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The Howard County outdoor track and field championships wrapped up Saturday, and the team leaders after Day 2 last week went on to claim their titles.
After the field events ended Saturday at Centennial High, the Howard girls team and the Oakland Mills boys squad won their respective team championships.
The Lions’ crown is their seventh in the last eight seasons (not including 2020, which was canceled due to the pandemic). They outscored second-place Reservoir by 85 points, totaling 180 points — a Howard County championship meet record. Howard’s girls also won the cross country championship in April.
“It’s been a fun run for sure,” said Howard coach Zack Dickerson. “This might be the most talented team I’ve had the opportunity or pleasure to coach. We scored in all different aspects of the sport in the sprints, distance and the field.”
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On Saturday, the Lions were led by Ruth Smith, Kiara Murray and Tahlea Murray, who combined to sweep the three jumping events. Smith won the high jump, while the Murray sisters won the long jump (Kiara) and triple jump (Tahlea). Annaliese Mmari also contributed in the field events, placing second in both the high jump and the triple jump.
“I have to give a ton of credit to the field athletes,” Dickerson said. “A two-day meet is common for us, but to have that second day postponed for a week is a pretty unique circumstance. For our girls to be mentally focused and tough this whole past week in practice, they came out and performed so well today.”
On Day 2 last week, the Lions were led by Nimrit Ahuja, who was the most impressive girls performer of the county championships. The junior showed her stamina and determination by winning both the mile and two-mile, which were run only two hours apart. Both races, littered with talented distance runners, had a pack of five girls at the front until the final lap, when Ahuja went into another gear to win the races.
Howard also won two relays on Day 2 and one relay on Day 1. Michaela Greene, Olivia Hammond, Dakota West and Kiara Murray won the 4x200; Hayley Long, Ahuja, Greene and West finished first in the 4x400; and Long, Kiley Mann, Elizabeth Holcombe and Hannah Schwab won gold in the 4x800.
On the boys side, Oakland Mills gained an insurmountable lead after Day 2 of the competition last weekend and held on to top Howard, which won the previous two crowns, by more than 50 points.
[ Oakland Mills boys dominate Day 2 of Howard County outdoor track and field championships ]
“It’s been a long time coming for those kids,” said Oakland Mills coach Chris Brewington. “I thought we had a good shot last year, but because of COVID things got canceled. Luckily, my kids did what they needed to do during COVID. This is a really good feeling. I’m so happy for them.”
Judson Lincoln IV, Isiah Rucker and Baidy Ba dominated for the Scorpions on Day 2. Lincoln won the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes; Rucker finished first in the 110 hurdles and the 300 hurdles; and Ba won the 800 and 3,200. The Scorps also had two gold-medal winning relays. Trevin McHargh, Quincy Julien, Kanye Holland and Shane King combined to win the 4x200, while Rucker, Lincoln, John Tatum IV and Ba finished first in the 4x400.
Other boys winners on Day 3 included: Centennial’s Liam Lovering (shot put and discus), Glenelg’s Ian Higgins (long jump), Atholton’s Alec Zaller (pole vault) and Glenelg’s Bisi Owens (triple jump).
Other girls winners on Day 3 were Centennial throwers Liv Ragonese (discus) and Claudia Martinez (shot put).
The county’s track teams will now prepare for sectionals on June 7-8.
On June 7, Centennial, Marriotts Ridge, Wilde Lake and Mt. Hebron compete in the 3A East Section 1 meet, while Glenelg runs in the 2A West Section I competition. On June 8, Atholton, Hammond, Long Reach, Oakland Mills, Reservoir and River Hill compete in the 3A East Section II meet, while Howard runs in the 4A East Section I competition.
The region meets will be on June 12 or June 14, while the state competitions will be on June 18-19.
