Marriotts Ridge’s Jack Slack, Hammond’s Morgan Lane voted as Athletes of the Week | Howard County Sports Notebook

The spring high school sports season ended Saturday, and the 2020-21 season will go down as one of the most unusual ever.

Because of the condensed fall and spring seasons, the Howard County Times staff aimed to get more coverage for athletes by creating polls that allowed the community to pick Athletes of the Week — one boy and one girl.

Each week, after consultation with coaches and receiving nominations, the staff picked players from each of the sports and let the voting from the community decide the rest. The winners every week received a write-up in the following Sunday’s Howard County sports notebook.

Today’s write-ups are the final of the season, and the winners for the week of June 7-12 were Marriotts Ridge boys lacrosse’s Jack Slack and Hammond track’s Morgan Lane.

Boys Athlete of Week (June 12): Jack Slack, Marriotts Ridge lacrosse

Even though the Marriotts Ridge boys lacrosse team didn’t make it to a state championship game, that doesn’t mean the Mustangs’ run wasn’t one of the most impressive for any Howard County team this spring.

The Mustangs went through the gauntlet in the MPSSAA Class 3A playoffs, facing Mt. Hebron, Westminster and Huntingtown — the latter two on the road — and came out with narrow victories in every contest.

Slack, a senior captain on the team, was an integral part of the team’s success in the postseason. During the week of June 7, Slack scored two goals in the Stangs’ win over Mt. Hebron in the 3A East Region I semifinals. Two days later, he scored a game-high five goals to lead Marriotts Ridge to a 13-10 win versus Westminster to clinch the Mustangs the region crown.

“For all of the seniors to go out the way they did, with that stretch we had, was great. Jack was one of our captains, and his play and his leadership skills are part of what helped us get the [state semifinals],” said Marriotts Ridge coach Thomas Minard. “It was a difficult run, and I’m proud that they hung together and battled all the way through.”

Minard said Slack’s biggest strength is his ability to play on both offense and defense.

“He has such tremendous athletic ability — quickness, determination, fight,” Minard said. “In this day in age where so many teams have kids run off to get their defensive middies in, he’s a kid who can play both sides. You don’t have to run him off, because he can play on both ends.”

Girls Athlete of Week (June 12): Morgan Lane, Hammond track & field

Two months ago, Lane wasn’t a hurdler.

Now, she’s one of the best girls hurdlers in the state.

Lane showed promise as a freshman sprinter during the 2019-20 indoor season, but she missed her freshman outdoor season due to the coronavirus pandemic.

She had a hip injury to start this year’s outdoor season, and Hammond coach Jaovon Wright didn’t know what events to put her in. He asked her to do hurdles at a midweek practice, and the rest is history.

“She hasn’t been hurdling very long, but she just excels at whatever you need her to,” Wright said. “She’s extremely smart, and she’s a perfectionist. She works really hard.”

Lane had natural talent for the event, placing second in Hammond’s first county tri-meet — crossing the line in 16.83 seconds. She cut her time in the 100 hurdles by more than a second during the season, placing first at regionals and third at the 3A state meet on Saturday. She had even better success in the 300 hurdles, winning a gold medal in the event at regionals and a silver medal at states.

“It was amazing to see her just even get to the state meet in an event she’s never done,” Wright said. “I was so happy for her today.”