B-CC girls win indoor track title

The Barons were in that position because all of their runners scored points. Tousley added a third-place finish in the 3,200 to go with her third-place showing in the 1,600. Hannah Richardson scored in the 500 and 800, placing fifth and second, respectively. But, the largest reason for B-CC’s success was due to Doll, who is only a freshman. The Montgomery County champion in the 1,600, where she unseated favored senior Morgane Gay of Whitman, Doll has been running with confidence ever since. Last Monday, she was indirectly or directly responsible for 21 of the Barons’ points, anchoring the 4x800 team that also consisted of Paige Donnelly, Tousley and Richardson, and winning the 1,600 title in 5 minutes, 16.41 seconds. With just the Class 3A state meet run on Monday — it was originally scheduled to be run in tandem with the Class 4A meet the previous, but was pushed back when the 3A West Region meet was postponed because of inclement weather — Doll had less time to recover between races, making her feat even more impressive.

‘‘It was weird,” she said. ‘‘Between the 4x800 and the 1,600 I had just 15 minutes to recover, which was hard. But, it worked out.”

That may due to the fact that Doll is already used to hard work. A midfielder on B-CC’s girls soccer team in the fall, Doll is so talented that she is part U.S. National U-14 girls soccer pool, and has played with the team in tournaments in California and Florida. In between the regional meet, held last Thursday, and the state meet, Doll played four soccer games with the Maryland U-15 Olympic Development Squad at a tournament in Virginia, and will concentrate on soccer this spring. Yet, she says that she plans to run again next winter.

‘‘It is different than soccer, but it was really fun,” she said. ‘‘I did a lot of relays, which made it feel like a team sport.”

Damascus boys, Zahorodny impress again

The Damascus boys team also continued to impress last Monday. Wil Zahorodny, owner of the fastest high-school 500-meter time in the United States after his performance at the Montgomery County championships, lowered his time yet again, winning the state title and setting a new Class 3A state record by running the distance in 1:04.71. Zahorodny now owns the three fastest 500 times by a high-school runner in the United States, according to his coach, Robert Youngblood.

‘‘He’s getting stronger and faster,” Youngblood said. ‘‘It’s incredible. Not only that, but he has helped us groom the younger runners.”

Zahorodny anchored the Hornets’ 4x800 relay team that also included sophomores Thomas Arias, Ben and Jon Constantinides. That squad set another 3A record, winning the race in 8:07.25. College programs are taking notice of his skills and maturity. Zahorodny has not made a decision where he will run in college yet.

‘‘Two coaches came up to me to talk about Wil at the meet,” Youngblood said. ‘‘They are willing to offer him whatever. St. Francis [in Pennsylvania] is coming out to see him. I know he like UNC-Wilmington, and St. Joseph’s University loves him.”

Zahorodny was not the only gold medalist for Damascus. Senior Ryan Mulsteff, a volleyball player who did not come out for the track team until this season, won the high jump title with a leap of 6 feet, 6 inches. Sophomore Jake Furr also finished third in the shot put, helping the Hornets score 43 points overall. Damascus finished third behind Anne Arundel County’s Meade, which won the title with 70 points.

‘‘The performances of these guys were incredible,” Youngblood said. ‘‘Ryan has come so far in his form and what he has accomplished has been amazing. He’s a volleyball player, but he had concentrated on high jump, he could have been the best in the state. They were all on such a high.”

It was a culmination of a special season for Damascus, one that included the 3A West Region title. That championship was borne out by the infusion of several seniors who came out for the squad for the first time this season, including Mulsteff and football stars Evan Zedler and Josh Francis. Youngblood persuaded them to come out for the team in an effort to get a title for their classmate, Zahorodny.

‘‘I just told them that Wil was at all their games,” Youngblood said. ‘‘He cheered them on in volleyball and in football. I was like ‘let’s win for Wil,’ and that’s all they talked about during the regionals. Then they did it.”

Notes: Other Montgomery County medalists were Paint Branch’s Arielle Statham, who won a bronze medal in the girls 300 and a silver medal in the girls 500; Damascus’ girls 4x800 relay, which won a silver medal; Wheaton’s Ashley Dabney, who won a silver in the girls high jump; B-CC’s Dylan Straughan and Alex Prevost, who won the silver medal in the boys 3,200 and the bronze in the boys 1,600, respectively.