Rachel Thomas has been one of the IAAM's most consistent distance runners over the past four years. Next year she will be competing up north at UMass-Lowell. (Photo by Craig Amoss)
As we draw closer to the start of the outdoor season - and the end of the 2019-20 school year - we update our college signing list for the class of 2020. Are you running in college next year but don't see your name listed? Contact us (Twitter: @MileSplitMD, email: snarksports@gmail.com) and let us know!
Ashton Allen (Bullis High School) - University of Southern California
Ashton will join his brothers, Eric and Austin, at USC. As a junior Allen finished second in the 400 at New Balance Indoor Nationals, second in the 200 at New Balance Outdoor Nationals and second in the 400 at the AAU National Club Championship.
K.C. Ashiogwu (Gaithersburg High School) - Georgetown University
Ashiogwu won her first career state title this winter in the 500 meter dash. She is also an accomplished jumper, finishing second last year in the triple jump at both the 4A state meet and the Emerging Elite section at New Balance Outdoor Nationals.
Emily Baba (Oakdale High School) - East Carolina University
Photo by John Roemer
Three times Baba has scored at the state track championships, including last spring when she ran a personal best 2:20.08, good for fourth at the 2A state meet. The Pirates' current women's roster includes three Maryland athletes (Leonardtown's Leya Essex, Riverdale Baptist's D'Nia Freeman and Walkersville's Kelcie Robertson).
Durrell Brooks (Great Mills High School) - Fort Scott Community College
Brooks has become one of the state's top hurdlers over the past calendar year, finishing second in the 300 meter hurdles at last year's 3A outdoor state meet as a junior. Brooks will be attending Fort Scott Community College in Kansas and plans on transferring to a DI school afterward to run.
Khaide'a Brown (Carver A&T High School) - University of Memphis
Brown has been a regular in the sprint events at the state meet every season since her freshman year. This past winter she won her second state title as a member of a relay (4x200) and has finished sixth or better in individual events six times. Brown will be running at the University of Memphis next year.
Chett Brunner (Century High School) - McDaniel College
Brunner didn't get an outdoor season to keep building upon his senior year breakout (and possibly add another state title to his collection), but he became one of the state's top throwers this past indoor season. He will continue his throwing career at McDaniel next year.
Courtney Butz (Hereford High School) - Bucknell University
Butz has finished second at the state meet in the pole vault in each of the past two seasons, and she has also qualified for states in the 100 meter hurdles multiple times in her career. She will join her sister, Alexandra, at Bucknell University next year.
Peter Capozzoli (C. Milton Wright High School) - University of Maryland
Capozzoli was a two-time XC regional medalist, and this past year won the 800 at the 3A Central indoor regionals and broke two minutes at the state meet. He will join a growing mid-distance squad at the University of Maryland next year.
Darrien Coates (Huntingtown High School) - Mount St. Mary's University
Coates set personal bests this indoor season in both the long (19'5.50) and triple (44'4) jumps, the latter of which ranked 13th in the state. Coates will be attending Mount St. Mary's University up in Emmitsburg next year.
Stephen Cobb (La Plata High School) - Alderson Broaddus University
An individual state qualifier in five different track seasons, Cobb registered his highest state meet finish (third) at the 2019 state meet in the 400 meter dash. He will be attending Alderson Broaddus in West Virginia, a team with one other former Maryland athlete (Tahj McCallum) on the roster.
Manuela and Manuelene Deigh (C.H. Flowers High School) - Virginia State University
Both will be running at Virginia State University next year. Manuelene was a member of four consecutive county and regional XC championship teams while Manuela was a member of three.
Collin Dempsey (Oakdale High School) - University of North Carolina-Wilmington
Dempsey has already been a member of five different state championship teams with Oakdale, and this winter turned in his highest finish at states by going 1-2 behind teammate Kyle Lund in the 1600. He will be the Seahawks' first men's athlete from Maryland since 2015-16.
Madison Depry (Wheaton High School) - University of Maryland
Photo by Craig Amoss
After years of close finishes, Depry won her first two state title this indoor season in both the 55 meter dash and the high jump. She is one of just ten girls from Maryland to have cleared 5'8 in the high jump dating back to the 2010-11 season.
Imani Ebanks (Henry A. Wise High School) - Wheeling Jesuit University
Ebanks qualified for the state meet individually for the first time last spring, finishing 11th at the 4A state meet in the 300 meter hurdles. She will be Wheeling Jesuit's first female athlete from Maryland since 2016-17.
