Reservoir coach Phil Rogers wasn't exactly sure how his Gators would fare at Saturday's Howard County Spring Track Classic. Rogers put most of his boys' lineup out there to see how they'd do just over a week before the county title meet.
Rogers got a pleasant surprise as Reservoir scored 108 points and rolled to an easy victory over Dulaney (72) and Mount Hebron (58) on a warm afternoon at Long Reach.
"We came here with the idea of seeing where some of our kids were at right now," Rogers said. "Today was a very good showcase for us."
The meet showcased both the Gators' talent and depth. Yao Adantor continued his strong year by winning both the shot put (50-11) and discus (157-5). Chris Yamoah won the high jump (6-4), took second in the long jump and finished sixth in the 110-meter hurdles.
Michael Robinson won the triple jump (45-0.75), and Kyle Mitchell helped with a second-place finish in the 300 hurdles plus third in the triple jump. Mitchell broke the school record in the triple jump with a leap of 44-4 — before Robinson set a new one a little later.
In addition, the Gators won the 800 relay (1:30.44) and the 3,200 relay (8:08.51).
"It does a lot for our confidence," Yamoah said. "We got to see how [well] we did today. It's going to help us a lot."
Wilde Lake's Kikanae Punyua was the only other boy to win two events. He captured the 800 in 1:59.63 and also won the 1,600 (4:20.44).
The No. 6 River Hill girls also had an easy time, scoring 96 points to beat out No. 9 Long Reach (66) and Mount Hebron (57) on a day when some teams were missing athletes from their lineups due to SATs and other scheduling conflicts.
Caitlin Davis had a big day for River Hill, scoring points in four events. She won the triple jump (34-9.5) and took third in the pole vault and long jump. The sophomore also finished sixth in the high jump.
Kelly Davis, her twin sister, also helped the Hawks with fourth place in the pole vault and the long jump — right behind her sister. Dorehn Coleman finished second in the 400, third in the 200 and ran on the third-place 400-relay team. Jeanne Bikoi was River Hill's other winner, taking the shot put with a throw of 31-7.
"We're a team," said River Hill coach Earl Lauer. "Today was our last opportunity to see what we have to work with going into the championship series."