Photo: MileSplit Maryland
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Maryland's underclassmen have made their presence felt through the first month of the cross country season, with four athletes already separating themselves at the top of the state's freshman and sophomore leaderboards.
Here is a look at the top freshman and sophomore on both the boys and girls sides after September's slate of competition.
Jordan Gelineau (Crofton): Winning all three of his races this fall, including a 15:42.60 at the Chesapeake Invite and a three-mile victory at the Bull Run in 16:15.72, Gelineau has been the clear class of the sophomore boys field in Maryland. He looks like one of the state's most exciting young runners heading into October, and remains the lone second-year athlete to break 16:00 and has a 28-second lead on the next fastest runner.
Mackenzie Philp (North Hagerstown): A win at the Interstate Classic in 17:57.20 (3-mile) set the tone for Philp's fall, and she backed it up with an 18:02.60 at the Carlisle Invitational last weekend, finishing third in a competitive out-of-state field. She sits atop the sophomore girls leaderboard heading into October and has yet to finish outside of the top three. Philp moved up to No. 9 on Maryland's all-time sophomore leaderboard and can become the seventh to ever break 18:00 if she can shave off just a few seconds over the next six weeks.
Benicio Benitez (Gilman): Dropping over 50 seconds from his season opener at the MIAA League Meet, Benitez ran 17:16.50 in just his second race of the year at the Georgetown Prep Cross-Country Classic, finishing eighth in a field that included some of the top runners in the region. Just a freshman, Benitez is already just 16 seconds from running his way into the 16s after just two races at the high school level.
Alice Sheffield (Bullis): From her high school debut of 19:46.20 at the Skip Grant Invitational to her 19:04.40 at the Carlisle Invitational this past weekend, Sheffield has shown steady improvement through her first two races and sits atop the Maryland girls freshman leaderboard heading into the back half of the cross country campaign. The Bullis standout is the top freshman in the state by nearly half a minute and is the second-fastest Bulldog in program history behind Mia Gyau's 18:48 from 2012.