RESULTS
TEAM SCORES:
Boys
1. Oakland Mills 156.5
2. Howard 102.5
3. Atholton 74
4. Reservoir 67
5. Glenelg 63
6. Centennial 61
7. Mt. Hebron 50
8. Long Reach 46
9. River Hill 32
10. Marriotts Ridge 22
11. Hammond 21
12. Wilde Lake 7
Girls
1. Howard 180
2. Reservoir 95
3. Mt. Hebron 73
4. Centennial 67
5. River Hill 66
6. Oakland Mills 64
7. Glenelg 63
8. Atholton 46
9. Long Reach 19
10. Marriotts Ridge 15
11. Wilde Lake 9
12. Hammond 3
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS:
Boys
Shot put: 1. Liam Lovering, Centennial, 53 feet-7.75 inches; 2. CJ Marthins, Howard, 43-1; 3. Miguel Moran, Atholton, 43-0.
Discus: 1. Lovering, 156-6; 2. Marthins, 109-3; 3. Moran, 108-10.
High jump: 1. Adrian Nwakalor, Atholton, 6-0; 2. Abdur Hassan, Oakland Mills, 5-10; 3. Aki Harvey, Oakland Mills, 5-8.
Long jump: 1. Ian Higgins, Glenelg, 21-8.5; 2. Ibrahim Khairat, Howard, 21-2.25; 3. Julian Vissering, Reservoir, 20-1.75.
Triple jump: 1. Bisi Owens, Glenelg, 46-7.5; 2. Khairat, 46-0; 3. Kanye Holland, Oakland Mills, 44-9.
Pole vault: 1. Alec Zaller, Atholton, 13-1; 2. Christian Bowens, Long Reach, 11-0; 3. Justin Martin, Hammond, 10-0.
100: 1. Judson Lincoln IV, Oakland Mills, :11.16; 2. Ian Higgins, Glenelg, :11.20; 3. Jaylen Myers, Long Reach, :11.35.
200: 1. Lincoln, :22.83; 2. Higgins, :22.98; 3. Justin Evans, Mt. Hebron, :23.12.
400: 1. Lincoln, :49.4; 2. Julian Vissering, Reservoir, :51.39; 3. Evans, :51.4.
110 hurdles: 1. Isiah Rucker, Oakland Mills, :15.09; 2. Okechukwu Tabugbo, Reservoir, :17.06; 3. Jaylen Griffin, Hammond, :17.10.
300 hurdles: 1. Rucker, :41.32; 2. Alexander Thompson, River Hill, :45.13; 3. Kendall Phillips, Howard, :46.02.
800: 1. Baidy Ba, Oakland Mills, 1:54.8; 2. Joseph Raudabaugh, Howard, 1:54.85; 3. Fernando Duraes, Centennial, 1:56.87.
1,600: 1. Antonio Camacho-Bucks, Centennial, 4:16.19; 2. Raudabaugh, 4:16.30; 3. Sebastian Martinez, Centennial, 4:22.66.
3,200: 1. Ba, 9:11; 2. Cameron Hindle, Long Reach, 9:12; 3. Jacob Cole, Centennial, 9:30.
4x100: 1. Atholton (Joshua Ruley, Jamel Mins, Darian Tarver, Andre’ Richmond), :43.83; 2. Oakland Mills (Trevin McHargh, Quincy Julien, Malachi Rogers, Shane King) :43.87; 3. Reservoir (Myles Harrington, Jalen Booth-Mitchell, Dylan Bradford, Noah Connor), :44.37.
4x200: 1. Oakland Mills (McHargh, Julien, Kanye Holland, King), 1:32; 2. Reservoir (Harrington, Booth-Mitchell, Bradford, Samuel Akinrebiyo), 1:34; 3. Atholton (Mins, Ruley, Harlem Morton, Jemeel Mbure), 1:35.
4x400: 1. Oakland Mills (Rucker, Lincoln, John Tatum IV, Ba), 3:27; 2. Mt. Hebron (Jason Taylor, Evans, Aaron Abedin, William Jones), 3:29; 3. Glenelg (Everett Stimler, Timothy Cherry, Bisi Owens, Higgins), 3:32.
