Each section from 4A competed in their respective regional championships on Thursday, Nov. 4. All four sections (4A East, 4A North, 4A South and 4A West) competed in different regions in Maryland. We recapped how each championship meet went and what this means for the upcoming state championships.
4A North
(The start of the Boys Varsity Race: Tyler Dailey is an early leader)
Photo: Elijah Agurs
(Northwood's Lamar Wilson and Dulaney's Tyler Dailey go for a photo-finish)
Photo: Elijah Agurs
Regarding the team title, the Northwood boys took how the top honors after placing three of their top athletes within the top 10: Lamar Wilson (2nd, 16:27.53); Nathaniel Davis (3rd, 16:39.84); and Ajibu Pascali (7th, 17:00.35). They scored 47 points to take home the team win. The Dulaney boys, led by Dailey and Schultz, took home the top honors with 56 points. Montgomery Blair, led by Lyness and Alfonso-Frank, took third with a team score of 82 points.
(James Hubert Blake's Ella Zeigler is an early leader during the Girls Varsity Race)
Photo: Elijah Agurs
The Girls Varsity Race was close just like the boys'. This time, James Hubert Blake's Ella Zeigler took home the individual title with a time of 18:28.41. Closely following was Sherwood's Avery Graham, just two seconds behind with a time of 18:30.44. The third-place finisher was Catonsville's Hallie Shepard with 18:50.03. Fourth place was Dulaney's Anna Albergo with a time of 18:58.03. The final athlete to make the top 5 was Montgomery Blair's Alexa Avila, taking fifth in 19:02.60.
(Ella Zeigler finishes first, followed by Avery Graham)
Photo: Elijah Agurs
The Dulaney team ended up on top after placing three girls in the top 10: Anna Albergo (4th, 18:58.03); Cassie Weymouth (9th, 20:23.24); and Mairin Ludwig (10th, 20:29.87). They scored 29 points and the next team would have double their points. Sherwood, led by Graham, finished in second with 61 points. Montgomery Blair, led by Avila, finished third with 75 points.
4A South
At the 2021 MPSSAA 4A South Region Championship, Bowie's Jacob Bayes took the Boys Varsity Race. Bayes, a sophomore, outpaced his competitors for a first-place finish with a time of 17:39.75. Bayes also boasted an impressive 15-second lead. The next two spots were taken by Eleanor Roosevelt athletes. Trevor Stuart led the duo with a time of 17:54.76 and became the only other athlete besides Bayes to run sub-18 at the meet. Stuart's teammate, Benno Wien, finished behind him, taking third with 18:29.46. The fourth-place finisher was DuVal's Joshua Mbuashu-Ndip with 18:40.03. The last athlete to make it to the top 5 was Parkdale's Carlos Ochoa, taking fifth with 19:10.51.
Regarding the team winner, Eleanor Roosevelt took home the top honors after placing four athletes in the top 10: Trevor Stuart (2nd, 17:54.76); Benno Wien (3rd, 18:29.46); Jaleb Saunders (8th, 19:24.83); and George Jamaldinjah (9th, 19:30.17). The team finished with just 25 points. Bowie, led by individual champion Bayes, finished second after scoring 42 points. C.H. Flowers finished third with 80 points.
On the girls' side, C.H. Flowers' Jaelynn Blackwell became the 4A South Region Girls Champion. Blackwell finished first with a time of 21:43.68. The next two spots were taken by Eleanor Roosevelt athletes once again. This time, Rebekah Pase led the duo with a second-place finish and time of 21:59.23. Her teammate, Sydney Fiore, took third with a time of 22:21.13. Then, another C.H. Flowers athlete joined the top 5. Narissa Hill was the fourth-place finisher with 22:50.03. Suitland's Kiara Lee rounded out the podium with a fifth-place finish and time of 23:17.69.
C.H. Flowers dominated the team title by scoring just 16 points. They had four of their top athletes place in the top 10: Jaelynn Blackwell (1st, 21:43.68); Narissa Hill (2nd, 22:50.03); Chidera Okwuosa (6th, 24:25.10); and Ameya McElhaney (7th, 24:31.41). Bowie finished second with 54 points, while Northwestern took third with 59 points.
In the 2021 MPSSAA 4A East Region Championship, it was an Arundel takedown. Arundel took home both of the individual titles. Starting with the Boys Varsity Race, Arundel's Tucker Sangster was the surprise winner, beating out Annapolis Senior's Luke Coffin who is currently ranked #2 in MD (based on 5K performances). Sangster snagged the first-place title with an impressive 15:50.00, which granted him a lead of approximately 13 seconds. Sangster was the only athlete to run sub-16 in not only this meet, but in the entire 4A region as well. Coffin followed behind in second with a time of 16:03.80. Then, Severna Park's Ronan Byrne became the third-place finisher with a time of 16:29.80. Old Mill's Damon Martin followed him with a fourth-place finish and time of 16:37.90. The final spot in the top 5 was taken by another Severna Park athlete. Liam Hagerty finished fifth in a time of 16:38.40.
