Poly's up-and-coming indoor track team ventured into unfamiliar territory yesterday at the Fifth Regiment Armory and the Engineers liked what they found.
Participating in the Class 3A East Region Indoor Track and Field Championships for the first time since joining the Maryland Secondary Schools Athletic Association, the Engineers earned the respect of the rest of the teams in the region, but more importantly, earned a number of qualifiers for the state meet.
Paced by senior Lloyd Vennie, the Engineers boys squad took fourth in the team competition with 46 points. Northern, another city entry, finished seventh in the girls team competition and was ninth among the 12 boys teams.
Vennie won the boys 500-meter --, ran the lead-off leg of the Engineers' region champion 800 relay team, took third in the 300 and was a member of the third-place 1,600 relay team.
After finishing third behind co-champions Clifford Paul of Wheaton and James Simms of Seneca Valley, Vennie, a 5-foot-11 speedster, turned in a winning time of 1 minute, 9.7 seconds in the 500, just over a second ahead of Seneca Valley runner-up Fred Hunter.
Vennie later combined with Sony Bullock, David Peterson and Anthony Okoye to win the 800 relay in 1:40.0.
"We wanted to come out here and show the rest of the schools what Poly is all about," said Vennie. "Hopefully, next year they'll remember us."
Peterson took second in the boys 55 hurdles, finishing between two athletes from Linganore.
Juniors Donte Young, Joe Edmonds and Brian Batson and freshman Arnold Henry helped Poly's cause by claiming fourth in the 3,200 relay.
Northern, victim of a dropped baton, finished sixth in the same race and narrowly missed qualifying for states.
Northern's Alphonso Griffin is one Viking who will be returning to the armory for the Class 3A state meet on Feb. 21.
Griffin, a junior, placed fourth in the shot put with a toss of 38-5 1/4 , barely a foot short of champion Tom Bellino of Thomas Johnson.
Janel Stewart of Northern couldn't overcome Natalie Johnson of Paint Branch in the 55 --, but her second-place effort earned her one more shot at states.
Stewart also placed fourth for the Vikings in the 300, finishing behind two runners from Paint Branch and champion Shakara Grant of Wheaton.
Lashawn Palmer of Poly took fourth in the shot, her throw of 26-3 1/4 falling nine inches short of the region champ from Linganore.
Northern sophomore Majeedah Neale earned an invitation to the state meet by finishing fourth in the girls 55 hurdles (9.9).
Neale and Stewart later helped teammates Latrice Stevens and Muriel Curtis get to states via a fourth-place finish in the 800 relay.
"We did what we came to do," said Batson. "We improved our times and qualified for states."