Hereford High School once again played host to the Maryland State Championships. The 3-mile course, which is by far the most challenging in the state, was run by approximately 1,100 athletes! The day started off gloomy with a chance of rain. The races in the morning session were hit by the rain, which muddied up the course a bit. Fortunately, the rain cleared up by the afternoon.
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1A
2021 Maryland State Championships: Preview I Results I Photos I Videos
Boys Varsity Race
(John Condon pictured going up the infamous dip)
Photo: John Roemer
Going into the Boys Varsity Race, Bohemia Manor's Day Leone and Pikesville's Kaleb Berhanu were predicted to be the course favorites. Fallston's Alex Xavier and Cambridge-South Dorchester's John Condon were added to the mixture as other likely contenders. However, early on, Condon swept the race. Condon separated himself before he even got to the dip. He sped down the hill, creating a lengthy gap. He was able to continue at this pace, finishing by himself. Condon took home the individual title, becoming the 1A State Champion with a time of 16:55.20. He was the only athlete in his race to run sub-17 and had a lead of approximately 20 seconds. Leone followed behind in second with a time of 17:14.19. Berhanu finished third with a time of 17:46.74. Xavier finished close behind Berhanu, taking fourth with a time of 17:46.74. Smithsburg's Sean Milligan was the last athlete to make the ranks, as well as the last one to run sub-18 in the race.
(John Condon becomes the 1A State Champion)
Photo: Craig Amoss
Regarding the team title, the Brunswick boys took home the top honors after scoring just 55 points. They managed to become the team champions after placing four of their top athletes in the top 15: Ray Gibson (8th, 18:17.91); Andrew Mcgillivray (9th, 18:21.05); Colin Bomysoad (12th, 18:44.68); and Caleb Shullenbarger (13th, 18:47.63). The runner-up for the team title was Fallston with 96 points after placing two boys in the top 10: Alex Xavier (4th, 17:46.74) and Quinn Daly (7th, 18:17.91). Smithsburg, led by Sean Milligan (5th, 17:58.33), finished third with 110 points.
Girls Varsity Race
(Lydia Nelson becomes an early leader in the race)
Photo: John Roemer
The Girls Varsity Race was originally predicted to be a battle between Boonsboro's Caroline Matthews and Fallston's Emily Atha. However, Northern Garrett's Lydia Nelson ended up being the surprise winner. Nelson became the Girls 1A State Champion with a first-place finish of 20:27.74. To add, she boasted a lead of about 25 seconds and was only 20 seconds behind her 3-mile PR (which is especially impressive for this course). Matthews ended up being the runner-up with a time of 20:51.39, followed by Atha in third with 21:06.7. Catoctin's Jenna Conley finished fourth with a time of 21:16.21. Mountain Ridge's Mary Delaney followed closely behind in fifth with a time of 21:22.08.
(Caroline Matthews and Emily Atha finish second and third, respectively)
Photo: John Roemer
Nelson, the state champion, led her team to victory as the Northern Garrett girls finished with just 47 points. They accomplished this by placing five of their girls in the top 20: Lydia Nelson (1st, 20:27.74); McKenzie Upole (7th, 22:08.45); Arrisyn Amtower (13th, 22:30.65); Sophia Brown (17th, 22:59.40); and Minka Amtower (18th, 23:01.54). Smithsburg, led by Cora Gentzel (6th, 21:59.64), was the runner-up with 78 points. Boonsboro, led by Matthews, took third with 107 points.
2A
Boys Varsity Race
(Ethan Aidam becomes an early leader in the race)
Photo: John Roemer
Oakland Mills' Ethan Aidam was expected to win the 2A state title, and he did just that. Aidam stayed with a group of the top runners early into the race. However, he eventually managed to break away from the pack to become the sole leader of the race. Aidam put on an impressive show by finishing first with a time of 16:43.60 and becoming the only athlete in his race to go sub-17. To add, he granted himself a lead of approximately 24 seconds. The next couple of spots were a battle. Glenelg's Timothy Cherry finished in second with a time of 17:06.55. Poolesville's William D. Beane was right on his tail, a second behind with 17:07.45. Liberty's Davis Trump did the same thing, finishing behind Beane with a time of 17:08.50. The last athlete to make the ranks was another Poolesville athlete, Caleb J. Dastrup. Dastrup finished in a time of 17:14.38.
