LANDOVER — Last week, during the Class 2A-1A indoor track and field state championships, Oakdale's Jackie McNaulty took down Franklin's Olivia Gruver's 13-foot pole vault state record to a thunderous applause from those few remaining teammates after the meet had ended.
McNaulty bested the mark by 3.25 inches — giving Gruver, a senior, a new height to shoot for as she took her turn Monday at the Class 4A-3A meet.
"I'm a very competitive person," Gruver said.
Though she went for a 14-foot vault, Gruver settled for a 13-4, which returned the state record to Franklin after less than one week. That effort went a long way to the Indians girls team collecting the team indoor title at Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex with 48 points, narrowly defeating county rival Milford Mill by just two points.
The Milford Mill boys team won the Class 3A team title with 56 points. In Class 4A, the Northwest boys team (73) and the Clarksburg girls team (46) also were crowned champions.
"They're a great team, and it pushes our team to get better and better," Franklin coach Paul Hannsen said of the Millers. "I'm just super proud of how the team competed today."
While Gruver was making her mark on Maryland once again, Franklin's Nyjari McNeil — a freshman — proved that she'll be a force on the state's track scene for the next few years.
Before taking second to Atholton's Jen Bleakney in the 800-meter run, McNeil captured her first-ever high school indoor track state championship in the 500 in 1 minute, 15.29 seconds. While she was excited with her performance, McNeil said she wasn't surprised with the way she performed on the day.
"No, not really, because I've run junior Olympics for seven years and rec track," she said. "It's bigger than states. It's a national competition."
In fact, McNeil said she not only expected to win at least one of her events; she wanted to run faster, an attitude her coach said he's excited about.
"She's a pretty calm person, I would say," Hannsen said. "Other coaches know who she is."
Franklin's Amanda Murphy's 39-05.25 throw earned first place in the Class 3A shot put.
South River's Reilly Wagner was first in the girls Class 4A high jump with a 5-4 leap. In Class 4A girls shot put, Howard's Taylor Scaife earned the gold with a 41-07.5 throw. Bleakney earned a title in the 800 in 2:18.90. The Milford Mill girls 4x400 team relay was first in 4:01.43.
For the boys, Howard County had plenty of top Class 3A performances.
Wilde Lake's David Eisenhauer scored victories in both the 1,600 (4:20.93) and the 3,200 (9:30.31).
"I was really trying to do well. I was trying to break 4:20," Eisenhauer said after his mile performance. "I was hoping [Milford Mill's] Jordan Leon was going to be in this race, but he scratched himself out of this race. Once I heard that, I was like, 'So I'm really going to be by myself, aren't I?'"
Leon went onto finish first in the 800 in 1:46.14.
Atholton's Glen Taylor took home first place in the 55-meter dash in 6.48, while Mount Hebron earned gold medals from Darnell Pratt (300, 35.04) and Nicholas Wardell (1:07.04).
Glenelg's Calvin Pitney recorded a 14-0 mark for the top prize in the boys Class 3A pole vault, and River Hill's 4x800 was victorious in 8:10.71. City's Robert Miller was first in the 55-meter hurdles in 7.46. Poly's Steven Thomas threw 49-10.75 for first in the 3A shot put. Westminster's Tevin Bailey won the high jump with a 6-01 leap.
In Class 4A, Dulaney's Eric Walz was first in the 3,200 (9:37.97), and Howard's Trey Clark won the pole vault with a 13-0 mark.
With such tight competition for the Franklin girls, Hannsen said he wasn't sure just how successful the team was going to finish.
But once he saw the way his girls were preparing for their individual races and events, he said he knew he could rest a bit easier.
"There were three good teams. Honestly, I thought we were the third choice," Hannsen said. "I knew it was going to be tight. So we just had to focus on our events. We can't control what Milford or Urbana does. They're both awesome, and we were just trying to keep up. It was a good day."