Amanda Eliker (Howard High School) - University of Maryland
Eliker will join plenty of Maryland's top distance runners from the past few years in College Park next year. Her third-place finish in the 1600 at this year's indoor state meet marked her fourth top-four finish on the state level in the last calendar year.
Sean Enright (Sherwood High School) - Johns Hopkins University
Enright will be staying in-state to run at one of the top men's distance programs in Maryland at Johns Hopkins. He broke 16 minutes in the 5K this fall at the Great American Cross Country Festival and placed ninth at the 4A state championships.
Jenna Goldberg (Walter Johnson High School) - Wake Forest University
In the span of one year, Goldberg went from very good (third in the 3200 at last year's indoor and outdoor state meets) to one of the best runners in the Mid-Atlantic, winning a state XC title and qualifying for Foot Locker Nationals.
Ian Gormley (Sherwood High School) - Dickinson College
Gormley ran personal bests of 51.50 (400) and 2:03.87 (800) as a junior last season for Sherwood. The Dickinson roster currently features two former Maryland athletes (Gilman's James Lotz and Loyola's Garrett Randall).
Kamille Graham (Henry A. Wise High School) - Wheeling Jesuit University
Graham will join her teammate Imani Ebanks at Wheeling Jesuit next year. She has qualified individually for states every season dating back to the spring of 2017 and has scored twice at states in the high jump.
Miles Gray (Frederick Douglass-PG High School) - Indiana Institute of Technology
Gray won his first two state titles last spring (and finished second in the 300 meter hurdles), and has range in everything from the 200 to the 800. The Warriors' roster currently features five former Maryland athletes, including three-time state champion Dylan Bikim.
Jenna Green (Mountain Ridge High School) - Frostburg State University
Green has qualified for the state championships in the hurdles every year going back to her freshman season in 2017. This past winter she won her first regional titles in the 55 meter hurdles, and scored at the state meet for the first time as well, placing fifth.
Collin Greene (Howard High School) - U.S. Naval Academy
Greene has improved steadily in the shot put every season, culminating in a championship season sweep (counties, regionals and states) this indoor season along with a MD #1 mark in the event (55'11.50) at the state meet.
Ethan Hart (Linganore High School) - Dickinson College
It was a huge indoor season for Hart, who raised his shot put personal best from 42'11.50 from last spring to 51'0.50 - ninth-best in the state this winter. He won both county and regional titles and finished third at the 3A state meet.
Anna Janke (Broadneck High School) - Queens University of Charlotte
Janke has finished in the top five on the state level six times throughout her career and has also won a relay state title in the 4x800. She will be running for Queens University in Charlotte, NC, next year.
Jalen Jasmin (Reservoir High School) - Delaware State University
Jasmin was the state's top long jumper this past indoor season, and it wasn't even close: his 23'7 mark from the Montgomery Invitational was nearly two feet longer than the next-best (21'11). He also clocked a 6.51 personal best in the 55 meter dash.
Baby Jimerson (Parkside High School) - Frostburg State University
Jimerson has kept dropping her personal bests throughout the seasons, dipping just under 60 seconds in the 400 last spring and qualifying for the 2A state championships. She will travel the width of the state to compete at Frostburg State next year.
Owen Johnson (Calvert Hall High School) - Georgetown University
Photo by Craig Amoss
One of the top distance runners in Maryland over the past decade, Johnson will join fellow Marylander and former MIAA rival Camden Gilmore (formerly of Loyola-Blakefield) at Georgetown next season.
Riley Johnson (Urbana High School) - Murray State University
Johnson has been a key member of Urbana's successful state-championship teams over the past few seasons, and qualified for states last spring in both the 300 hurdles and the discus. She will be the Racers' first women's athlete from Maryland since the 2012-13 season.
Piper Jons (Urbana High School) - Elon University
Jons has scored four times in the sprint events over the past two seasons for Urbana, helping the Hawks win three straight state titles. She has also won three relay state titles with Urbana on the 4x200 and 4x400 relays.
Sam Keeny (South River High School) - U.S. Naval Academy
Keeny won the first state title of his career in the fall at Hereford High School where he set a new course record on the post-2013 course. He won two more state championships this indoor season in both the 3200 and 800 meter runs. Keeny will join the state's top distance program at Navy next year.
