BOYS PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
Greg Kennell
South Carroll, senior
The senior was the heart and soul of a team that nearly knocked off perennial champion Westminster at the county championship meet. Kennell came away from that meet with three golds (100, 200, 400 relay) and a silver (800 relay).
At the Central Maryland Conference meet, he won the 200 and anchored the fourth-place 800 relay team. He continued his run through the postseason by taking fourth in the 200 at the Class 3A West Regional, then anchoring the Cavaliers' 800 relay team that placed eighth at the Class 3A state meet. His best times this season were 11.3 seconds in the 100 and 22.0 in the 200.
A defensive back on South Carroll's football team, Kennell "will be a great coach someday," said coach Rob Pennington.
BOYS COACH OF THE YEAR
Rob Pennington
South Carroll
Pennington's boys team gave perennial county champion Westminster all it could handle and then some en route to a runner-up finish at last month's county meet.
The Cavaliers, fact, led the Owls by a small margin with three events left before coming within 14 points of the eight-time defending champions - their closest loss to Westminster during Pennington's 11-year tenure.
"Going in, I knew we could give them a run if we were healthy," Pennington said. "We made a run." Pennington, the county's top girls coach in 1999, said his team got more balanced scoring as the season progressed, getting critical points from the field events and becoming more competitive.
Unlike most seasons, the Cavaliers' sprinters, not their distance corps, led the way. Pennington said he had "the most fun I've had in years" coaching the team, which included just four seniors who scored regularly.
BOYS TEAM
Ryan Adsit
South Carroll, senior
Sixth in the discus heading into his final attempt at the Class 3A state meet, Adsit pulled off a throw of 143 feet, 11 inches to capture second. The senior, who has improved about 10-15 feet each year, won the event at the county championship meet and was regional runner-up. In the shot put - an event in which he rarely competes - he placed third in the county and nearly qualified for states.
Brandon Bard
Liberty, senior
Bard went undefeated in the 300 hurdles during the regular season, posting a top time of 40.9 seconds before edging Westminster's Tony Brown at the county championship meet. He also won the event at the Carroll Invitational, beating out fellow All-County picks Tony Brown and Jeraurd Crosby. He went on to place third at regionals and sixth at the Class 3A state meet, in addition to running on Liberty's 400 and 800 relay teams.
Tony Brown
Westminster, senior
In his first year of track, Brown scored 26 points for the Owls at the county meet, winning the high hurdles and placing second in both the 300 hurdles and 400. At the Central Maryland Conference meet, he took runner-up in the high hurdles and third in the 400 as Westminster finished in second place. He ran his best time in the 300 hurdles (40.24 seconds) in finishing seventh at the Class 4A state meet.
Jeraurd Crosby
Bowling Brook, senior
Crosby took second in the high hurdles (14.9 seconds) at the McDonogh Invitational, beating All-City/County pick Shomari Taylor of McDonogh, and later placed fifth in the 300 hurdles, helping the Thoroughbreds to a fourth-place team finish. He won the high hurdles and placed second in the 300 hurdles at the Carroll Invitational, and also did the same at a county quad meet at Century.
Matt Diehl
Westminster, senior
Diehl, in his first year of track competition, was a consistent 6-foot high jumper for the Owls. That's the height he cleared to score a victory in the event at the county championship meet, helping the Owls capture their eighth straight team title. The soccer player also cleared 6 feet to capture fourth place in the Central Maryland Conference meet. Earlier in the season, he tied for fifth at the Carroll Invitational.
Andy Hayes
Westminster, senior
This season was by far the best for Westminster's top distance runner. He had his best meet at the county championships, where he ran 4 minutes, 32.8 seconds to win the 1,600 and 2:05.4 to capture the 800. His efforts helped lead the Owls to their eighth straight county title. In April, he took second in the 800 and third in the 1,600 at the Carroll Invitational, a meet Westminster also won.
Ky Hayes
Bowling Brook, senior
Hayes nabbed second place in the 200 (22.8 seconds) at the McDonogh Invitational, beating out Mount St. Joseph speedster Keon Lattimore at the finish, and took third in the 100 (11.3) at the same meet. He also won the 200 at the Carroll Invitational, beating county Top Performer Greg Kennell, and the 100 at a county quad meet, beating fellow All-County pick Brandon Bard.
Jonnie Jenkins
South Carroll, junior
A solid contributor for the Lions all season, he won the triple jump at the county championships with a personal-best 41 feet, 4 inches. He also took third in the Central Maryland Conference and fourth at regionals in the event. Jenkins excelled in the high jump - consistently clearing 6 feet - and ran legs on the Cavaliers' 400 and 800 relay teams, which took first and second, respectively, in the county.
