Bayside Conference Championships

(Oct. 27, 2021) 

The 2021 Bayside Conference XC Championships occurred in the middle of the week. The meet was held at Cambridge-South Dorchester High School (a.k.a. The Jungle) in Cambridge, Md. 

For the Boys Varsity Race, James M. Bennett's Timothy Synowiec prevailed as the champion, finishing first with a time of 15:33.10. Synowiec also managed to have a lead of 22 seconds. Behind him was Cambridge-South Dorchester's John Condon. Condon finished second with a time of 15:55.50 and was the only other athlete to run sub-16 for the meet. Synowiec and Condon both were far ahead of the rest of their competitors. The third-finisher was Stephen Decatur's Tristan Dutton with a time of 16:56.20. The next two athletes to make the top 5 were both from Kent Island. Brady Medeiros was fourth with a time of 17:03.10. His teammate, Trey Donnelly, was right behind him in fifth with a time of 17:05.30. 

With Synowiec leading the way, the James M. Bennett boys finished first with 71 points. After placing two of their athletes in the top 5, Kent Island, led by Medeiros and Donnelly, snagged second with 75 points. Stephen Decatur, led by Dutton, finished third with 104 points. 

For the Girls Varsity Race, Kent Island's Sarah van Ornum blew away the competition. She finished first with a blistering time of 18:37.60, granting her a lead of over a minute and a half. She was also the only athlete to run sub-19 in her race and this was a huge PR for her (her previous PR was 19:46.1). The next athlete was Easton's Sophie Leight in second with 20:10.70. Then, two athletes from Queen Anne's County filled in the next two spots. Zoe Crawford was third with a time of 21:25.90. In fourth was her teammate, Erin Hiner, with a time of 21:36.90. The last athlete to make the top 5 was James M. Bennett's Nicole Nieberding with a time of 21:46.50. 

Regarding the team title, it was a close battle between Easton, Kent Island, and North Caroline. However, Easton, led by Leight, got the first-place title scoring 63 points. Kent Island, led by van Ornum, took second with 64 points. North Caroline finished in third with 68 points.