(Ethan Aidam separates himself from the pack, pictured going up the dip)
Photo: John Roemer
The Poolesville boys dominated the race as they walked away with the state title, easily. They scored a mere 39 points after placing five of their top runners in the top 20, four of which made the top 10: William D. Beane (3rd, 17:07.45); Caleb J. Dastrup (5th, 17:14.28); Dylan J. Derewonko (7th, 17:35.86); Aaron G. Longbrake (10th, 17:44.84); and Daniel A. Ponciano (19th, 18:09.05). Liberty, led by Davis Trump (4th, 17:08.50), was the runner-up with 102 points. Calvert, led by Jack Hartsig (8th, 17:36.82), finished third with 115 points.
Girls Varsity Race
For the girls, it was a clear battle between Poolesville's Daisy B. Dastrup and Hereford's Estelle Snider. However, Dastrup was able to outkick Snider for the first place title with a time of 19:40.03. Estelle Snider was just six seconds behind with a time of 19:46.04. Dastrup and Estelle Snider were the only two athletes in their race to run sub-20. The third-place finisher was Calvert's Kristen Prince with a time of 20:06.92. Glenelg's Kaila Spence took fourth with 20:21.13. Right behind Spence was another Hereford athlete, Sylvia Snider. Sylvia Snider finished in fifth with 20:23.02.
It was a Hereford sweep for the team title. The Hereford girls finished in just 37 points, which ended up being a tie with the Howard girls (4A Race) for the lowest points at the meet. The Hereford team managed to get this accomplishment after placing six of their girls in the top 20: Estelle Snider (2nd, 19:46.02); Sylvia Snider (5th, 20:23.02); Piper Lentz (8th, 20:37.99); Rebekka Hillier (9th, 20:40.46); Madison Ward (18th, 21:45.13); and Scarlett Seitz (20th, 21:54.74). The Liberty girls, led by Izzy Lucas, finished second with 77 points. Poolesville, led by 2A state champion Daisy B. Dastrup, took third with 107 points.
3A
Boys Varsity Race
(Manchester Valley's Aiden Neal leads the pack)
Photo: John Roemer
The beginning of the race was a toss-up with a few athletes all battling for the first-place title. A group of early leaders began to form including Centennial's Antonio Camacho-Bucks, James M. Bennett's Timothy Synowiec, Manchester Valley's Aiden Neal, C. Milton Wright's Ashton Tolson, Howard's Joseph Raudabaugh, and Mt. Hebron's Jacob Hauf. However, Camacho-Bucks ended up separating himself from the pack a little after the dip. He ended up running away with the 3A state title with a first-place finish of 15:51.38, becoming the only runner in the entire meet to run sub-16. This meant he had the fastest time of the meet. Even more impressive was that he created a 15-second gap between himself and the next runner. The second-place finisher was Synowiec with an impressive 16:05.90. Earlier this season, Synowiec had won the 2021 Bull Run Invitational, which featured the same course, so it wasn't a surprise that he performed well. To add, Synowiec had actually improved on his time from the Bull Run Invite as he went from a time of 16:09.90 to 16:05.90. To top everything off, this was actually Synowiec's first cross country season. He went from being an unranked athlete to finishing second in the state. A battle ensued for third place. Manchester Valley's Aiden Neal went head-to-head with Howard's Joseph Raudabaugh at the very last stretch of the race. However, Neal kept his lead on Raudabaugh, taking third with 16:09.32, which was a 35-second improvement from his time at Bull Run. Raudabaugh was right on Neal's tail, taking fourth with a time of 16:09.49. The last athlete to make the ranks was C. Milton Wright's Ashton Tolson, placing fifth with a time of 16:17.84.
(Antonio Camacho-Bucks pictured crossing the finish line)
(The top 25 boys pose with their medals)
Photo: Craig Amoss
For the team title, the Mt. Hebron boys took the win after placing three athletes in the top 15: Jacob Hauf (6th, 16:22.70); Alexander Barton (8th, 16:43.60); and Braedon Moyer (15th, 17:02.50). The River Hill boys, led by Bryce Handa (9th, 16:44.73), followed close behind with 102 points. Centennial, led by state champion Antonio Camacho-Bucks, finished third with 155 points.
(The Mt. Hebron boys celebrate their victory)
Photo: Craig Amoss
Girls Varsity Race
(Caroline Gregory leads the pack early on)
Photo: Patrick McKinney
The race was a battle between two underclassmen. Frederick's Caroline Gregory, a sophomore, and Northern-Calvert's Ella Meccia, a freshman, fought for the first-place title. However, Gregory was able to snag the win with a very impressive finish of 18:35.62, which broke the previous 3A state record. She ran this course earlier in the season where she had a time of 20:07.50, meaning that she improved by about a minute and a half. An even bigger improvement comes from runner-up Meccia. Meccia finished second with a time of 18:47.31, which was about a 2-minute difference from her performance at Bull Run. Bel Air's Elizabeth Pickett took home third place with a time of 19:04.59. Howard's Elizabeth Holcombe was just a few seconds behind, taking fourth in 19:09.40. Linganore's Caroline Perrone followed very closely in 19:10.56.
