BOYS PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
Demario Harris
Annapolis, junior
One of the county's top athletes, Harris was arguably the county's most consistent outdoors boys track athlete. Also an all-county defensive back in football, Harris was a double winner in the county meet, taking the long jump in 22 feet, 4 inches and the triple jump in 44-11. His effort enabled short-handed Annapolis to finish a close third with 93 points behind 97-point co-champions Old Mill and Southern. The heavily favored Panthers, who had won the indoors title, were missing 18 athletes because the meet was moved from a Thursday because of an inclement weather forecast (no rain materialized) to the next day - Annapolis' graduation date. Harris and the Panthers turned the county adversity into their first region title outdoors. Harris won the triple jump at 41-9 1/4 and took the silver in the long jump at 21-6 to account for 18 points in the 3A East Regional. At the Class 3A state meet, Harris was runner-up in the triple jump (44-8 3/4 ) and the long jump (22-6).
BOYS COACH OF THE YEAR
Brian Brown
Southern
It was a year of firsts for Southern's boys. First, they tied Old Mill for the county title; then, they claimed their first region and state titles outdoors. Southern rolled to the Class 2A South region title by 172-77 over Central of Prince George's County and coasted to its first Class 2A state title by 78-48 over Pikesville. "I knew when we won the Arundel Invitational [against larger schools] during the season, that we had the guys to do well," said Brown, who has been the Southern outdoors coach for five seasons. "When we won the county, I realized we could win it all. It was very satisfying to win the state title. I feel I'm blessed because a lot of great coaches have never gotten in that position." An Annapolis High and Delaware State graduate, Brown has built the program from a team that struggled in the past with only a few students interested to a squad of 50 this season.
BOYS TEAM
Chris Bell
Southern, senior
This sprinter/hurdler was one of the key performers in the unprecedented success of the Bulldogs. Bell won the gold medal in the Class 2A state 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.32 seconds, only minutes after arriving at the meet from his morning graduation. He also won the same event in the 2A South Regional. In the Anne Arundel County championships, Bell ran a leg of the Bulldogs' winning 800-meter relay.
Mike Brown
Annapolis, senior
The indoors boys Performer of the Year, Brown closed his brilliant career by winning state, region and county gold medals in the 110-meter hurdles. His best time was 14.4 seconds in the Class 3A East Region, where he also was third in the 100 dash to garner 16 points as the Panthers won their first outdoors region title, 120.5 to Gwynn Park's 93. Brown ran a leg of the Panthers' third-place 800-meter relay in the states as they were nosed out by Gwynn Park, 60-58.
Brian DeVaul
Arundel, senior
After accounting for 30 points in the 4A East Region meet by winning the high, long and triple jumps, DeVaul appeared ready to claim a state title. It didn't happen, as he finished third in the high and long jumps. Nonetheless, it didn't diminish his season and brilliant outdoors career. DeVaul repeated as county high jump champion at 6 feet, 2 inches. His personal best was 6-9 in the regional.
Vince Greenfield
Southern, senior
A points contributor all season, Greenfield won the county 800 meters. He then took the gold medals in the Class 2A South Region in the 100 and 200 meters and ran a leg of the winning 800 relay. In the states, Greenfield was third in the 100 dash (11.5 seconds), fourth in the 200 dash (22.95) and ran a leg of the Bulldogs' winning 1,600 relay that came in at 3:26.4.
Scott Koehler
Broadneck, senior
After winning the Anne Arundel County 1,600-meter run in 4 minutes, 30.7 seconds, the Bruins' distance stalwart lost the 4A East region by three seconds to C. Milton Wright's Aaron Smith. Koehler settled for second in the region 1,600 with a time of 4:33.2. He bettered his county and region times with a 4:22.36 in the state meet, but was nosed out again by the Mustangs' Smith, who came in at 4:22.33.
Anthony Lee
Meade, junior
Lee, a sprinter, piled up the points for the Mustangs this season in the 100 and 200 meters and as part of the 1,600 relay. Lee won the county 100 in 10.9 seconds and the 4A East Region in 11.2. He took the county 200 in 22.2 and the region in 22.4. And in each of those meets, he anchored the Mustangs' winning 1,600 relay.
