Mt. Hebron’s girls sprinters led the Vikings to a tie for second place in the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association Class 3A championships on Saturday.
The Vikings also finished the three-day state championships at Morgan State University’s Hughes Stadium as the top team from Howard County. Mt. Hebron scored 61 points — most of which came from a handful of runners — to finish tied for second with Frederick. Northern Calvert won with 85 points.
“It means a lot,” said Vikings head coach Teyarnte Carter. “We’re still so young, too. Most of the girls on the team are sophomores, with a few freshmen, two juniors and two seniors. Hopefully our future is bright.”
The best performance of the weekend was from Hebron’s 4x400-meter relay team. Sophomore Sierrah Matthews, senior Jaiden Ritter, sophomore Garcelle Pierre and junior Satori Valentine won a gold medal and broke the 3A record with a time of 3 minutes, 50.68 seconds. The previous record was 3:51.50, set by Central-PG in 1982.
“I don’t even think we knew what the record was,” said Ritter, a Boston University commit. “We just came out here to run and set a PR (personal record). Our PR before this was 3:51(.85).”
The Vikings’ top performer was Valentine, who won three gold medals. Before running the final leg of the 4x400, the junior won the 400-meter dash and the 800.
“It means a lot to be a (three-time) state champion,” Valentine said. “I want to thank coach Carter and my teammates for pushing me because they all played a part in helping me get to where I am.”
Ritter also won three medals this weekend. After winning silver in the 4x200 relay alongside Pierre, Matthews and Blaire Ridgely on Friday, Ritter finished second in the 100 and ran the second leg of the 4x400. She lost the 100-meter dash by eight thousandths of a second and finished fourth in the 200, behind the third-place runner by three hundredths of a second.
“For her to be predicted to win the 100 and score in all those events, that’s the way you want to end her state career,” Carter said. “I’m so proud of her.”
Ritter is thankful for Carter, whom Ritter said is a “phenomenal coach.”
“She motivates us,” Ritter said. “She has a personal relationship with each one of us, so she can tailor to our needs. She can read us very well, and she knows what to do to reach us individually.”
The only other Howard County team to place was River Hill in 2A. The Hawks finished in a distant third with 53 points.
Sydney Robinson medaled in four events for the Hawks. After running a leg of River Hill’s 4x200 relay on Thursday, Robinson finished third in the 100, 200 and 4x100 with Janasia Buckner, Araoluwa Omitowoju and Zoe Scott.
“The mindset for me was to place in everything and just drop my times,” said Robinson, a Northeastern University commit. “I needed to prove myself as a senior in my last (state meet).”
Faith Meininger finished second in the mile for her third medal of the weekend. On Thursday, she finished second in the two mile and third in the 4x800.
For the River Hill boys team, Chase McGeehan placed third in the 4x800 on Thursday and 400-meter dash on Saturday.
The next best Howard County team was the Reservoir girls squad in 3A. The Gators, led by Adaobi Tabugbo, finished in fourth with 51 points. Tabugbo won the 100 hurdles, finished second in the 300 hurdles, third in the 4x100 relay alongside Sophie Davidson, Breyonna Young and Asha Taitt and fifth in the 100.
“She’s one of the quietest kids on the team, but her volume of what she does in work ethic is unspeakable,” said Reservoir coach Phil Rogers. “… A kid like that makes coaching easy. If you look at her progression over the last three years, it’s absurd.”
Asha Taitt also medaled for Reservoir, finishing second in the long jump, and the Gators’ 4x400-meter relay team of Adeola Opadina, Annabel Corte, Katelyn Herberholz and Davina Gyimah finished third.
Emmanuel Ibeh paced Reservoir’s boys team, winning the 400-meter dash. The boys finished seventh in 3A.
“He’s one of those kids who you love him, because he works so hard,” Rogers said. “… I’m so proud of him. He’s been our MVP of the season.”
The top boys performer of the weekend was Oakland Mills’ Rafi Cason. In 2A, Cason medaled in four events. He finished second in the 200 and 400 and was a member of the Scorpions’ gold medal-winning 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams. Christopher Evans, Josh Dixon and Deon Breland joined Cason on the 4x100 relay, while Evans, Breland and Javier Relf ran with him in the 4x400 relay.
“We trust each other,” Cason said about the relay teams. “If Chris gets out bad, we know he won’t give up. We know he’ll finish. It’s the trust you build up over time.”
