2021 Garmin RunningLane XC Championships: Recap - MD Edition

On Saturday, Dec. 4, a few Maryland athletes traveled to Huntsville, Alabama for the 2021 Garmin RunningLane XC Championships. There were two teams in particular and a handful of individuals that represented the state. 

Related:  Severna Park Boys, Howard Girls Headed to RunningLane

Individuals

Boys Blue Race

(Joshua Lopez, pictured right, at the 2021 MPSSAA 3A West Regional Championships)

Photo: Patrick McKinney

Regarding individuals, they were spread out across a few different races. The first Maryland athlete to race was Col. Zadok Magruder's Joshua Lopez in the Boys Blue Race. Lopez has been a true underdog this season. He's had many top 20 performances throughout the fall, and he's only a junior. Lopez made his 2021 cross country debut at the Landon Invitational where he placed 6th with a time of 18:28.86. Since then, he's improved on his 5K time rapidly, now running sub-17. Lopez raced as an individual at RunningLane, and he ended up dropping almost a minute off of his previous PR time. He placed 25th with a new 5K PR of 16:33.54. This time would rank him in the top 25 for fastest returners for the 2022 cross country season. 

Post shared by Joshua Lopez below:

Girls Bronze Race

The next race to feature a Maryland runner was the Girls' Bronze Race. Howard's Margaret Krieg finished her race with a time of 22:26.96. Krieg was just 20 seconds off of breaking her current 5K PR. Krieg has been part of a history-making team with the rest of the Howard girls; She's one of their seven varsity runners. 

Boys Bronze Race

(Scott Engleman, pictured right, at the 2021 MPSSAA State Championships)

Photo: Craig Amoss

Two runners represented Maryland in the Boys Bronze Race, both of which were from the Severna Park team. Like the Howard girls, the Severna Park boys have been making history as one of the fastest teams the state has ever seen. First, we saw Scott Engleman cross the line in a blistering 15:47.79, a new 5K PR for him. To add, he broke into the top 20 for fastest boys (based on 5K performances) in the 2021 cross country season. The next athlete to cross the line was Christopher Kirchner. Kirchner finished in 16:51.15, a few seconds short of his current PR. 

Girls Silver Race

(Elizabeth Pickett pictured during the Girls Silver Race at RunningLane)

Photo: Bobby Reyes

One athlete from Maryland was in the Girls Silver Race: Bel Air's Elizabeth Pickett. Pickett had an incredible performance with a top 10 finish, the highest place for a finish of any Marylander at the meet. To add, she set a new 5K PR for herself with an impressive 18:04.02. This time was a top 10 5K time for a Maryland girl in the 2021 cross country season. Plus, she already boasts the fastest 3-mile performance in the state this season. Although she raced in the silver race, she was the third-fastest Maryland girl overall. Clearly, Pickett is a strong competitor and she's ranked very high for multiple events in the 2022 indoor season. 

Boys Silver Race

(Joseph Raudabaugh, pictured left)

Another impressive performance from a Maryland runner came from Howard's Joseph Raudabaugh in the Boys Silver Race. Raudabaugh topped his previous season-best with a new time of 15:19.47, which was a near top 30 finish for his race. This time was the sixth-fastest 5K performance from a Maryland athlete this season. Despite racing in the silver race, he was the third-fastest Maryland athlete overall. To add, his performance served as an MD #20 all-time. 

Teams

Girls Gold Race

(The Howard girls pose with the Severna Park boys)

Photo courtesy of the Severna Park team

The Howard team represented Maryland well in the Girls Gold Race. The first girl to cross the line was Nimrit Ahuja with a blistering time of 17:40.90. This performance was the ninth-fastest girls' 5K performance in Maryland, ever. To add, it is the current fastest time of the 2021 cross country season, surpassing the previous #1 runner, Juliette Whittaker (SB of 17:44.10). The next athlete to finish was junior Kiley Mann with a time of 18:00.03, nearly running sub-18. In the state of Maryland, this makes her the tenth-fastest junior of all-time, as well as the fastest junior in the 2021 cross country season (based on 5K performances). The next three Howard athletes were close together, just a few seconds apart. Elizabeth Holcombe took third for the team in a time of 18:29.48. Then, Jasmine Wilson followed in fourth in 18:36.28. Hannah Schwab finished two seconds away from Wilson in a time of 18:38.93. All top five girls had a PR. The last Howard athlete to finish was Alison Ferris in 21:50. 

The Howard girls finished off the season strong, maintaining their number one position as the current fastest girls' team in the state. At RunningLane, they had an average time of 18:17.12 and are still the only girls' team to run sub-19 in Maryland this season. To add, they had an impressive top 20 finish as a team out of almost 60 of the nation's fastest teams.

Boys Gold Race

(The Severna Park boys pose after their races at RunningLane)

Photo courtesy of the Severna Park team

The Severna Park boys had phenomenal performances at RunningLane with all seven runners shattering their own personal records. To start, the team's #1 runner, Tyler Canaday, came in with a PR of 15:10 and ended up dropping seven seconds. His new 5K PR of 15:03.09 ended up being the second-fastest 5K performance of a Maryland boy, ever. He was just six seconds behind the current #1 Maryland runner of all-time, McDonough's Dalton Hengst. To add, Canaday continues to maintain his position of being the fastest athlete of the 2021 cross country season. The next Severna Park athlete to cross the finish line was James Glebocki with an impressive time of 15:18.75. This was a new 5K PR for Glebocki, and his performance served as an MD #18 all-time, while also making him the fifth-fastest athlete of the season. The third runner for the squad was Eddie Sullivan, just a few seconds behind Glebocki with a time of 15:25.49. He had a near top 30 all-time performance and became the seventh-fastest athlete of the season. The last couple of athletes on the team came pretty close to one another. There was a tie between two runners: Tyler Engleman and Mason Siebenhaar. However, Engleman managed to out-kick Siebenhaar to become the fourth Severna Park athlete to finish. Engleman finished in 15:43.55, while Siebenhaar finished in 15:43.57. Liam Hagerty trailed behind closely, finishing sixth for the squad in a time of 15:49.52. The seventh and final athlete was Ronan Byrne with a time of 16:00.36, a near sub-16 finish.