Andrew Peresta
Southern, junior
A versatile athlete, Peresta racked up 20 points in the Bulldogs' first state outdoors title. He won the Class 2A state title in the 400 with a time of 50.18 seconds, was second in the 300 hurdles at 40.47 and fifth in the long jump. He claimed the 300 hurdles, the 400 and ran a leg of the winning 1,600 relay in the 2A South region after winning the county 300 hurdles with his best time of 39.3. Peresta was also second in the county long jump and a member of the runner-up 1,600 relay.
Aaron Dixon-Proctor
Old Mill, senior
An All-County center in football, Dixon-Proctor joined Annapolis standout sprinter Mike Brown and shot putter Kareem Reed as the county's only triple crown winners. The Old Mill star won the discus in the Class 4A state championships by 7 feet with a throw of 163 feet, 4 inches, the 4A East region at 149-6 and the county meet with a personal-best toss of 167-3. He was also second to Reed in the county shot put.
Kareem Reed
Annapolis, senior
Reed was the county's premier shot-putter, winning the Class 3A states, 3A East Region and Anne Arundel County gold. He had a personal-best throw of 54 feet, 5 inches to capture the state crown after winning the region with a toss of 51-5 1/2 . His 10 points in the shot put contributed to the Panthers' first outdoors region title. It took only a throw of 44-8 3/4 for Reed to repeat as the county champion.
Roger Sexauer
Broadneck, junior
Sexauer emerged this outdoors season as the county's top pole-vaulter, taking the Anne Arundel gold medal with a lift of 12-6, a full foot better than South River runner-up Martin Dougherty. Vaulting 12-6 in the Class 4A states, Sexauer tied for second, a foot behind the victor. Sexauer finished fourth in the 4A East region at 11 feet.
John Young
Meade, junior
Young stole the show in the Anne Arundel County Championships by taking three gold medals. Young won the 400 in 48.8 seconds, the 800 in 2:00.0 and ran a leg on the Mustangs' first-place 1,600 relay (3:26.2), defeating Southern's Andrew Peresta in a photo finish for the gold. In the Class 4A East region meet, Young won the 400 in 50.0 seconds and again ran the final leg of the Mustangs' winning 1,600 relay (3:26.1).
GIRLS PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
Lauren Centrowitz
Broadneck, sophomore
Centrowitz completed a rare trifecta. The county Performer of the Year in indoor track and field and the county Runner of the Year in cross country, Centrowitz adds the third leg of her impressive season after sweeping gold medals in the 1,600 on the county, regional and state levels. Centrowitz was second in the 800 and 1,600 at the county championships last year, but she placed first in both events at the county and Class 4A East Regional meets. Although she finished fifth in the 800 at the state meet, Centrowitz maintained her grip on the 1,600 with a winning time of 5 minutes, 3.2 seconds. She might have participated in more events if Bruins coach Dana Dobbs hadn't limited her to keep her injury-free. "She did not like that," Dobbs acknowledged. "She wants to win everything, but we had to temper her a little bit because she's been running so many events for us."
GIRLS COACH OF THE YEAR
Dana Dobbs
Broadneck
Dobbs' path to his team's second consecutive county championship was littered with many obstacles. Coming off the Bruins' first indoor county title, Dobbs had reason to believe that his squad would do just as well. But Broadneck battled injuries that devastated its number of sprinters until the team fielded just seven. Every performer competed in at least two events. Yet Dobbs pushed on and found the inspiration he was looking for when freshman Emily Nagle placed third in the 800 to help the Bruins sweep the top three spots in the event at the county championships. (Centrowitz and sophomore Susan St. Cyr were first and second, respectively.) "I knew that our roster had some holes in it," said Dobbs, who completed his fifth season as Broadneck's track and field coach. "But I also knew that the girls could run with anyone, anywhere." The Bruins finished third at the regional meet and seventh at the state meet.
GIRLS TEAM
Sarah Cheeks
Meade, senior
A sprained right ankle might have fazed some, but Cheeks marched on, placing first in the discus (119 feet, 10 inches) and third in the shot put (33-5 1/2 ) at the county championships. Cheeks, also a member of the all-county indoor team who bench presses 260 pounds, was second in the discus (118-04) and fourth in the shot put (32-5) at the Class 4A Regional meet. She also was sixth in the shot put (32-3) and eighth in the discus (96-6) at the state meet.
Joanna Collins
Southern, sophomore
Few made a more surprising leap at the county championships than Collins, who was fifth in the 100 and third in the 400 last year. She garnered gold medals at the county meet with a time of 12.8 seconds in the 100 and 1:00 in the 400. Collins was fifth in the 100 (13.2) and third in the 400 (1:02.1) at the Class 2A South Regional meet. Collins also ran a leg of the fourth-place 800 relay (1:50.3) and the fifth-place 1,600 relay (4:36.3) at the regionals.
