PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
Katie Hursey
North CarrollHursey had been undefeated for nearly two full cross country seasons before Mount Hebron's Liz McCarter surprised her with a late kick and won the Class 3A state championship in November.
It was payback time for Hursey this winter. The senior's late kick allowed her to pull away from McCarter and win the 1,600 at the Class 3A-2A state title meet. That seemed to set the tone, as North Carroll went on to win its first state title.
Hursey, headed for Syracuse with McCarter, also won the 3,200 and ran on the third-place relay team. She's one of the state's top distance runners despite not taking up the sport until her junior year.
Hursey, who had lost to McCarter in the West regional race just days before the state race, also won the 3,200 at the county and regional meets.
COACHES OF THE YEAR
Jim MacDonald and Rob Johnson
North CarrollMacDonald and Johnson were determined to build a program that had enough depth to fare well at the bigger meets, and the Panthers did just that this season.
North Carroll easily swept the Carroll County, Class 3A-2A West regional and Class 3A-2A state championships. The latter was the team's first indoor state title.
The team
Name School ClassBrittney Coppa North Carroll Freshman
Stephanie Deisher Liberty Junior
Sara Hollands North Carroll Senior
Jess Huber North Carroll Junior
Alexis Hurd North Carroll Sophomore
Katie Hursey North Carroll Senior
Becky Leathers F.S. Key Sophomore
Devin Meade North Carroll Junior
Kate Paczynski Liberty Junior
Brittany Poist North Carroll Senior
Emily Powell South Carroll Junior
Melissa Stansbury Liberty Senior
Note // Team selected by Jeff Seidel after consultation with The Sun staff and area coaches.