4x800: 1. Howard (Phillips, Eian Butler, Robbie Ryerson, Raudabaugh), 7:56; 2. Centennial (Martinez, Connor Brennan, Duraes, Camacho-Bucks), 7:57; 3. Marriotts Ridge (Max Crockett, Brian Lau, Joseph Larson, Michael Wade), 8:17.
Girls
Shot put: 1. Claudia Martinez, Centennial, 31-6.5; 2. Liv Ragonese, Centennial, 31-3.25; 2. Katherine Wood, 26-10.5.
Discus: 1. Ragonese, 94-8; 2. Martinez, 86-10; 3. Wood, 79-4.
High jump: 1. Ruth Smith, Howard, 5-0; 2. Annaliese Mmari, Howard, 4-10; 3. Larasia Buckner, River Hill, 4-8.
Long jump: 1. Kiara Murray, Howard, 16-9.75; 2. Tahlea Murray, Howard, 16-2.75; 3. Aniyah Toppin, Long Reach, 15-6.
Triple jump: 1. T. Murray, 36-5; 2. Mmari, 33-8.25; 3. L. Buckner, 32-10.
Pole vault: 1. Rosalie Rosenberg, Oakland Mills, 8-6; 2. Oliva Struble, Atholton, 8-0; 3. Kristin Eckart, Howard, 8-00.
100: 1. Araoluwa Omitowoju, River Hill, :12.7; 2. Garcelle, Pierre, Mt. Hebron, :12.75; 3. Janasia Buckner, River Hill, :12.78.
200: 1. Sameena Mathew, Mt. Hebron, :26.25; 2. Farah Nasir, Atholton, :26.33; 3. Pierre, :26.51.
400: 1. Mathew, :57.51, 2. Nasir, :57.69; 3. Dakota West, Howard, 1:02.23.
100 hurdles: 1. Kat Parris, Reservoir, :16.33; 2. Jannah Hall, Reservoir, :16.5; 3. Arayana Ladson, Mt. Hebron, :16.62.
300 hurdles: 1. Parris, :48.11; 2. Ladson, :49.89; 3. Susan Shollenberger, Glenelg, :50.79.
Howard County Times: Top stories
800: 1. Kaila Spence, Glenelg, 2:20; 2. Kailey Kasbeer-Betty, Glenelg, 2:22; 3. Katerina Talanova, Centennial, 2:24.
1,600: 1. Nimrit Ahuja, Howard, 5:11; 2. Spence, 5:12; 3. Talanova, 5:12.
3,200: 1. Ahuja, 11:28; 2. Ella Harris, Oakland Mills, 11:36; 3. Sara Kindbom, Howard, 11:38.
4x100: 1. River Hill (Larasia Buckner, J. Buckner, Teniola Adejana, Omitowoju), :50.97; 2. Reservoir (Sophie Davidson, Mecca Jackson, Breyonna Young, Jamie Adams), :51.13; 3. Howard (Faith Kandie, Olivia Hammond, Tahlea Murray, Kiara Murray).
4x200: 1. Howard (Michaela Greene, Hammond, West, K. Murray), 1:46; 2. Reservoir (Adams, Davidson, Katelyn Herberholz, Margot Laughner), 1:50; 3. Oakland Mills (Arianna Marshall, Aliya Murray, Desiree Chisholm, Alana Oppermann), 1:50.
4x400: 1. Howard (Hayley Long, Ahuja, Greene, West), 4:11; 2. Mt. Hebron (Mathew, Pierre, Ava Pierre, Alexandra Carrico), 4:13; 3. Oakland Mills (Oba Aofolaju, Olivia Porter, Marshall, Oppermann), 4:24.
4x800: 1. Howard (Long, Kiley Mann, Elizabeth Holcombe, Hannah Schwab), 9:40; 2. Glenelg (Kasbeer-Betty, Sierra Rohmann, Kara Rivenbark, Spence), 9:48; 3. Oakland Mills (Harris, Marina Blackman, Lily Decker, Frankie Moore), 10:25.