Fred Paige
Westminster, senior
The cornerback and receiver for the Owls football team joined the track team simply to stay in shape. By year's end, however, he had become one of the area's top jumpers. He won a county title in the long jump and took second and third, respectively, at the Central Maryland Conference meet. He also won both events at the 12-team Carroll Invitational, and posted personal bests during the season of 21 feet, 1/2 inch in the long and 41-2 in the triple.
Tom Raver
North Carroll, junior
Raver played a hand in almost all of the Panthers' points at the county championship meet. He won gold in the 400 (52.1 seconds), was third in the 200, took fourth in the 100 and ran a leg on the Panthers' fourth-place 1,600 relay team. He took fourth in the 400 and sixth in the 100 at the Central Maryland Conference meet.
Dan Reedy
South Carroll, junior
The distance standout won a county championship in the 3,200 and placed second in the 1,600, helping South Carroll to a strong second-place finish. He also won a CMC title in the 3,200 and placed fourth in the 1,600 at that meet. At the Class 3A state meet, Reedy was fifth in the 3,200 (9 minutes, 52.13 seconds), just behind multiple All-City/County honorees Billy Duffy and Will Knox of Dulaney.
Dan Simmons
Francis Scott Key, sophomore
The talented sophomore capped his season by placing third in the 3,200 at the Class 2A state meet, crossing the line in 10 minutes, 0.3 seconds. That followed an impressive county meet in which he finished second in the 3,200 and third in the 1,600, and a Monocacy Valley Athletic League meet in which he was runner-up in the 1,600 and eighth in the 800.
Clint Stone
Westminster, junior
Stone tied for second in the pole vault (12 feet, 6 inches) at the Class 4A state meet after winning county, region and conference championships in that event. He was consistent all season, maxing out at 13 feet. He also scored in the jumps, placing second in the county long jump, and fourth and fifth, respectively, in the Central Maryland Conference triple and long jumps.
Bryan Subock
Westminster, senior
The shot-putter continued Westminster's tradition of standout throwers. He had his best throw of the season at the Class 4A state meet (50 feet, 7 1/2 inches) to finish fourth, earning his team four of its 11 points. He also claimed county and region championships in the shot, and was a big points contributor in the discus, taking second at both the county and Central Maryland Conference meets.
GIRLS PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
Stephanie Dickerson
Century, sophomore
The sophomore's emergence as the premier sprinter in Carroll County helped first-year Century instantly move into the ranks of the county's elite.
Dickerson claimed county titles in the 100 (13.1 seconds) and 200 (26.7), as the Knights challenged Westminster before taking second at the county championship meet. She also won both events at the Central Maryland Conference meet as Century finished first among county teams, then placed second and sixth, respectively, at the Class 1A state meet, helping a squad composed entirely of freshmen and sophomores claim sixth place.
What's more, she anchored a 400 relay team - which also included Allison Austin, Teresa Yannone and Genna Dawson - that lost to Southern of Garrett in a photo finish at the state meet. The same foursome finished third in the state 800 relay. Dickerson's times improved across the board from a year ago, when she reached the Class 3A states as a freshman for South Carroll, but did not qualify for the finals. Her success has stemmed from a unique combination of natural ability, a strong work ethic and a disdain for losing. She also played JV soccer and basketball.
GIRLS COACHES OF THE YEAR
Linda Coons and Jay Umholtz
Century
Coaching at the first-year school, Coons and Umholtz took a group of freshmen and sophomores and turned them into a Carroll County power. Led by Top Performer Stephanie Dickerson, as well as All-County picks Allison Austin, Teresa Yannone and Lindsay Carlson, the Knights were the highest-scoring Carroll County team at the Central Maryland Conference championships.
They then took a close second to Westminster at the county meet and finished a strong sixth at the Class 1A state meet. Coons, also the school's cross country coach, handled the middle- and long-distance runners, while Umholtz oversaw the sprinters and jumpers. One of the highlights of the team was its powerful 400 and 800 relay squads.
At the states, the 400 relay team - composed of Austin, Yannone, Dickerson and Genna Dawson - finished a close second; the 800 relay team placed third. "We knew the potential was there [in the relays], but they far exceeded our expectations," Coons said. "Everything just kind of fell together at the right time." She said competing against larger Class 3A and 4A teams all season in the county helped during the postseason, when the Knights finally faced schools their own size.
GIRLS TEAM
Allison Austin
Century, freshman
Austin wrapped up the season in style, taking sixth in the 400 (1 minute, 1.02 seconds) at the Class 1A state meet. She also took third in that event at the county championship meet. Perhaps her biggest contributions, however, came in the relays. She ran key legs on three teams, including the Knights' 800 relay squad that won the county and CMC in addition to taking third in the state. The 400 relay team took second at all three meets.