Hammond’s boys team was carried by Loick Amouzou and Damon Brockenberry in 2A. Amouzou, a junior, finished second in the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles, while Brockenberry took home a gold medal in the 400 and a bronze in the 100.
Howard County took the top three spots in the 2A 400-meter dash, with McGeehan finishing third and Cason placing second.
“Every meet (McGeehan and Cason) push me to run faster, train harder and get a better time,” Brockenberry said.
In 4A, Howard’s girls team was led by Amanda Eliker, who finished second in the mile on Saturday and two mile on Friday. She was four tenths of a second behind the winner in the mile.
Atholton’s girls performed well in the 3A field events. Morgan Young finished second in the shot put, and Cassidy Bunyard placed second in the high jump. On Friday, Madison Garrigus took home a silver medal in the pole vault.
Centennial’s Liam Lovering extended his seed distance by more than 14 feet to take home a silver medal in the 3A boys discus.
TEAM STANDINGS:
Girls 2A
3. River Hill, 53; 18. Oakland Mills, 14; T-30. Glenelg, 3
Girls 3A
T-2. Mt. Hebron, 61; 4. Reservoir, 51; 9. Atholton, 35; T-19. Centennial, 10
Girls 4A
13. Howard, 23
Boys 2A
6. Oakland Mills, 44.5; T-8. Hammond, 41; 10. River Hill, 28; 15. Wilde Lake, 15; T-30. Glenelg, 1
Boys 3A
7. Reservoir, 31; T-12. Centennial, 22; T-16. Mt. Hebron, 17; T-25. Atholton, 11; 33. Long Reach, 6
Boys 4A
18. Howard, 15
Medalists from Thursday and Friday
Girls 2A
Faith Meininger, River Hill, second place, 3,200
Faith Meininger, Kennedy Clark, Raaya Khleif, Katherine Kitzinger, River Hill, third place, 4x800
Kennedy Clark, Sydney Robinson, Janasia Buckner, Araoluwa Omitowoju, River Hill, second place, 4x200
Girls 3A
Jaiden Ritter, Blaire Ridgely, Garcelle Pierre, Sierrah Matthews, Mt. Hebron, second place, 4x200
Emily Brefo, Katherine Morris, Camryn Streib and Gabriella Degrezia, Atholton, third place, 4x800
Madison Garrigus, Atholton, second place, pole vault
Girls 4A
Amanda Eliker, Howard, second place, 3,200
Boys 2A
Darren McGowan, Anish Nanjappa, Evan Ying, Chase McGeehan, third place, 4x800
Anish Nanjappa, River Hill, third place, 3,200
Jim Nwalal, Wilde Lake, second place, high jump
Boys 3A
Jacob Cole, Centennial, third place, 3,200
Other competitors on Saturday
Girls 2A
Janasia Buckner, River Hill, 100
Oluwaseun Sule, Oakland Mills, 100, long jump
Ada Beams, River Hill, 100 hurdles
Miranda Mazzella, River Hill, 100 hurdles
Megan Gunther, Oakland Mills, 300 hurdles
Natasha Easley, River Hill, 300 hurdles
Kennedy Clark, River Hill, 400
Ciara Lott, Oakland Mills, 400
Katherine Coen, Hammond, 800
Kaila Spence, Glenelg, 800
Faith Meininger, River Hill, 800
Katherine Kitzinger, River Hill, 1,600
Katie Melesko, Glenelg, 1,600
Ciara Lott, Bernardette Molokwu, Jade Bangoura, Oluwaseun Sule, Oakland Mills, 4x100
Layla Hamro, Zoe Miranda, Daanae Britt, Kirstin Williams, Hammond, 4x100
Jada Charon, Audrey Mullins, Camille Liparini, Montara Clay, Marriotts Ridge, 4x100
Kaila Spence, Christine Rouix, April Smith, Katie Melesko, Glenelg, 4x400
Ciara Lott, Megan Gunther, Arianna Marshall, Alana Oppermann, Oakland Mills, 4x400
