Boys

Runner of the Year

Todd Warner, Arundel, senior: Warner credits a change in attitude for his transformation from an obviously talented junior with promise to the county's best. He raced to an easy victory at the county championship meet (16: 27), took second at the Class 4A East regional, and was third in the Class 4A state meet. He also won the Arundel Invitational (16: 31) and a six-team county meet at Arundel. His times improved significantly from a year ago, when he tended to fade late.

The team

Ryan Coughlin, Severna Park, freshman: This freshman finished sixth in the county (16: 55) and eighth in the region (16: 24), helping Severna Park to the Anne Arundel County championship. Despite a disappointing showing at the state meet (78th in 19: 11), he was consistently one of the Falcons' top performance through the year.

John Dalby, Annapolis, senior: In his first cross-country season, Dalby took eighth in the county (17, 26), 11th in the region and 31st at the Class 4A state meet (17: 58). He also finished fifth at the Knights Invite (16: 36) and sixth at the Meade Autumn Classic (19: 04), placing second and third among county entrants, respectively. He will compete next year at the Naval Academy.

Chris Dyer, Arundel, senior: Improving significantly as the season progressed, taking third in the county (16: 53), ninth at the Class 4A East regional, and 12th in the state (17: 15). The senior also finished seventh at the Anne Arundel County Invitational (17: 08) and 13th at the Meade Autumn Classic (19: 15).

Chris Foster, Severn, sophomore: He was third at the U.S. Association of Track and Field regional championships in Virginia Beach (18: 13), qualifying for the Junior Olympic Nationals in Chicago on Dec. 12. Locally, he finished ninth at the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association championships, crossing the line first among county and B Conference competitors. He won every regular-season dual meet as the Admirals placed second in the conference.

Justin Marvel, Severna Park, sophomore: Quickly becoming a dominant force, Marvel took fourth in the county (16: 54), sixth in the region (16: 23) and 20th in the state (17: 38). His fifth-place finish at the Anne Arundel County Invitational (17: 03) was the second best among county entrants, beaten only by Runner of the Year Warner.

Ben Morris, Annapolis, senior: Consistently among the top county runners, Morris took second in the county (16: 50), fourth in the region and 24th at the Class 4A state meet (17: 46). He also finished fourth at the Meade Autumn Classic (18: 47) and ninth at both the Anne Arundel County Invitational (17: 14) and Knights Invite (16: 44).

Matt Ostrye, Severna Park, senior: A key ingredient in the Falcons' county championship run, Ostrye took fifth in the county (16: 54), eighth in the Anne Arundel County Invitational (17: 09) and fourth at the Knights Invite (16: 34), finishing the latter in the fastest time among county entrants.

Jermaine Tai, Broadneck, junior: The junior was important in helping the Bruins win their region championship, take second in the county and sixth at the Class 3A state meet. Tai finished seventh in the county (17: 25), third in the region and 26th in the state, also taking 17th at the Meade Autumn Classic (19: 43) and 21st at the Knights Invite.

Stephen Weller, Broadneck, sophomore: After finishing second at the county championship meet, Weller was disqualified for going off course -- actually having run farther than the rest of the field. He followed that with a second-place finish at the region meet (16: 45) and 15th at the Class 3A state meet.

Girls

Runner of the Year

Katie Sloan, Glen Burnie, senior: She won all but three races she entered this season, including the county and region championships, before taking third at the Class 4A state meet.

After cruising to a 37-second victory at the county meet, she posted the best performance of her career at the Class 4A East regional, winning in 18: 27, a record for the 3.1-mile course and more than a minute better than the second-place finisher.

After winning state championships last winter (indoor mile and 2-mile) and spring (outdoor 2-mile), Sloan never rested on her laurels, attending two summer cross country camps and shaving more than a minute off her career best.