Despite not racing their top four athletes, the Severna Park boys still took the team title and dominated their competition. The team scored 39 points after placing four of their athletes within the top 10: Ronan Byrne (3rd, 16:29.80); Liam Hagerty (5th, 16:38.40); Scott Engleman (9th, 17:05.50); and Christopher Nunn (10th, 17:09.50). The second-place title went to the Broadneck Senior boys, led by Ryan Gibb (6th, 16:53.30), who scored 90 points. South River followed close behind in third place with 95 points. Impressively, the South River boys had a 1-5 spread of just 35 seconds.
The Girls Varsity Race had similar results as the boys'. Another Arundel athlete took home an individual title. Katherine Leddy was the surprise winner, outpacing Broadneck Senior's Mollie Fenn. Leddy finished first with a time of 18:37.80, which was also a meet record. The previous record was held by an Arundel athlete like herself. The record was from the 2004 4A East Regional XC Meet where Marissa McPhail ran a time of 18:40.00, meaning that Leddy broke a 17-year-old record! The second-finisher for the race was Fenn with a time of 18:47.80. Then, the next two spots were taken by Leonardtown athletes. Parker O'Brien led the duo as she finished third with a time of 19:16.40. Her teammate, Elena Blodnikar, finished fourth with a time of 19:24.40. The fifth finisher was Annapolis Senior's Audrey Walters with 20:09.40.
The Broadneck Senior girls (40 points) ended up taking home the win after placing four of their top athletes within the top 10: Mollie Fenn (2nd, 18:47.80); Stephanie Costello (7th, 20:28.90); Grace Denius (9th, 20:50.00); and Zoe Barbour (10th, 20:54.40). The Severna Park girls, led by Mallory Trutenko (6th, 20:19.90) and Taylor Denton (8th, 20:40.40) followed in second with 60 points. Leonardtown, led by O'Brien and Blodnikar, finished third with 72 points.
In the 2021 MPSSAA 4A West Region Championships, Walter Johnson's Andrew Schell had his seventh first-place victory for the season. Schell came out on top once again and became the 4A West Region Champion with a time of 16:29.22, just three seconds short of the meet and course record. However, he was not alone in this race. Those behind him were quite close. Walt Whitman's Jackson Megary was just two seconds behind Schell, taking second place with a time of 16:31.65. Then, Winston Churchill's Sebastien Breton finished third with a time of 16:36.22. In fourth was Richard Montgomery's Lucas Corea with a time of 16:38.80. The final athlete to make it into the ranks was Gaithersburg's Sadou Sow in a time of 16:54.00.
Regarding the team title, the Walt Whitman boys walked away with the win. They scored 55 points after placing four athletes within the top 20: Jackson Megary (2nd, 16:31.65); Michael Ward (7th, 16:55.40); Sean Cunniff (11th, 17:17.90); and Griffin Beckley (14th, 17:20.00). The second team was Richard Montgomery (76 points) after placing three athletes within the top 20: Lucas Corea (4th, 16:38.80); Noah Fisher (8th, 16:57.30); and Henry Kaye (13th, 17:19.70). Winston Churchill, led by Breton, snagged third with 79 points.
On the girls' side, Bethesda-Chevy Chase's Varri Higgins dominated the race. Just three days before, Higgins had a PR at the 2021 Montgomery County Public Schools XC Championships where she ran an impressive 18:11.00. Higgins took her fifth first-place finish for the season and became the 4A West Region Champion after finishing with a time of 18:32.06. Her time granted her a lead of over a minute. Richard Montgomery's Grace Finnegan followed in second with a time of 19:33.58. A little bit after, Urbana's Ivy Coldren took third in a time of 19:47.33. Walt Whitman's Katie Greenwald become the fourth-place finisher in 19:55.83, as well as the last girl to rub sub-20 at the meet. The fifth-place runner was Walter Johnson's Madeleine Simmons in 20:15.78.
Regarding the team title, Urbana (67 points) took home the top honors after placing four girls within the top 20: Ivy Coldren (3rd, 19:47.33); Addison Lauer (11th, 20:31.24); Sofia Cedrone (14th, 20:34.00); and Mara Bell (18th, 20:46.66). The Walter Johnson girls were less than 10 points away from Urbana after also placing four girls within the top 20: Madeleine Simmons (5th, 20:15.78); Isabelle Senfaute (6th, 20:19.51); Ellie Rogers (19th, 20:50.79); and Amelia Burkhard (20th, 20:56.62.) The team placed second after scoring 74 points. Thomas S. Wootton, led by Victoria Ketzler (9th, 20:28.77) and Maya Gottesman (10th, 20:30.69), finished third with 106 points.