Blazers christen Woodward Relays’ new home

Blair sets day’s only two meet records

‘‘I think this track is new; it’s really nice,” Sherwood 1,600-meter specialist Russell Speiden said. ‘‘I like it a lot better than the one at Walter Johnson.”

Blair’s boys sprinters certainly took to the new, blue surface at Georgetown Prep, setting both of the day’s two new meet records. After two weeks of mixing in younger talent with their established relay veterans, the Blazers decided to use the Woodward Relays as a tune-up for the upcoming Penn Relays in Philadelphia.

The Class 4A indoor state champion 4x200 team set the tone early in the day, blistering the track in 1 minute, 27.59 seconds and knocking more than two seconds off a 23-year-old meet record. The mark also beat their title-winning performance in indoor season, and every time posted by a Montgomery County team all of last spring.

‘‘I just let ’em loose,” Blair coach Ralph Penn said. ‘‘I didn’t hold them back or anything. I wanted them to get back into the flow of running together, because in two weeks we’re going to the Penn Relays. I’m really hoping we do step it up there.”

Blair set its second meet record in the day’s penultimate event, the 4x400. Running without regular Nilan Schnure — who was visiting the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he’s been accepted for next year — the Blazers still posted a time of 3:21.17, nearly three seconds faster than the previous standard, set in 1992.

Other notable performances came from Sherwood’s Arleigh Rose (34 feet, 8 inches in the girls shot put), Northwood’s Richard Cadet (6-2 in the boys high jump) and Richard Montgomery’s Tyler Jackson (39.76 seconds in the boys 300 intermediate hurdles), who all established new Montgomery County standards for this season in those events. Jackson’s time would have placed him sixth at last year’s 4A state meet.

But a number of teams chose to use the Woodwards this year as an opportunity to develop some depth. Good Counsel brought its ‘‘B” team, and younger runners were evident in many events. Those top athletes who did compete didn’t always do so in their best events — Damascus senior Wil Zahorodny passed on the 4x400 to instead run the 300 hurdles for the first time ever, because the Swarmin’ Hornets only had three legitimate other 300 hurdles runners and needed a fourth.

‘‘Most likely it’s the first and only time; I just wanted to get [Damascus] a gold medal in this event,” Zahorodny said. ‘‘I practiced it a little bit this week for a couple days, but that’s it.”

Whitman senior Morgane Gay, the defending 4A state champion in the girls 1,600, won the famous day-ending steeplechase, an event exclusive in the county to the Woodward Relays. Prep’s steeplechase pit dates back a decade, to when former Little Hoyas coach Mike Horsey got the idea from the Woodward Relays. When Dunston took the job last year, he made sure the pit stayed when the track was resurfaced; this year is the first that he’s had a regulation, water-filled pit for the race.

‘‘When I went to Woodward, I got some kids excited about steeplechase, so we got donations for barriers and dug a pit,” Dunston said. ‘‘So I just kind of threw it into the Woodwards. When we went to WJ, we did a dry jump for years, then dug a pit over there. ...

‘‘It just makes for a great way to finish the meet. Of course, the fans always want to see someone fall.”

Notes: The other meet to draw a number of county teams this weekend was the MRW Invitational at Westfield (Va.) High School. That event saw a number of local athletes win titles while establishing new county standards for this season. Among the girls, Paint Branch’s Arielle Statham (200, 400) and Northwest’s Brit Eckerstrom (3,200) did so. For the boys, it was Paint Branch’s John Jones (400), Northwest’s Chris Onuigbo (800), Quince Orchard’s Jeremiah Joson (1,600) and Neal Darmody (3,200) and Magruder’s Darius Ray (long and triple jumps), along with the Quince Orchard 4x800 team, knocking again on the 8-minute door with an 8:01.17.

Woodward Relays

Team results (top five and other county finishers)

Boys

Gaithersburg (74); 2. Georgetown Prep (52); 3. Damascus (42); 4. C.H. Flowers (33); 5. Good Counsel (30); 6. Sherwood (29); 8. Northwood (27); 9. Richard Montgomery (23); 10. Blair (21); 11. Walter Johnson (20); 12. B-CC (18); 13. Einstein (12); 14. Blake (9); T-16. Whitman (2)

Girls

C.H. Flowers (54); 2. Whitman (38); T-3. Sidwell Friends (37); T-3. Sherwood (37); T-3. Good Counsel (37); 6. Damascus (34); 7. Gaithersburg (30); 8. Walter Johnson (28); T-9. Richard Montgomery (23); 11. Blake (20); 12. Holton-Arms (16); 13. Blair (14); 14. B-CC (12); 15. Wheaton (10); T-17. Kennedy (2); T-17. Einstein (2)