Boys Top Performer
Joel Brown, Woodlawn, senior: The Baltimore County champ in the hurdles (7.4 seconds vs. his best of 7.3), he consistently was a high point scorer in the 55-meter hurdles, the 300 and as a leg on Woodlawn's excellent 1,600 relay team (3 minutes, 36.6 seconds). He won the hurdles at the Pangaea Invitational and was second in the National Guard meet. Woodlawn, defending Class 3A-4A state champions, lost out by 1 3/4 points on the last event this season. But Brown did more than his part, winning the hurdles (7.4), finishing fourth in the 300 (38.2), fifth at 55 (6.7) and leading off the second-place 1,600 relay team, which was second to DuVal. Brown was named to last year's squad, too.
Boys Coach of Year
Gene Constantine, Mount St. Joseph: It says something about a coach when you see the number of kids who try out every year and end up competing for three or four years, indoors, outdoors and cross country. With the Gaels, it was about five dozen this season. "Then we ran out of uniforms," said Constantine, 1997's outdoor track Coach of the Year. The assistant director of students at St. Joe said he spends "a lot of time roaming the hallways looking for leaders, kids who want to compete. The kids run the show. They coach each other. I preach team." His approach has worked so well that a team which used to lose all the time now wins consistently. In 25 years at the school, Constantine, a former policeman, has coached just about every sport.
The boys team
William Birckhead, Milford Mill, senior: A second-place finisher in the hurdles at the Class 2A-3A state meet after being third in the event at the Baltimore County level, Birckhead also led off his team's victorious 800 and 1,600-meter relay teams in Baltimore County.
Felix Isuk, Gilman, senior: Another repeater on the All-Baltimore City/County squad who also saved his best performance of the indoor season for the MIAA championship. Locked in a shot put duel with Mount St. Joseph's Noud Vanstekelenburg at around 50 feet all season, the Harvard-bound All-Metro football linebacker catapulted the shot 53 feet, 2 inches to establish himself as No. 1 in the area. He won three straight MIAA shot put titles.
Aaron Johnson, Calvert Hall, senior: He broke 4: 30 in the mile twice this winter, finishing with an indoor-best of 4: 28.7 at the George Mason University Invitational. Occasionally took part in the 600-yard run for the Cardinals and turned in an MIAA best of 1: 12.3. He was the MIAA's mile champion at 4: 42 and the key ingredient in Calvert Hall's 2-mile relay quartet.
Clevon Johnson, Woodlawn, junior: Johnson, relatively new to distance running, kept improving. He was a 4: 35 miler and 2: 04 half-miler. He was second in the 800 meters at the states (2: 04.3) and fourth in the mile (4: 36.7). He doubled in the Baltimore County championships with 4: 40.7 and 2: 04.7 clockings.
Pat Klein, Mount St. Joseph, junior: A point scorer in every Gaels meet, honor-roll student Klein won at a mile and 1,600, was second at 600 (1: 14) and 800 (2: 06), and was leader of the 3,200 relay team, which won five races, and the 1,600 relay squad. His versatility is his strength.
Chris Knott, Loyola, senior: Saving his best for last, Knott knocked off a 9: 53.1 2-mile to finish as the MIAA's medal winner. Earlier, he had 10: 10.9 over the same track to prevail. Often doubles, adding the mile to his repertoire.
Mike LaBarre, Hereford, junior: After emerging as the Baltimore County champion with a 10-6 pole vault, LaBarre went on to be runner-up to Atholton's Tony Pesce (13-6) in the Class 1A-2A state championship with a personal best of 12 feet. He is an All-County selection by the coaches.
Glenn Littlefield, Mount St. Joseph, senior: Easily the city/Baltimore County area's most consistent high jumper, Littlefield so often turned in jumps of 6 feet, 4 inches, he could have called in his result. He won his specialty in six meets, was second twice and third twice, including one meet he told his coach he let a teammate win because "he needs a win to help his confidence." In practice, Littlefield consistently jumps 6-6.
Allen McDavid, Calvert Hall, senior: In Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association meets, who will win the 60-yard dash and 300-yard long sprint was not in question -- McDavid, McDavid. The only time he didn't double in four meets is when he failed to post for a preliminary heat in the dash. He hasn't stopped hearing about it yet. He also competes in the 4-lap and mile relays.