(Caroline Gregory becomes the 3A State Champion)
Photo: Patrick McKinney
(Caroline Gregory and Juliana Brawner pose with their medals)
Photo: Carlos Buse
Regarding the team winner, the Howard girls swept the race. They placed five girls in the top 20, four of which were in the top 10: Elizabeth Holcombe (4th, 19:09.40); Nimrit Ahuja (6th, 19:18.84); Kiley Mann (7th, 19:25.80); Hannah Schwab (9th, 19:50.30); and Jasmine Wilson (11th, 20:02.53). Overall, they scored 37 points, which was a tie with Hereford (2A Race) for the lowest points at the meet. The runner-up was Northern-Calvert, led by Meccia, with 112 points. Towson followed close behind in third with 115 points.
(The top 25 girls pose with their medals)
Photo: Craig Amoss
(The Howard girls pose with their first-place award)
Photo: Craig Amoss
4A
Boys Varsity Race
(Tucker Sangster, Luke Coffin and Andrew Schell are early leaders)
Photo: Craig Amoss
The race was expected to be a competition with Severna Park's Tyler Canaday and Annapolis Senior's Luke Coffin after becoming the top two runners in the state. However, Coffin ended up taking the 4A state title in an impressive 16:14.34, which granted him a lead of about 12 seconds. The next couple of spots were a battle. Starting with second place, Arundel's Tucker Sangster managed to outkick his competitors for a time of 16:30.23. To add, he had improved his course time by 23 seconds. Walter Johnson's Andrew Schell followed behind in 16:30.23 to take third. Severna Park's James Glebocki was right on his tail, taking fourth with a time of 16:31.66. Just a few seconds behind was Dulaney's Tyler Dailey, clocking in a time of 16:31.66 to become the last athlete to make the top 5.
(Luke Coffin pictured crossing the finish line to become the 4A State Champion)
Photo: Patrick McKinney
(The top 25 boys pose with their awards)
Photo: Craig Amoss
Regarding the team title, the Severna Park boys swept the race. They scored 56 points after having all seven athletes on their varsity squad place within the top 30, three of which made the top 10: James Glebocki (4th, 16:31.66); Eddie Sullivan (8th, 16:46.81); Tyler Canaday (9th, 16:47.15); Ronan Byrne (17th, 17:08.49); Liam Hagerty (19th, 17:16.10); Tyler Engleman (24th, 17:24.20); and Scott Engleman (30th, 17:39.17). To add, they boasted an impressive 44-second 1-5 spread, as well as the lowest team average of 16:54. This was also their fourth straight title. The runner-up was Walt Whitman, led by Jackson Megary (6th, 16:43.67), with 95 points. Winston Churchill finished third with 107 points.
(The Severna Park boys pose with their first-place award)
Photo: Craig Amoss
Girls Varsity Race
(Varri Higgins and Grace Finnegan are early leaders)
Photo: Patrick McKinney
Bethesda-Chevy Chase's Varri Higgins dominated the race with an almost 20-second lead. Higgins is a sophomore, which makes her performance even more impressive. She took first with a time of 18:37.31, which was the second-fastest time of the meet. Additionally, she improved her time from the course by over a minute. She was then followed by Broadneck Senior's Mollie Fenn, taking second with 18:56.09. Directly behind her was Sherwood's Avery Graham, a freshman, with an 18:57.48. Just a little bit after was Arundel's Katherine Leddy with a fourth-place finish and time of 19:03.49. The final girl to make the ranks was James Hubert Blake's Ella Zeigler in 19:18.41.
(Varri Higgins becomes the 4A State Champion)
Photo: Patrick McKinney
(Pictured left to right: Mollie Fenn, Varri Higgins and Avery Graham)
Photo: Craig Amoss
(The top 25 girls pose with their medals)
Photo: Craig Amoss
The Walter Johnson girls walked away with the team title after scoring 80 points. They were led by freshman Madeline Simmons (14th, 20:21.89). Broadneck Senior, led by runner-up Mollie Fenn, snagged second with 93 points. Urbana finished third with 116 points.
(The Walter Johnson girls pose with their first-place trophy)
Photo: Craig Amoss
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