1. Towson: 22 points in the boys shot put (1. Damone Moore 2. Cory Gray 5. Jamiel Carlton)
The Generals have had the best shot put group all season and last week the trio of seniors all eclipsed the 50-foot mark at the state meet. It was Moore's first state title after never finishing higher than seventh at states coming into this year, and the three boys accounted for 22 of Towson's 26 points on the evening.
2. Huntingtown: 16 points in the boys 55 meter dash (1. Anthony Smith 3. Ky'Ree Kirkman)
Anthony Smith was the star of the evening for Huntingtown, and fellow senior Ky'Ree Kirkman chipped in six more points of his own by finishing third in the finals of the 55 meter dash. Supplemental performances like Kirkman's were a big reason why the Hurricanes won their first-ever indoor state title by eight points over North Point.
Girls
1. Hereford: 23 points in the girls pole vault (1. Elizabeth Schriver 2. Courtney Butz 4. Vita Shats)
The Bulls' 23 points in the last event of the day to be finalized was the biggest reason why Hereford won its fourth indoor state title in five years. Of the three girls vaulters that finished among the top four, only Courtney Butz is a senior.
2. Reservoir: 18 points in the girls 55 meter hurdles (1. Adaobi Tabugbo 4. Kimayah Faye 6. Katherin Parris)
Tabugbo's win - her third straight 3A 55 meter hurdle title, dating back to her sophomore year in 2018 - was about as foregone a conclusion as there was at this year's state meet. Senior Kimayah Faye joined Tabugbo and Katherin Parris (who also finished sixth last year) in joining one of the top hurdle crews in Maryland.
3. Chesapeake-AA: 14.50 points in the girls high jump (1. Samantha Leo T3. Maria Hrytsyshyna)
Samantha Leo had never cleared anything over five feet in the high jump until February, when she cleared 5'2 at both regionals and states. Hrytsyshyna, meanwhile, tied with three other girls at five feet even, earning 4.50 points. The two girls combined for 14.50 of Chesapeake's 17.50 points at the state championship.
4. North Point: 14 points in the girls shot put (1. Mekhya Jones 5. Shantia Creek-Barrett)
Jones added more than two feet to her personal best in the shot put dating back to last spring, and she needed every inch of that improvement as she won the 3A state title by half an inch. They are one of just two teams in Maryland, along with Largo, to feature two girls who threw better than 38 feet this winter.
T5. Northern-Calvert: 12 points in the girls 1600 (1. Oakley Olson 7. Nicole Bissett)
The Northern girls weren't quite as dominant in the distance events as they have been in recent indoor state meets, but they still managed multiple scorers in two events. Junior Oakley Olson earned another individual title coming off of the anchor leg on the Patriots' 4x800, while Bissett ran the fastest freshman time across all classifications at states (and owns the top freshman time in Maryland).
T5. Northern-Calvert: 12 points in the girls 800 (2. Oakley Olson 5. Carley Tolson)
The only multi-scorer squad of the 3A state meet that didn't feature the individual winner (although Olson nearly ran down Linganore's Mikayla Moxley), Northern got a personal-best effort from newcomer Carley Tolson, who had previously only run under 2:29 just once.
