More News

Despite damp conditions Saturday morning, the Maryland State Championship cross country meet saw many of Montgomery County's finest runners post impressive results against their fellow state competitors during the 3-mile race, held at Hereford High School in Baltimore County.

4A boys: Record player

It was another race and another course record broken by Sherwood senior Solomon Haile (15 minutes, 43 seconds), who shattered Matt Centrowitz's (Hereford) three-year-old course record of 16:01 by 18 seconds.

"It's really nice," said Haile. "This is one of my big plans for this season. … I was training hard back in Ethiopia and after I came here, I've been training hard since last winter. So my hard work paid off now. I'm so happy for that."

Last year's state champion, Whitman junior Andrew Palmer, finished second in a time of 16:23.

"The only way I think that I could have won was for [Haile] to run a bad race," said Palmer. "Fortunately for him, he ran a really smart race. He didn't try to kill it from the beginning. There is nothing I can do about it. My goal is still to go to Nike Cross Regionals and then Nationals."

Walter Johnson capped its remarkable season with another dominating team performance, amassing only 48 points, 91 fewer than runner-up Severna Park. All seven Wildcats runners finished 74th or better, with four in the top 20.

Junior Sean O'Leary paced the Wildcats, crossing the finishing line in 16:59 to take fifth. Alex Willett, Roni Teich, Ishan Dey, Nick Regan, Josh Ellis and Phillip Shriver finished seventh, ninth, 14th, 22nd, 49th and 74th, respectively.

Northwest took third. The Jags were led by sophomore Chris Miller (17:01), who finished sixth.

"When you come in third overall that's not too bad," said Northwest head coach Beth Muehl. "But we were really hoping for a little higher placement."

4A girls: Who's the Bosse

Walter Johnson sophomore Anna Bosse (19:38) continued her hot streak, as she captured the 4A individual state title.

Bosse led the pack for the majority race as she held off last year's defending champion and runner up, Teshika Rivers of Eleanor Roosevelt (19:42) and Northwest's Britt Eckerstrom (19:57), respectively.

After qualifying as an individual and finishing 23rd in 2007, Bosse knows that she has raised the bar after winning states as a sophomore.

"I am really excited and I can't believe it," said Bosse, who also won the 4A West Region. "It's a hilly course and I enjoy hills. I just tried to stay at a constant pace and constant speed. Also having my team here really motivated me, and I just wanted to do it to help them out."

Eckerstrom's third-place finish helped the Jaguars capture second place as a team, the highest finish among county schools. Teammates Alyssa Henshaw (20:30) and Sarah Sekscienski (20:58) also placed in the top 20, finishing 11th and 17th, respectively.

"I'm never satisfied unless we come home with four state championships," said Muehl. "On the girls side, we did alright. Our number three had a spectacular day and really put herself in the mix of it and really helped us on that end."

3A/2A/1A: Addie way

After winning two consecutive 3A West Region titles, Bethesda-Chevy Chase senior Addie Tousley finally broke through at the state meet, as she finished 35 seconds clear of the field with a time of 19:59.

"I went out and I didn't really expect to get out totally in front," said Tousley, who hopes to run at either Middlebury (Vt.) or Amherst College (Mass.) next year. "But I just took it and decided to go. I tried to keep in front as long as I could and I guess it worked out."

Tousley's effort helped the Barons to a sixth-place finish.

The Damascus boys team finished third, while the Swarmin' Hornets girls placed fourth. Thomas Arias (17:18) finished seventh and senior Taylor Colbert paced the girls with a time of 21:44, good for 20th.

"We went in trying to do a little better than last year, which was top 5," said Damascus head coach Robert Youngblood. "The girls had an off day today, but they had a great season."

In the 2A ranks, the Clarksburg girls finished 11th overall, with junior Lauren Sumner (22:38) finished 26th for the Coyotes.

Poolesville's boys finished seventh in Class 1A with a strong performance from David Wilson, who finished eighth individually with a time of 17:53.

4A Girls results

C. Milton Wright 93

Northwest 127

Severna Park 143

Walt Whitman 148

Walter Johnson 158

Anna Bosse, Walter Johnson, 19:38

Teshika Rivers, E. Roosevelt, 19:42

Britt Eckerstrom, Northwest, 19:57

Amirah Johnson, E. Roosevelt, 19:59

Anna Ryba, Whitman, 20:08

3A Girls results

Towson 55

Hereford 84

Bel-Air 102

Damascus 117

Howard 156

Addie Tousley, B-CC, 19:59

Elyse Birisko, Howard, 20:34

Rachel Pillion, Towson 20:47

Meredith Mill, Howard, 20:48

Megan Shott, North Harford, 20:49

4A Boys results

Walter Johnson 48

Severna Park 139

Northwest 142

Sherwood 169

Churchill 178

Solomon Haile, Sherwood, 15:43

Andrew Palmer, Whitman, 16:23

Antonio Palmer, Gaithersburg, 16:54

Rutvij Pandya, Blair 16:56

Sean O'Leary, Walter Johnson, 16:59

3A Boys results

Atholton 69

Bel Air 74

Damascus 117

Hereford 175

Wilde Lake 197

Graham Bazell, Atholton, 16:29

Michael Lynch, Atholton, 16:50

Andrew Cerrito, Northern, 17:10

Jonathan Sham, Wilde Lake, 17:14

Josh Day, Meade, 17:16