Brittany Davis
Arundel , sophomore
Davis' first season on the outdoor tracks was a success. She captured a gold medal in the 200 (26.7 seconds) and a silver in the 100 (13.1) at the county championships. At the Class 4A East Regional meet, she helped the 400 relay and 800 relay squads bring home gold medals with respective times of 51.3 seconds and 1:48.2. Davis was selected to the all-county indoor team last winter.
Maleka Diggs
Annapolis, senior
Diggs completed her high school career as a two-time all-county pick for both the outdoor and indoor teams. Diggs missed the county championships to attend her prom, but she returned in grand style by winning the Class 3A East Regional high jump with a mark of 5 feet and the state meet with a leap of 5 feet, 6 inches. Diggs also placed fourth in the long jump (15-5 1/2 ) and the triple jump (31-9) and fifth in the 100 hurdles (16.5 seconds) at the regional meet.
Brittany Frye
Chesapeake, junior
Always a runner-up in the high jump, Frye broke the ceiling this year with a vengeance. Frye, who was second at the county and Class 4A East regional meets and fourth at the state meet, collected first-place finishes in the high jump at the county championships with a mark of 5 feet, 2 inches and at the regional meet with a leap of 5-4. She was tied for sixth in the high jump at the state meet with 5-2.
Becca Funk
Severna Park, senior
Like Centrowitz, Funk earned spots on the all-county outdoor and indoor track and cross country teams this year. After winning a regional title in the 3,200 with a personal-best time of 11 minutes, 44 seconds during the indoor season, she swept the 3,200: She clocked a winning 11:42.9 at the county championships and 11:38.8 at the Class 3A Regional meet. Funk also ran a leg of the 3,200 relay squad, which placed second at the county championships in 10:06.7.
C'vette Henson
Annapolis, junior
Henson's versatility earned her the team's Most Valuable Performer award this season. At the county championships, Henson was first in the triple jump (34 feet, 10 inches) for the second consecutive year and third in the high jump (5 feet) and the long jump (16-3 1/2 ). She was second in the high jump at the regional meet with a mark of 5 feet. Outgoing coach Mike Ballard said Henson, a two-time all-county choice on the outdoor team, might try the shot put, which she has already tossed 30 feet during practice.
Ashlynne Jones
Southern, junior
Jones saved her record-setting performances for when they mattered the most. At the county championships, she tied the county record in the long jump with a winning mark of 17 feet, 11 1/2 inches and was second in the triple jump (34-4 1/2 ). Jones reversed the order at the regional meet, setting a personal record in the triple jump with a winning mark of 34-11 and placing second in the long jump (15-1). She was second in the long jump (16-8) and fifth in the triple jump (34-7 3/4 ) at the state meet.
Ashley Meadows
Southern, junior
Meadows remained undefeated in the 300 hurdles against county opponents. She won the event at the county championships with a time of 48.6 seconds. At the regional meet, Meadows finished fourth in the 300 hurdles (49.4) and contributed more points by placing fifth in the 100 hurdles (18.1), in the 400 relay (53.7) and in the 1,600 relay (4:36.3). Although Meadows finished ninth in the 300 hurdles at the state meet, Bulldogs coach Brian Brown is excited about her potential.
Calynn Offer
Annapolis, junior
Offer continued her successful ways in the pole vault. A regional champ in the event last year, Offer set a county and school record at the county championships with a winning mark of 9 feet, 6 inches. At the regional meet, she placed third with a 9-foot effort and also ran a leg of the 800 relay (fourth in 1:53.7) and competed in the high jump (sixth in 4-2). Offer reached 9-6 in the pole vault, which was enough to gain seventh place at the state meet.
Ginger Williams
Chesapeake, junior
Developing a spin move in her shot put led to greater heights for Williams. She set a personal record in the shot put at the county championships with a winning mark of 36 feet, 8 inches and was second in the discus (116-11), second in the shot put and fourth in the discus at the regional meet. Williams grabbed the gold in the shot put at the state meet with a personal-record mark of 36-10 1/2 and a silver in the discus (122-7).
Team selection
The Sun's 2002 All-Anne Arundel County boys and girls track and field teams were selected by Pat O'Malley and Edward Lee, respectively, after consultation with The Sun staff and area coaches.