Jason Mitchell, Towson, senior: Mitchell had two excellent meets. At the Class 1A-2A regional, he won the mile (4: 43.9), the 2-mile (10: 33.2) and was second in the half (2: 11.1). This ironman show followed on the heels of second-place finishes in the 3,200 and 1,600 and a fifth in the 800 at the Baltimore County championships. He was second in the state mile (4: 42.3).
Cordis Stanfield, Mount St. Joseph, sophomore: more: As coach Gene Constantine put it, "Cordis is our leading point scorer and is the complete package. He has set the tone for the team since cross-country, when he was elected team captain after one practice." Stanfield has run every event from the 600 to the 2-mile and has scored points every time out. His best times include a 10: 14.9 2-mile, a 1: 14.8 at 600 yards and a 2: 08 at 800 meters.
Odell Taylor, Mervo, senior: He was the most consistent runner around at 300, 500 and 800 meters. He won the 300 and 500 in the regionals, won the 500 and 800 in the National Guard meet, the 500 in the Pangaea Invitational and was third in the 300 and 500 in the states. He dipped under 35 seconds (34.97) in the 300, ran 2 minutes, 5.3 seconds in the 800, and 1: 07.4 in the 500. He's also a devastating anchorman in the 800 and 1,600 relays who just missed being named Boys Top Performer.
Greg Vincent, Dulaney, senior: Vincent went for 24 points at the Baltimore County championships, winning the 3,200 (10.22.6), finishing second in the 800 (2: 09.5) and third in the 1,600 (4: 46.3). He improved his 2-mile time to 10: 09.4, good for fourth in the states. He turned in a 4: 20.6 metric mile to finish second in the National Guard meet. He repeats on the team.
Renard Wilson, Perry Hall, senior: The footballer had a rock-solid season, capped by a win in the hurdles and a second in the dash at the regional championships. Later, in the state meet, Wilson was third in the hurdles and fifth in the dash. He was second in the Baltimore County championships and at Pangaea and third in the National Guard meet, usually behind Joel Brown.
Girls Top Performer
Tenke Zoltani, Dulaney, freshman: Zoltani broke onto the track scene like gangbusters, taking the 2-mile at the Baltimore County and Class 4A regional and state levels and doing the same in the mile save for at the state meet, in which she was a close second. "I should have taken that one, too. I just started my kick too late," she said. Her bests were a 5-minute, 21-second mile, an 11: 32 2-mile and a 5: 04 metric mile (1,500 meters). A soccer zealot, she's not sure if she'll opt for that sport or run cross country in the fall.
Girls Coach of Year
Don Metil, Dulaney: After his team finished third in the regional last year, Metil thought to himself, "Oh-oh, we're graduating a lot of seniors. It's going to be tough matching our performance next year." Skepticism waned when the coach got a couple freshmen and a couple of suddenly-emerging juniors. "Tenke Zoltani and Ida Bernstein picked up right where are seniors left off," said Metil. "And [junior] Laurie Twardzik had such success running the half-mile this winter, she's going to run with us during the outdoor season instead of playing softball. As far as our freshmen [Zoltani and Bernstein] are concerned, if we can keep them around for three more years, they'll be incredible." Both Bernstein and Zoltani double as soccer players. Every coach should have such problems.
The girls team
Layla Acirfa, Western, senior: Western won the city championship meet with 195 points, more than four times as many as runner-up City College (46) and third-place Mervo (45) were able to muster. Acirfa and about a half-dozen other girls were the main reason. No matter what quartet coach Jerry Molyneaux put together in the relays, the Doves were bound to score big. Acirfa was second in the regional 500 meters, second in the city 800, and fourth in the city 300.
Ida Bernstein, Dulaney, freshman: A talent who can capably run any race from the dash to the 500, usually on short training after excelling on Dulaney's girls soccer team. Bernstein was first in the 300 and second in the 500 at the regionals, won the Baltimore County 300 and was fourth in the states in the 500. She helped give Dulaney dynamite relay teams, no matter the distance.
Laura Brazil, Perry Hall, sophomore: Chase Dulaney's Tenke Zoltani is what Brazil did all winter, both in the mile and 2-mile. Brazil, who also ran the 800, came within four seconds of Zoltani while doing a 5-minute, 34-second mile at the Baltimore County championships. She was sixth in the state 2-mile.