Lindsay Carlson
Century, freshman
After claiming regional and state titles for the Knights over the winter, Carlson continued her success in the shot put this spring. She won a county championship and finished fourth in the Central Maryland Conference in the shot put, then took fifth at the Class 1A state meet with a heave of 32 feet, 7 inches. She was a consistent scorer throughout the season, also competing in the discus, long, triple and high jumps.
Elly Eaton
South Carroll, freshman
An up-and-coming star on the distance scene, Eaton won a county title in the 1,600 and placed second in the 3,200, losing only to fellow All-County pick Cheryl Williams. She came back a week later to beat Williams in the regional 3,200, finishing third, and went on to place 11th in the Class 3A state 3,200. Her top times this season were 5 minutes, 35 seconds in the 1,600 and 12 minutes in the 3,200. Both efforts were significant improvements over the times she clocked in the winter.
Kaitlyn Golden
Westminster, sophomore
Coming into her own in county pole-vault circles, Golden captured a county championship in the event. She also took third in the Central Maryland Conference in the event before clearing 8 feet, 6 inches to place third at both regionals and the Class 4A state meet. Golden, who began vaulting as a freshman, also ran strong legs on Westminster's sprint relay teams and is one of the fastest on the team.
Kim Moon
Westminster, sophomore
This multi-talented athlete scored 22 points for the Owls at the county championship meet. Moon placed second in the 100 hurdles and triple jump and was third in the high jump to lead her team to victory. The repeat All-County selection also finished second in the triple at the Carroll Invitational and fourth in the pole vault at the Central Maryland Conference championships.
Zoe Murray
South Carroll, senior
Murray, a former basketball player, was a consistent point scorer in both the shot put and discus for the Cavaliers, who finished third in the county. At the county championship meet, Murray was first in the discus and second in the shot. That followed a Central Maryland Conference meet in which she took third and sixth, respectively, in the events. Her best discus throw was 106 feet, while her best shot was 33-4.
Jenn Nilson
Westminster, senior
In her second straight All-County season, Nilson cleared 5 feet, 2 inches in the high jump several times, including at both the county championship meet, where she won the event, and the Class 4A East Region, in which she took third. At the Central Maryland Conference meet, she grabbed fourth in both the high jump and long jump, helping the Owls to seventh place overall.
Maggie Rager
Westminster, freshman
Just a freshman, Rager showed off her vast potential, especially toward the end of the season. The 800 runner won the county title in the event and placed fifth at the Central Maryland Conference meet. She also anchored Westminster's 3,200 relay team, which won a county championship and qualified for the Class 4A state meet, where it finished 11th.
Aislinn Sowash
North Carroll, junior
Sowash was a double winner at the county championship meet, capturing golds in both the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles as well as taking fourth in the 400. She also had a day to remember at the Central Maryland Conference meet, winning both hurdles and tying a meet record with a time of 14.8 seconds in the 100 hurdles. After winning that event at regionals, however, she had a case of bad luck at the Class 3A state meet, running third before tripping over the final hurdles and falling to sixth.
Cheryl Williams
North Carroll, senior
The three-time All-county pick again was the area's best in the 3,200. After winning the event at the Carroll Invitational, Williams posted a victory in the county championship meet and a second-place finish at the Central Maryland Conference meet. Headed for Gettysburg College, she ran a best time of 12 minutes, 4 seconds, and also ran a key leg on North Carroll's 3,200 relay team that placed second in the county.
Laura Wilson
Liberty, senior
The perennial All-County pick wrapped up her high school career in fine fashion. The senior won the 400 at both the county and Central Maryland Conference meets, and also was second in the CMC 200. She then qualified for the Class 3A state meet in both events, finishing 11th in the 400. Her top time in the 400, her best event, was 58.1 seconds. She was an All-County selection each of her four years.
Lindsay Winter
North Carroll, sophomore
Winter won the pole vault at the Central Maryland Conference championships before finishing second in the region and fourth at the Class 3A state meet (10 feet). She cleared 10-6 several times in practice and is on track to become one of the few females in Maryland able to clear 11 feet.
Teresa Yannone
Century, freshman
The unsung hero of Century's first-year track team, Yannone recovered from shin splints to become a double county winner, taking home golds in the long jump (15 feet, 7 inches) and triple jump (33-7). She also finished second and fourth, respectively, in those events at the Central Maryland Conference championship meet. At the Class 1A state meet, she was fourth in the triple and fifth in the long as the Knights finished a surprising sixth.
Team selection
The Sun's 2002 All-Carroll County track and field teams were selected by Rich Scherr after consulation with The Sun staff and area coaches.