Multi-Scorer Events: 2A States

Mar 02, 2020

The Wicomico boys picked up 14 of their 36 points in the high jump, courtesy of Geoff Point-Du-Jour (above, jumping) and Steve Tius. (Photo by Craig Amoss)

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

T1. Milford Mill: 18 points in the boys 55 meter dash (1. Shavar Staats 2. Breez Wigfield)

Staats was the favorite entering the meet, but it was Wigfield who had the big state meet performance. He entered with a 6.71 personal best, but then ran 6.65 in the prelims and 6.63 in the finals to finish second behind his fellow junior teammate.

T1. Oakdale: 18 points in the boys 1600 meter run (1. Kyle Lund 2. Collin Dempsey)

Like the Milford Mill boys' performance in the 55 meter dash, it was almost more about the second-place finisher (in this case, senior Collin Dempsey), even while Lund nearly took down Robby Creese's 2A state meet record. Dempsey finished strong over the final 400 meters en route to a 4:25 personal best and his highest finish ever at a state meet.

3. South Carroll: 17 points in the boys pole vault (2. Patrick Tunkel 3. Peyton Thomas 6. Trevor Swope)

Neither Tunkel (the overall 2A leader in the pole vault this winter) nor Thomas (the 2A West regional champion) took home the state title, but the two - along with junior Trevor Swope - combined to score 17 of South Carroll's 22 points on the day.

4. Oakdale: 16 points in the boys 800 meter run (1. Kyle Lund 3. Lee Goodson)

Lund's incredible state meet record performance stole the show, but fellow senior Lee Goodson turned in the best race of his career, scoring individually at states for the first time at Oakdale. His 1:57.79 time was a season best by over two seconds and is the seventh-fastest time in Maryland this year.

5. Digital Harbor: 15 points in the boys 55 meter hurdles (1. Shawn Getzen 4. GiAndre Lee)

Getzen cruised through both the prelims and the finals of the 2A boys 55 meter hurdles to win his first state title, and Lee ran a personal-best 8.11 in the finals. The Rams were one spot away from scoring even more points as junior Isaiah Howard ran 8.29 and finished ninth in the prelims.

6. Wicomico: 14 points in the boys high jump (2. Geoff Point-Du-Jour 3. Steve Tius)

After the top two teams in Oakdale and Milford Mill, the Wicomico boys were the strongest of the 2A field at the state meet. Their 14 points in the high jump added to their 36 overall points, good enough for third place in the team scores. Senior Steve Tius also finished third in the 300 meter dash, scoring 12 points individually on the day.

7. Century: 13 points in the boys shot put (1. Chet Brunner 6. Mark Wehland)

Brunner completed an undefeated streak in the shot put that dated back five meets (the last time he lost was a second-place finish at the Howard County Winter Festival on December 21). Mark Wehland actually finished higher at the state meet (sixth) than he did in the preceding 2A West regionals (seventh).

8. Milford Mill: 11 points in the boys 300 (1. Marquis Miller 8. Breez Wigfield)

Marquise Miller won the tightest race of the 1A/2A state meet when he beat Frederick Douglass-PG's Miles Gray by just a few thousandths of a second in the 300 meter dash. Wigfield finished second to become the only Milford Mill boy to score in two individual events at the state meet.

Girls

T1. Harford Tech: 12 points in the girls 55 meter dash (2. Caitlyn Bobb 5. Nya Ray)

Coming off of two individual state titles (including a 2A state meet record in the 300 meter dash), Bobb was beaten by Wicomico's Aaliyah Harris in the 55 meter dash finals. However, her eight points, combined with four from Nya Ray (who tied her highest state meet finish), helped the Cobras nearly win the 2A team title.

T1. Seneca Valley: 12 points in the girls 55 meter hurdles (2. Regina Penda 5. Deborah Gnoumou)

The finals of the 2A girls 55 meter hurdles was a wild one. Thalia Summerville (first in the prelims) and Gnoumou (third in the prelims) finished seventh and fifth, respectively. Meanwhile, junior Regina Penda, who had never finished higher than sixth at a state meet, ran a big, 8.80-second personal best in the finals to grab eight big points for the Screaming Eagles.

3. Frederick Douglass-PG: 11 points in the girls 300 meter dash (3. Victoya Smith 4. Autumn Winston)

Smith and Winston were point-scoring machines for Douglass at the state meet once again. Smith finished third in both the 55 and 300 meter dashes, while Winston not only finished fourth in the 300 and third in the 500 - she won the high jump. The two combined for 33 of Douglass' 34 points.