Tia Burley, Western, senior: The Doves won the city and regional titles with ease. In the Class 3A-4A Central regional, Burley swept the 300 (43.1 seconds), the 500 (1: 23.3) and the 800 (2: 31.8) before pausing for breath. And she's just one of Western's competitors who runs anything from a dash to 2 miles. Before her one-girl show at regionals, Burley took the city titles in the 500 and 800 and finished second to teammate Toni Jefferson in the 300 in 42.5. She finished second in the state 500 (1: 22.0).
Lindsay Clarke, Hereford, senior: Second in the hurdles and pole vault at the Baltimore County meet, Clarke improved upon that at the Class 1A-2A regionals, winning in hurdles and grabbing runner-up in the vault.
Lynnea Finch, Franklin, sophomore: Finch made the coach's All-County team by being versatile in the middle distances, finishing third in both the 500 and half-mile and fourth in the 500. Then in her Class 2A-3A regional, she won the 800 (2: 37.4) and was a close second in the 500.
Eboni Henderson, Woodlawn, senior: Before winning the Class 2A-3A state title in the hurdles, Henderson captured the hurdles and the 300 (43.8) in the regional event. She was first in the hurdles, second in the dash and the 300 in the Baltimore County championships, a yield of 26 points. And she won her specialty early in the season at the National Guard meet and was third at Pangaea.
Toni Jefferson, Western, senior: What Tia Burley didn't do for Western this indoor season, Jefferson did. She captured the 300 in the city championships in 42.3, was second in the 55 dash at both the regional and state meets in 7.3, was third at the Pangaea Invitational (7.2), and posted seconds in the state 300 (43.1) and the National Guard meet. Jefferson ended the campaign with a best of 7.1 in the dash. And she high jumps.
Stephanie Kuehne, Dulaney, junior: She won the regional high jump title with a leap of 5 feet, 5 inches and finished second in the states (5-4). Stephanie finished second in the National Guard meet and was consistent in the 5-4 to 5-6 range.
Chanel Lattimer, McDonogh, sophomore: All Lattimer, a repeat pick on the team, does does is win. Her time in the 60-yard dash is usually 7.2 or 7.3 seconds, and she constantly breaks 40 seconds at 300 yards. Lattimer, who runs track year-round, competes on two of her team's relay quartets, as well.
Lisa Pann, Perry Hall, senior: A repeater on the team, Pann won the county championships with an 8-9 effort in the pole vault. She was third at the Pangaea Invitational and consistently topped 8-6. She was third in the Class 3A-4A state meet and has a personal best of 9-0 in competition and is a solid member of Gators relay teams.
Kacie Remeto, McDonogh, junior: Though a hip injury incurred while running on Essex Community College's tight track kept her out of just about all the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association meets, who can deny the times she was able to post? She turned in a 5: 06.4 mile and an 11.10.9 2-mile at a big meet at Virginia Tech and gained a national ranking in both events.
Sherelle Simmons, Randallstown, sophomore: more: Call her Miss Versatility, because she took the Baltimore County and Class 2A-3A regional dash titles, then headed to the shot put ring. She had a third at the regionals and a fourth in Baltimore County in the shot put. She also ran a leg on the school's Baltimore County champion 800 relay team.
Laurie Twardzik, Dulaney, junior: She won the county championship in the 500 and 800 and was fourth in the 300. She won the regional 800 (2: 25.3) and went on to pick up a second place in the Class 3A-4A state meet with a 2: 26.1 effort. She usually ran at least two relays in each meet.
Final track polls
Boys top 10
(Final three-way tie)
1. Old Mill
Mount St. Joseph
Woodlawn
4. Oakland Mills
5. River Hill
6. Westminster
7. Arundel
8. Mervo
9. Meade
10. Dulaney
Other teams considered: North County, Annapolis, Calvert Hall, Broadneck, Milford Mill.
Girls top 10
(Final two-way tie)
1. (tie) Dulaney
Western
3. Annapolis
4. Westminster
5. Long Reach
6. Glen Burnie
7. River Hall
8. Glenelg
9. Arundel
10. Archbishop Spalding
Other teams considered: Perry Hall, North Carroll, Catholic, Mount Hebron, Old Mill.
How the poll was conducted: The Baltimore Sun poll was compiled weekly by the sports staff after observing events and consulting with coaches.
Team selections
The Baltimore Sun 1998-99 All-Baltimore City/County boys and girls indoor track and field teams were selected by Phil Jackman after consulting with The Sun staff and area coaches.
Pub Date: 3/09/99