Centennial High School hosted the 2021 Eagle Cross Country Invitational in their own backyard on Saturday, Sept. 11. Athletes from 30 different schools participated in this meet; however, the Centennial boys team dominated on their home turf.
(Antonio Camacho-Bucks finishes as the first place winner of the boys varsity race)
Centennial junior Antonio Camacho-Bucks led the boys varsity race with a time of 15:23.00. Oakland Mills' Ethan Aidam took second with a time of 15:46.60, breaking apart the potential Centennial trio. Despite this, Centennial continued to finish strong as seniors Luke LasCasas (15:59.10) and Alexander White (16:15.00) followed behind taking third and fourth place. Overall, Centennial was the team winner with a mere 86 points, followed by River Hill (119 points) and DeMatha Catholic (167 points).
(Centennial teammates Matthew Won, Isaiah Shiau, Teddy Jorgensen and Cole Na)
The Centennial boys team continued to sweep the competition by going 1-2-3 in the open race. Centennial junior Isaiah Shiau led the pack with a time of 18:16.60. Teammates Cole Na (18:54.90) and Teddy Jorgensen (19:06.80) were quick to follow. However, South River junior Evan Corrigan (19:17.90) broke up the potential 1-2-3-4 Centennial finish as Centennial senior Matthew Won (19:22.20) finished in fifth place. Once again, Centennial was the team winner with a sheer 24 points, followed by River Hill (35 points) and Atholton (104 points).
(Team photo, courtesy of @chsxcmen)
The freshman/sophomore race produced a slightly different outcome. Reservoir's Kidus Zeleke finished with a time of 17:33.70, a total lead of 30 seconds. Behind was Vince Zapata from South River with a time of 18:13.70. Another Reservoir sophomore joined the ranks as Joshua McDerment finished third with a time of 18:15.70. Marriotts Ridge took home the team title with 69 points, followed by River Hill (78 points) and Centennial (85 points).
(Estelle Snider leads the pack in the girls varsity race)
Similarly to Centennial's massive sweep, the Hereford girls dominated the competition as well. Starting with the girls varsity race, Hereford junior Estelle Snider finished first with a time of 19:14.30. Very close behind was River Hill's Chloe McGeehan with a time of 19:15.40. Third was Glenelg's Kaila Spence with 19:36.60. Snider ended up leading Hereford to victory as the team placed first with a score of 54 points. Behind was Atholton (92 points) and Oakdale (136 points).
Hereford also took over the freshman/sophomore/open race with a 2-3 finish from sophomores Madison Ward and Rebekka Hillier. Ward finished with a time of 20:56.00, while teammate Hillier was less than a second behind with a time of 20:56.70. However, Elizabeth Seton's Evelyn Rogers managed to slip through the cracks and finished first with a blistering time of 19:02.70. Ultimately, Hereford took home the team title with 26 points, followed by Atholton (92 points) and River Hill (110 points).