Pikesville's Hayden Schindler (right) and Bohemia Manor's Jacob Jarrell were both the second halves of scoring duos in the 1A boys 3200 at the state meet. (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
1. Catoctin: 18 points in the boys shot put (2. Jacob McIlvaine 3. Tyler Hauk 5. Tristan Rice)
The Cougars' throwers had been their biggest source of points all winter and that did not change at the state meet. Largo's Renaldi Falwell was the best thrower in the field (throwing over five feet further than McIlvaine), but Catoctin's trio grabbed three of the next four spots to score more than half of their team points on the day.
2. Pikesville: 15 points in the boys 1600 (1. Kaleb Berhanu 4. Rodney Olid)
Even though he is only a sophomore, Berhanu had been the 1A favorite since running 4:38 back in mid-January (he is still the only 1A runner to have run under 4:40 this winter). He took care of business at the state meet and was joined by senior Rodney Olid who ran a nine-second personal best.
T3. Brunswick: 14 points in the boys pole vault (1. Jackson Tuomey 5. Noah McGillivray)
Tuomey made history at the state meet, becoming the first 1A boy to clear 14 feet in the pole vault (and finishing off a sweep of conference, regional and state titles). Junior Noah McGillivray, who had finished as the regional runner-up behind Tuomey, scored in both the pole vault and 1600 (seventh).
T3. Largo: 14 points in the 500 meter dash (1. Aharon Luster 5. Jalen Jackson)
Luster won his first indoor - and second overall - state title as part of the Lions' dominance at the very top in the sprint events. Fellow senior Jalen Jackson, who had won the 300 not too long before this race, ran a season-best 1:10.79 to finish fifth.
5. Mardela: 13 points in the boys 55 meter hurdles (2. Jaden Shelton 4. Kyle Hubbard)
Jaden and his older brother, Jacob (who finished third in the 55 meter dash), were two of the biggest breakout stars of the season on the Eastern Shore. Jaden Shelton's 7.90 time in the hurdle finals was the fourth-fastest by a sophomore this season, while Hubbard also clocked a season best (8.05).
6. Bohemia Manor: 12 points in the boys 3200 meter run (1. Day Leone 7. Jacob Jarrell)
Leone sat out the 1600 to be fresh for the 3200, and it paid off as he outlasted fellow sophomore Kaleb Berhanu. Senior Jacob Jarrell broke the 11-minute barrier for the first time to add two more points for Bo Manor.
T7. Pikesville: 11 points in the boys 3200 (2. Kaleb Berhanu 6. Hayden Schindler)
The twice-aforementioned Berhanu couldn't quite complete the 1600/3200 double but still scored eight for the Panthers, and his 18 individual points helped Pikesville finish as the 1A team runners-up. Senior Hayden Schindler ran an indoor personal best to chip in three more points.
T7. Smithsburg: 11 points in the boys 800 (1. Cameron Rejonis 8. Eli Knodle)
Rejonis was featured in our most surprising state champions list, taking advantage of the absence of pre-meet favorite Anthony Hill and winning his first individual state title as a freshman. Senior Eli Knodle managed an eighth-place finish to put them on this list.
Girls
T1. Largo: 16 points in the girls high jump (1. Joseline Adeoye 3. Sanaya Ross)
Sophomore Adeoye was also one of the most surprising state champions from this year's meet, especially considering she had been merely the second-best high jumper on her own team heading into the state meet). Her big ten points were a big reason why the Lions pulled away from the rest of the 1A girls field.
T1. Largo: 16 points in the girls shot put (1. Sade Panton 3. Sierra James)
If it wasn't true at the end of the 1A state meet, the Largo girls won the state title thanks in large part to their field events, where they scored 32 of their 71 points. Neither Panton nor James threw personal bests at states but it was still enough to help dominate the shot put circle.
3. Bohemia Manor: 15 points in the girls 1600 (1. Brooke Walz 4. Alexis Cook)
One of the closer races of the state meet featured senior Walz edging Brunswick sophomore Michelle Cincotta to win the fourth state title of her career and defend her indoor 1600 title. Senior Alexis Cook had not run at states since her freshman year in the 2017 indoor season, when she finished ninth in the 1600.
T4. Brunswick: 14 points in the girls pole vault (1. Jena Rhodes 5. Hannah Estep)
Rhodes scored 14 points on her own at the indoor state meet (she finished fifth in the 1600) to help the Railroaders finish as team runners-up. Sophomore Hannah Estep, competing individually at her first state meet, set a new personal best to finish fifth.
T4. Smithsburg: 14 points in the girls 3200 (1. Daylie Younker 5. Jillian Jerwick)
Younker showed why she was the runaway 1A state cross country champion this past fall, doubling back from the 1600 and outlasting the rest of the field in the 3200 to earn her second state title. Jerwick's 13:07 time was the second-best of her career, just off her 13:05 time from regionals.
T4. Surrattsville: 14 points in the girls 55 meter dash (1. Diamond Richardson 5. Tyliyah Hannah)
After finishing second or third three times on the state level as a freshman, Richardson captured the first state title of her career. Her 7.20 time was the fourth-best across all four classifications at states behind only Aaliyah Harris, Caitlyn Bobb and Madison Depry. She and fellow sophomore Tyliyah Hannah combined to score 14 of Surrattsville's 29 points.
7. Brunswick: 12 points in the girls 1600 (2. Michelle Cincotta 5. Jena Rhodes)
Cincotta came within just .15 seconds of winning the first state title of her career in the girls 1600, while clocking a top-ten sophomore time in the process. The aforementioned Rhodes made this list for a second time after winning the pole vault.
8. Perryville: 10.50 points in the girls pole vault (2. Leah Clark T6. Lilyana Heuisler)
Clark and Heuisler combined to score all of Perryville's 13.50 points at the state meet. Clark finished second in the pole vault and sixth in the high jump, while Heuisler also finished tied for sixth in the pole vault (splitting the five points along with Snow Hill's Layla Grimm).
