Just days ago, the Atholton Raiders won their first Howard County boys championship. Yesterday, coach Pat Saunderson's red-hot team took another step toward its first state title.
Atholton captured top-three finishes in 10 events, including first place in the 800, 1600 and 3200 relays, en route to a team victory at the Class 1A-2A Central Region Indoor Track Championships at the 5th Regiment Armory.
The Raiders won with 122 points, followed by defending state champion Oakland Mills (79) and Glenelg (57). Other Howard teams in the top 10 were Wilde Lake (fifth) and Hammond (tied for eighth).
For Saunderson, whose team defeated Oakland Mills for the county title late last week, the win marked another step in the Raiders' progression to state title contender.
"It was another great team effort," Saunderson said. "We came in today with a quiet confidence. We knew we could win or lose very easily.
"Now we're two out of three, and we're looking forward to making a good show in the states."
The Raiders will get their opportunity on Feb. 20 at the Armory.
Among their standout performers yesterday were Jared Howard, who scored victories in both the 300 and 500; Edward Chang, second in both events; and Maurice Clifford, who won the 55 --.
Zachary Tropf also chipped in, taking third in the 1600 and fourth in the 3200. John Porter got second in the high jump, and Adrian Valdes got third in the shot put.
In what was a team effort, Atholton picked up its first regional title since 1990 and only the second in team history.
"We'll give it a run at the states," Saunderson said. "There are a lot of great teams out there, but we think we can be right there."
Catonsville captured the girls meet with 109 points, followed by Hammond (54), Glenelg (50) and Wilde Lake (49.5). Other Howard teams in the top 10 included Oakland Mills (sixth) and Atholton (eighth).
The Comets secured their win in dominating fashion, doing the bulk of their damage in the distance events.
"We didn't have too many weaknesses today," Catonsville coach Jeff McDaniel said of his team, which finished in the top four in all but two events. "The kids really ran up to their potential.
"We scored everywhere we have to score to make a run in the states."
The Comets finished sixth in the 1A-2A state girls meet last year.
Leading the way yesterday were Brigid O'Connell, Ann Giardina and Sarah Giardina, who finished one-two-three in the 3200 -- giving their team 24 points.
Ann Giardina won the 1600 in a virtual dead heat, nosing out Glenelg's Beth Santilli by three-tenths of a second.
"We're running excellent right now," said Ann Giardina, who said the sweep in the 3200 was unexpected. "It just happenned. Brigid and I wanted to go out together and finish first and second, but Sarah was a nice surprise."
Sarah Giardina, the younger of the two sisters by three years, procured a top-three finish in the event despite qualifying ninth. Her time of 12:41.8 was nearly 20 seconds faster than her previous best.
Carrie Hunt, who qualified for the state meet in four events, and Lori Havrilla, who threw four feet farther in the shot put than she did in last week's county meet, also highlighted a strong overall performance.
Hammond, Glenelg, Wilde Lake and Oakland Mills were among the stronger contenders, but proved no match for the powerful Comets.