Kenneth King (Huntingtown High School) - University of North Carolina-Wilmington
King has scored four separate times in each of the last three 3A state meets in the throws, including a fourth-place finish this winter that helped Huntingtown win a state title. He also has three regional titles on his resumé and a 53'11 personal best in the shot put.
Justus LePrevost (Mountain Ridge High School) - Frostburg State University
LePrevost finished among the top ten in the 1A 1600 and 3200 six times throughout his career at Mountain Ridge. As a junior in the spring of 2019 he finished fourth and fifth at states in the 3200 and 1600, respectively, and ran a leg on the Miners' 4x800 team that placed second.
David Loomis (South River High School) - U.S. Coast Guard Academy
Loomis has qualified individually for the 4A state championships in each of the past two seasons, finishing eighth in the 500 meter dash at this winter's state meet. The Bears' roster currently features two recent Maryland graduates: Jacob Spera (Century) and Greg Costello (Centennial).
Kyle Lund (Oakdale High School) - Brigham Young University
Fresh off one of the best indoor state meet performances in Maryland history, Lund will be attending one of the premiere distance-running programs in the country at BYU in Provo, Utah. His 1:52.57 time in the 800 at states was a meet record by more than three seconds and the sixth-fastest time in the US this indoor season.
Kyra Lyles (Quince Orchard High School) - Delaware State University
Lyles won her first individual state title in the 400 meters at last year's outdoor state meet and placed in the top eight in two events at this winter's meet. The Hornets currently have four former Maryland athletes on their roster (Amber Conyers, Lananda Correia, Cydney Davis and Precious Igwebuike).
Kole Morgan (Allegany High School) - Frostburg State University
Morgan will be staying in-state and won't even have to leave Allegany County, as he will compete for Frostburg State next year. He finished 13th at this past fall's 1A state cross country championship.
Anish Nanjappa (River Hill High School) - Columbia University
One of the state's most consistently dominant distance runners, Nanjappa will be competing for Columbia University next year in the Ivy League. He has four state titles already under his belt and went undefeated all the way through states during the fall.
Kirstin Nichols (Arundel High School) - University of Maryland
Nichols joins a talented group of Maryland senior distance runners who have committed to run in College Park next year. After missing much of her junior year Nichols came back strong as a senior, running 19:45 in the fall and winning both county and regional titles in the 3200 this past indoor season.
Kyle Noll (Crisfield High School) - Central Michigan University
Noll added another individual state title to his resumé this year in the hurdles, raising his total to four across three events. He will be the team's first male athlete since at least 2013.
Brandon Nya (Bowie High School) - North Carolina A&T University
Photo by Dan Loughlin
Nya elevated his game in a big way during his senior indoor season, jumping into the national spotlight when he clocked a 33.75 300 and 21.48 200 at the Virginia Showcase back in January. He will be joining sprint powerhouse North Carolina A&T, currently home to former Maryland athletes Michael Bell (Loyola-Blakefield) and Robert Miller (Baltimore City College).
Lindsey Perry (C. Milton Wright High School) - Kutztown University
Perry has a state title under her belt in the 800 and has already set personal bests in the 1600 (5:12) and finish at XC states (third) as a senior. She will join a Golden Bears team at Kutztown that has not featured an athlete from Maryland since 2016-17.
Leah Phillips (Bullis High School) - Louisiana State University
She will bring what is already one of the most accomplished track profiles in Maryland state history (23.68 200, 7.72 55 hurdles, 40.82 300 hurdles) down south to LSU, who haven't featured a Maryland athlete on their women's roster since back in the 2009-2010 season.
Tanner Piotrowski (Arundel High School) - Penn State University
Piotrowski has been one of the state's top distance runners over the past two years and has shown the range to win both an 800 meter indoor state title and place second at this fall's 4A state XC meet (his 15:42.44 time is fourth-best on the post-2013 Hereford course). He will be attending Penn State University next year.
Nicholas Raumann (Oakdale High School) - McDaniel College
Raumann worked his way onto the varsity cross country squad this past fall and was a member of Oakdale's first-ever state title XC squad. He also placed sixth at this past winter's 2A state meet in the 3200. Raumann will stay in-state and attend McDaniel College in Westminster.
Lydia Robling (Urbana High School) - University of Pittsburgh - Johnstown
She was nearly a surprise 4A state champion in the 500 meter dash this past season and has been a member of numerous relay and overall team state championship teams throughout her career at Urbana. The Mountain Cats' roster currently features two other Maryland graduates, Adara Gamble (North Point) and Taylor Peck (Queen Anne's County).