The team

Maureen Carr, Southern-Harwood, senior: In her first season, Carr was consistently one of the county's top runners, taking second at the county meet before running what coach Rob Fersch called "her best race of the season" in the Class 2A East regional. She won in 18: 47. She also was second in the Anne Arundel County Invitational (20: 06) and took sixth at the Class 2A state meet.

Becky Chwan, Severna Park, senior: One of the biggest reasons for Severna Park's county and state titles, Chwan placed sixth in the county (20: 47), seventh in the region (20: 11) and Anne Arundel County Invitational (20: 54), and 21st at the Class 4A state meet. (21: 34).

Rachel Dalby, Annapolis, freshman: Another talented freshman, Dalby took seventh in the county (20: 53), eighth in the region (20: 14) and 48th at the Class 4A state meet (22: 27). She also was eighth at the Anne Arundel County Invitational (21: 18) with the sixth-best time of any county entrant.

Liz Funk, Severna Park, freshman: She helped Severna Park to championships at the county and Class 4A state meets, finishing 12th in the county (21: 14), sixth in the region (19: 46) and 14th in the state (20: 58), where her time was the fifth best among county competitors.

Erin Masterson, Annapolis, sophomore: Masterson had a sophomore season to remember, placing fourth in the county (20: 30), third in the region (19: 33), sixth at the Anne Arundel County Invitational (20: 44) and 10th at the Class 4A state meet (20: 48), where her time was third best among county runners.

Amanda Rahorn, Arundel, junior: She likely will enter next season as the county's top senior following a fifth-place county finish (20: 38). She also took 12th at the Class 4A East regional (20: 24), fifth at the Anne Arundel County Invitational (20: 34) and 41st in the state (22: 12).

Lauren Riesett, Broadneck, freshman: A key ingredient in Broadneck's stellar season, Riesett helped as the Bruins knocked off Severna Park during the regular season before winning the regional championships and finishing second in both the county and Class 3A state meets. She took eighth in the county (20: 56), second in the region (20: 13) and ninth in the state (21: 01).

Bonnie Sowa, Severna Park, senior: She was consistently the best runner on a Falcons team that won the Class 4A state championship. She placed third in the county (20: 20), fourth in the region (19: 35), fourth at the Anne Arundel County Invitational (20: 13) and 11th at the state meet (20: 49), helping Severna Park knock off four-time defending-champion Dulaney.

Danielle Veilleux, Broadneck, freshman: This freshman took 11th the county (21: 04), fourth in the region (20: 22), 10th at the Anne Arundel County Invitational (21: 30) and 14th at the Class 3A state meet (21: 27). She improved steadily, finishing as the second-best runner on a team that won its region and was runner-up in both the county and state meets.

Kelly Zuknick, Archbishop Spalding, junior: After two years of soccer, she made her mark in her first cross country season. She placed second in the Association of Independent Schools A Division championship meet (20: 14) to McDonogh's Kacie Remeto. She also took fifth at the Mid-Atlantic Private Schools championships, fourth at the St. Paul's Invitational and 11th at the Georgetown Prep Invitational.

Coach of Year

Ed Purpura, Severna Park: After his girls team lost to Broadneck late in the season, then dropped its first region title in his 11 seasons as coach, Purpura had doubts about the Falcons' prospects for a state championship. "I was really down in the dumps after that [region] meet," said Purpura, whose squad was edged by Westminster. "I didn't think we had much of a chance." Showing its depth, however, Severna Park came back a week later to win its first Class 4A state meet, dethroning four-time defending champion Dulaney. Despite no finisher higher than 11th, the Falcons had four in the top 20. Purpura's boys team also perpetuated its success, winning the county title before taking second in the region and fourth in the state. Since becoming coach in 1988, Purpura's girls teams have won nine county and 10 region titles; his boys four and five, respectively.

Team selection

The Baltimore Sun 1998 All-Anne Arundel County cross country teams were selected by Rich Scherr after consultation with The Sun staff and area coaches.

Pub Date: 11/24/98