Madison Dzubak, Natasha Easley, Kennedy Clark, Katherine Kitzinger, River Hill, 4x400
Ambrie Kagel, Katherine Taylor, Tess Dandridge, Tyler Colburn, Marriotts Ridge, 4x400
Ada Beams, River Hill, pole vault
Camri Edwards-Bryant, River Hill, high jump
Tyler Colburn, Marriotts Ridge, high jump
Anna Brown, Wilde Lake, high jump
Samantha Braddy, Marriotts Ridge, shot put
Girls 3A
Blaire Ridgely, Mt. Hebron, 100
Kimayah Faye, Reservoir, 100 hurdles
Kailee Bunyard, Atholton, 300 hurdles
Zhuri Cannon, Atholton, 300 hurdles
Katelyn Herberholz, Reservoir, 400
Sierrah Matthews, Mt. Hebron, 400
Emily Brefo, Atholton, 800
Lara Abedin, Mt. Hebron, 800
Katherine Morris, Atholton, 800
Alison Betler, Centennial, 1,600
Camryn Streib, Atholton, 1,600
Aanchal Kasargod, Atholton, 1,600
Kailee Bunyard, Aniyah Nelson, Navneet Mann, Wande Sogbesan, Atholton, 4x100
Emily Brefo, Katherine Morris, Isha Santhosh, Danielle Floyd, Atholton, 4x400
Na’Shae Early, Mt. Hebron, shot put
Moroti Adewole, Centennial, shot put
Madison Garrigus, Atholton, high jump
Laiya Saunders, Reservoir, high jump
Casandra Gallman, Mt. Hebron, long jump
Lauren Madden, Mt. Hebron, long jump
Morgan Nasir, Atholton, long jump
Girls 4A
Magi’ Harris, Howard, 400
Nimrit Ahuja, Howard, 800
Sara Kindbom, Howard, 1,600
Emily Gorny, Howard, 1,600
Michaela Greene, Kiara Murray, Tiwi Odutola, Tahlea Murray, Howard, 4x100
Magi’ Harris, Michaela Greene, Nimrit Ahuja, Amanda Eliker, Howard, 4x400
Tahlea Murray, Howard, long jump
Kiara Murray, Howard, long jump
Abigail Dua, Howard, pole vault
Boys 2A
Isaiah Rucker, Oakland Mills, 110 hurdles
Jahiem Turner, Oakland Mills, 300 hurdles
Deon Breland, Oakland Mills, 300 hurdles
Austin Weltz, River Hill, 400
Chase McGeehan, River Hill, 800
Frederick Eiland II, Oakland Mills, 1,600
Baidy Ba, Oakland Mills, 1,600
Graham Dilworth, Glenelg, 1,600
Anish Nanjappa, River Hill, 800, 1,600
Roman Johnsonbaugh, Ryan Leyl, Alex Steadman, Jack Liparini, Marriotts Ridge, 4x100
Arya Vahdatshaar, Wande Owens, Matt Leavitt, Everett Stimler, Glenelg, 4x400
Andrew Elder Ward, Hammond, triple jump
Boys 3A
Ali Bowens, Atholton, 100
Darius Ellerbe, Reservoir, 100
Olufemi Yessoufou, Mt. Hebron, 300 hurdles
Subormi Olumide, Mt. Hebron, 300 hurdles
Djavan White, Long Reach, 400
Evan Kocsis, Mt. Hebron, 800
Josh Bradford, Reservoir, 800
Cameron Hindle, Long Reach, 1,600
Jacob Cole, Centennial, 1,600
Nick Weber, Atholton, 1,600
William Jones, Mt. Hebron, 1,600
Thomas Altman, Marco Ayhon, Murtaaz Malik, Zachary Garwacki, Centennial, 4x100
Neal Tyler, Ali Bowens, Noah Alper, Gyasi Bowens, Atholton, 4x100
Justin Evans, Kobe Hill, Connor Croft, Joel Evans, Mt. Hebron, 4x400
Djavan White, Kimball Tyler, Isiah Martin, Isaiah Powell-Major, Long Reach, 4x400
Dorian Coates, Atholton, triple jump
Anthony Matthews, Centennial, triple jump
Lorence Davis, Reservoir, discus
Jack Ragonese, Centennial, discus
Ethan Bishop, Mt. Hebron, pole vault
Sam Iseman, Mt. Hebron, pole vault
Joseph Peters, Mt. Hebron, pole vault
Boys 4A
Eric Okoye, Howard, 100
Jayo Adegboyo, Eric Okoye, Connor Hawkins, Ibrahim Khairat, Howard, 4x100
Ibrahim Khairat, Howard, triple jump
Collin Greene, Howard, discus