Ezri and Oni Scott (Urbana High School) - New York University
Ezri and Oni will be competing at New York University next year for the Violets. Both have excelled in the jumps at Urbana - both have cleared 5'4 in the high jump and 35 feet in the triple jump.
Tamrat Snyder (Damascus High School) - Rider University
Snyder has showcased the range from the cross country course all the way down to the 500 (he was this year's 3A state champion in both the 500 and 800 meter runs). His times at both events from the state meet ranked among the top ten times run at states this decade.
Hunter Steinau (Annapolis Area Christian School) - High Point University
Photo by Craig Amoss
Steinau has enjoyed an excellent senior season at AACS, clocking a 16:04 5K in the fall and winning an MIAA conference title before running 9:51 at the Virginia Showcase earlier this winter. He also isn't the only Maryland runner heading to High Point next year (see below).
Garrett Suhr (Richard Montgomery High School) - University of Alabama
Suhr didn't finish out the Rockets' indoor season, but he had a healthy return to the course in the fall (15:16 5K PR, county and regional titles) and also a very good junior outdoor season during which he clocked a 4:13 full mile.
Thalia Summerville (Digital Harbor High School) - Iowa Western Community College
Summerville has been one of the top hurdlers in the state for three years, racking up five Baltimore City titles and six regional titles in that time frame. She will run for Iowa Western Community College, home of one of the most unique college mascots (the Reivers) in the country.
Rachel Thomas (Maryvale Prep High School) - University of Massachusetts at Lowell
Thomas finished in the top four in all three distance events at last year's IAAM Championships, and has finished among the top six at the XC conference meet all four seasons. She will be heading up northeast to become the River Hawks' first women's runner from Maryland since the 2013-14 season.
Ashley Wallace (Bullis High School) - Syracuse University
One of the top hurdlers in the nation, Wallace's 7.84 season best in the 55 meter hurdles ranked third in the US behind teammate Leah Phillips and Western Branch's Na'taja Ballard. She also finished fourth in the 100 meter hurdles at last year's New Balance Outdoor Nationals.
Javon Watts (C.H. Flowers High School) - Hampton University
Photo by Craig Amoss
Watts has been one of the state's top mid-distance runners ever since she made her debut as a freshman, and this indoor season she set personal bests in both the 500 and 800 meters. She will join her high school teammate Dejah Grant at Hampton next year.
Owen Welty (Walkersville High School) - High Point University
Welty was a surprise indoor state champion this year in the 500 meter dash, dropping his personal best to 1:06.60 - eight-best in the state. He will be joining Annapolis Area Christian's Hunter Steinau in High Point, NC, next year.
Alexis Whitehorn-Coriz (Damascus High School) - St. Joseph's (PA) University
After winning the first regional title of her career this indoor season in the 1600, Whitehorn-Coriz scored at the state meet for the seventh time in her track career at Damascus. The Hawks' 2020 track roster currently features three former Maryland athletes.
Isabella Whittaker (Mount de Sales High School) - University of Pennsylvania
Whittaker keeps on dropping her times as a senior, clocking a 37.76 300 at the Millrose Games and a 1:12.67 500 at the IAAM Championships. Like Nanjappa, Whittaker will be going the Ivy route next year, joining former Bullis standout Lauryn Harris as Maryland athletes at Penn.
Ryan Willie (Bullis High School) - University of Florida
Willie's 33.81 season-best time in the 300 meter dash ranks fourth nationally, and he was last year's 400 meter Emerging Elite champion at New Balance Outdoor Nationals. He was also a member of the Bullis 4x400 that won the outdoor nationals title by running 3:09.86.
Sophia Zell (Severna Park High School) - University of Maryland
Zell will stay in-state next year and joins the Terrapins in College Park. She enjoyed a breakout fall season during which she lowered her 5K personal best from 20:11 to 18:53, and over the course of the past two track seasons has finished in the top six at states four different times.
Rachel Thomas has been one of the IAAM's most consistent distance runners over the past four years. Next year she will be competing up north at UMass-Lowell. (Photo by Craig Amoss)
As we draw closer to the start of the outdoor season - and the end of the 2019-20 school year - we update our college signing list for the class of 2020. Are you running in college next year but don't see your name listed? Contact us (Twitter: @MileSplitMD, email: snarksports@gmail.com) and let us know!