Howard County XC Championships
(Oct. 27, 2021)
The Howard County XC Championships took place in the middle of the week on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. Once again, Centennial High School, located in Ellicott City, Md., played host to the meet.
2021 Howard County XC Championships: Meet Preview I Photos I Videos
(Antonio Camacho-Bucks takes the lead, followed by Ethan Aidam)
Photo: Craig Amoss
For the Boys Varsity Race, Centennial's Antonio Camacho-Bucks started out as an early leader. Right beside him was Oakland Mills' Ethan Aidam and Howard's Joseph Raudabaugh. However, Camacho-Bucks began to separate himself from the pack, creating a lead for himself by the second half of the race. Aidam and Raudabaugh followed behind, but began to slowly slip away. Camacho-Bucks was victorious finishing in a time of 15:26.30, which granted him a lead of 17 seconds. Raudabaugh ended up as the second-place finisher with a time of 15:43.10. Another Centennial athlete slipped into the ranks as Luke LasCasas finished third in a time of 15:49.80. The last two spots in the top 5 were taken by Mt. Hebron duo Alexander Barton and Jacob Hauf. Barton finished fourth in a time of 15:57.90 and became the last athlete the run sub-16 at the meet. Hauf took fifth place with a time of 16:01.00.
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(Antonio Camacho-Bucks separates himself from the rest of the pack)
Photo: Zoey Scott
The rest of the top 10 was as follows: Oakland Mills' Ethan Aidam (6th, 16:06.20); River Hill's Bryce Handa (7th, 16:11.60); Long Reach's Christian Brower (8th, 16:19.40); Reservoir's Kidus Zeleke (9th, 16:19,90); and Centennial's Alexander White (10th, 16:23.30).
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(The River Hill boys pose with their first-place plaque)
Photo: Zoey Scott
Regarding the team title, it was a close battle between River Hill and Centennial. However, despite the Centennial team placing three of their athletes in the top 10, the River Hill squad still managed to win the first-place title. River Hill, led by Handa, was the team champion with a score of 80 points. Centennial, led by Camacho-Bucks, LasCasas, and White, finished second with 82 points. Mt. Hebron, led by Barton and Hauf, was third with 98 points.
For the Boys JV Race, River Hill freshman, Jonathan Bloom, took home the individual title with an impressive 17:42.50. After Bloom, three Howard athletes followed. The first was Arjun Williams taking second place with a time of 17:51.30. Just a few seconds behind was Amadeaus Davis, taking third with a time of 17:58.10. Bloom, Williams, and Davis were the only athletes to run sub-17 in the Boys JV Race. The third Howard runner was Davis Saynuk with a fourth-place finish in a time of 18:16.90. One more River Hill freshman slipped into the ranks with Thomas Jayne in fifth-place in a time of 18:20.30. The Howard boys dominated the race by placing four athletes within the top 10 as their fourth athlete, Jayden Shin, finished sixth with a time of 18:23.70. It was to no surprise that the Howard team, led by Williams, Davis, Saynuk, and Shin, took home the top honors with 27 points. River Hill, led by Bloom and Jayne, finished second with 42 points. Centennial placed third with 76 points.
(Pictured left to right: Amadeaus Davis and Arjun Williams complete the last stretch of the race)
Photo: Craig Amoss
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(Pictured left to right: Nimrit Ahuja, Kiley Mann, Elizabeth Holcombe, and Hannah Schwab)
Photo: Zoey Scott
On the girls' side, it was a Howard sweep for the Varsity Race. The Howard girls went 1-2-3 (and almost 1-2-3-4-5) in an incredible race. First was Nimrit Ahuja with a time of 18:21.80, which broke the previous course record (18:28.14) from 2015 that was originally held by Oakland Mills' Brit Lang. The second Howard athlete was Elizabeth Holcombe with a time of 18:26.30, which also surpassed the previous course record. The third Howard athlete was Kiley Mann in a time of 18:47.30. Then, River Hill's Chloe McGeehan managed to break apart the Howard squad and their potential 1-2-3-4-5 sweep by placing fourth in a time of 18:57.90. Howard's Hannah Schwab rounded out the podium with a fifth-place finish and time of 19:00.50, followed by her teammate, Jasmine Wilson, with a time of 19:10.30.
The Howard girls won their fourth county championship in a row after scoring a mere 17 points, and no one was close. The second team was Reservoir with 91 points and the third team was Atholton with 103 points.
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(The Howard girls pose with their first-place plaque)
Photo: Zoey Scott
(Pictured left to right: Arshia Mondal outpaces Madeline Skaggs)
Photo: Craig Amoss
Another Howard athlete became an individual champion for counties. This time it was sophomore Arshia Mondal in the Girls JV Race with a time of 21:51.70. Atholton duo Tianna Wilson (22:19:60) and Madeline Skaggs (22:25.60) followed behind in second and third, respectively. Centennial's Natalie Robinson finished fourth with a time of 22:41.30. She was followed by Reservoir's Scarlett Guenin with a time of 22:50.10.
For the team scores, Atholton took home the top honors with 31 points after placing four of their top runners within the top 10: Tianna Wilson (2nd, 22:19:60); Madeline Skaggs (3rd, 22:25.60); Farah Boubsil (7th, 23:15.90); and Harleen Green (8th, 23:18.50). Howard took second with 43 points after placing three of their top runners within the top 10: Arshia Mondal (1st, 21:51.70); Ella Werdell (6th, 22:59.10); and Natalie McCourt (9th, 23:36.80). Centennial, led by Robinson, took third after scoring 67 points.