The end of the regular season for cross country is close by as county championships fill up this week's calendar. With less than a week away from the regional meets, these county championships will be pivotal in determining who is going to come out on top.
The 2021 Frederick County XC Championships is one of the later county championships meets of the week, but it is just as important. The county meet will be held at the Old National Pike Park in Mt. Airy, Md on Oct. 28, 2021.
(Jack Sears pictured during the 2021 Bull Run Invitational)
Photo: Craig Amoss
On the boys' side, the Linganore team will set the precedent for the race. The Linganore boys could possibly go 1-2 in the Varsity Race, which could lead to a potential team title. Starting with the number one seed for the meet, Linganore's Jack Sears is likely to take home the individual title. Sears has been tearing through the XC season with consistently strong performances. He started out the season with multiple top 10 finishes. His first top 10 performance came from the 38th Annual Brunswick Invitational with a time of 17:13.88 and an eight-place finish. Sears then improved on this time, taking a ninth-place finish at the 38th Annual Barnhart Memorial XC Invitational with a time of 16:34.40. Once again, Sears placed ninth, but this time at the 2021 Maryland XC Invitational. This meet was a big one for Sears as he scored a 5K PR of 16:16.00. Most recently, Sears got another PR, but in the 3-mile event at the CMC Conference Championships. Sears won the championship, finishing first with a time of 16:25.10.
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(Cole Williamson pictured during the 2021 Bull Run Invitational)
Linganore's second runner, Cole Williamson, seems to be a likely contender for second place at the county championships. Williamson had his first breakout performance of the season after placing tenth at the 38th Annual Brunswick Invitational with a time of 17:32.36. He improved on this time with a new 5K PR of 16:43.00 at the 2021 Maryland XC Invitational, making him the second seed for the county title.
38th Annual Brunswick Invitational: Meet Recap I Photos I Results
(Abhishek Mudireddy pictured at the 2021 Patriot Invitational)
Photo: Patrick McKinney
Although the Linganore boys could possibly dominate the Boys Varsity Race, there are other runners that could slip through the cracks. Oakdale's Abhishek Mudireddy has had strong performances all season. He took fourth at the 38th Annual Brunswick Invitational with a 5K PR of 16:53.48. Plus, Mudireddy has had two first-place finishes, one at the 2021 Patriot Invitational and one at the 2021 Cougar Challenge 5K. To add, Mudireddy put on an impressive show with a fifth-place finish and 3-mile PR of 16:16.00 at the 2021 Eagle XC Invitational. Other notable runners include Middletown's Baron Ropp and Catoctin's Alexander Contreras.
With the Linganore boys taking spots 1-2, it is very likely that the team will take home the top honors with an approximate score of 30 points. Tuscarora and Oakdale are expected to follow behind in second and third, respectively.
Photo: Patrick McKinney
For the girls, Frederick's own Caroline Gregory is expected to dominate her race. Gregory has outperformed almost all of her competitors with an almost undefeated season. Gregory has won four of the races at the meets she has been in: the 38th Annual Brunswick Invitational (5K, 19:47.00), the 6th Annual Rebel Invitational (5K, 19:17.00), the 28th Annual Carlisle Invitational (5K, 19:27.60) and the 2021 CMC Conference Championships (3 Mile, 18:02.30). Due to these strong performances, Gregory is the number one seed for the county championships.
(Caroline Perrone pictured during the 2021 Patriot Invitational)
However, despite Gregory's potential individual win, the Linganore girls are likely contenders for the team title. This means that Linganore could take home both the boys' and girls' titles. Similar to the Boys Varsity Race, the Linganore team has another duo that could break the top 3; Caroline Perrone and Mikayla Moxley could place second and third, respectively. Perrone had an impressive second-place finish at the 2021 Patriot Invitational with a new 5K PR of 19:05.00. She also placed third at the 2021 CMC Conference Championships with a 3-mile PR of 19:09.40. Moxley has performed similarly with a third-place finish (19:13.20) at the Patriot Invite and a fourth-place finish (20:09.25) at the CMC Conference Championships.
(Mikayla Moxley pictured during the 2021 Patriot Invitational)