2008-09 Indoor Track Season in Review

2008-09 Boys Indoor Track

            The 2008-09 Boys Indoor Track Team did not enter this season with high expectations.  The team was still trying to regroup following the loss of a very talented group of sprinters; this year the team was looking to find a new identity.  There were many Indoor Track veterans that returned for this year’s campaign and a lot of new faces that looked to make a name for themselves in the program’s proud history. 

            The Field events looked to garner the Panthers the most points at the County Regional, and State Championships.  Success in the field events has been a trademark of Pikesville teams during the past few years; this season would be no different.  The Boggs brothers, Geoffrey and Jackson, provided the Panthers with the best opportunity to score big points.  Geoffrey Boggs had emerged as one of the top Pole Vaulters in the Baltimore Metro area.  This year he looked to improve upon his 5^th place finish in Indoor Track and 2^nd place finish in Outdoor Track at the State Championship Meets.  Jackson Boggs had his eye on continuing Pikesville’s tradition of Region Champions in the Shot Put.  Coming into the season, Pikesville athletes has won the past three Shot Put region titles; Jackson looked to make it four in a row. 

            The deepest area of this team was the distance squad.  The Panther’s showed promise in the distance events as members of the JV team last outdoor season and members of this year’s successful cross country team.  The runners were finally coming of age and looked to compete with the best of the county.  The distance runners were led by senior Justin Lui.  Justin, a four year member of the team, decided to move up to the long distance events and buy into a much more rigorous training then he (and the team) was accustomed to.  Seniors Colin Shackelford, Josh Wesalo and Alex Ullman, Juniors George Fuzayl and Shawn Markow, and Freshman Haile Kostin provided a strong supporting cast for the distance squad.

            The sprint squad was the most inexperienced group of the team.  The Panthers graduated their entire 4x200 Relay, so the underclassman had to step up and fill the void.  Early on Corey Cutler showed great promise in all sprinting events.  He routinely ran down opponents whether running in the relay or in individual events.  Corey posted some of the top times in the county in the 300 Meter Dash and 500 and 800 Meter Runs.  Joining Corey on the relay was David Johnson, Taymar Davenport, and Mikail Mayo. 

            The Boys Team finished in 9^th place at the County Championship Meet.  The Panthers showed incredible versatility; they scored in almost half of the events, a departure from past years.  Geoffrey Boggs took 2^nd place in the pole vault competition.  In the Shot Put, Jackson Boggs took 5^th place and Nnaemeka Odunze had a huge improvement on the day of the meet and walked away with a 6^th place finish.  Corey Cutler, despite nursing an injury, took the bronze medal in the 500 Meter Run and he also placed 6^th in the 300 Meter Dash.  In the distance events, Justin Lui’s hard work all season began to pay off.  His 4^th place finish in the 1600 Meter Run took everyone but the coaching staff by surprise.  In the 3200 Meter Run, Josh Wesalo earned a point with a 6^th place finish.  This versatility was a sign of good things to come at the Regional and State Championship Meets.

            At the 1A North Region Meet, the boys finished in 2^nd place to the eventual state champion, Western Tech.  The Panthers got wins in 4 of the 13 events.  Geoffrey Boggs won the Pole Vault while his brother Jackson took 1^st in the Shot Put.  Justin Lui collected wins in both the 1600 and 3200 Meter Runs.  Corey Cutler also contributed to the team placement with a 2^nd place finish in the 500 Meter Run and a 4^th place finish in the 300 Meter Dash.  Josh Wesalo was the other qualifier for the State Championship Meet; he placed 2^nd in the 3200 Meter Run.  The Panthers also qualified one of their relays for the state meet.  The 4x800 Meter Relay took 4^th place.  Despite missing a key member of the relay due to sickness, they were still able to make it to qualify for the State Championships.  Colin Shackelford, despite missing more than three weeks due to an injury, came back and took the place of his sick teammate.  He turned out to be one of the main reasons the relay qualified.  Alex Ullman, Shawn Markow, and Haile Kostin all ran personal bests that day on their way the their 4^th place finish in the relay.

            The Panthers wrapped up their season at the State Championship Meet.  The team finished in 6^th place, the best finish in recent years.  Geoffrey Boggs was the Panthers lone state champion.  Geoffrey won the Pole Vault competition and broke the school record in the process.  He jumped 12’6” on his way to the victory and new school record.  Corey Cutler collected a pair of 4^th place finishes in the 300 Meter Dash and 500 Meter Run.  Justin Lui finished in 5^th place in both the 1600 Meter and 3200 Meter Runs.  The other scorer for Pikesville was Jackson Boggs; he placed 5^th in the Shot Put. 

            The 2008-09 season continued the Indoor Track program's record of success on the county, region, and state levels.  Despite graduating a number of seniors from this year’s team, the future is still very bright for the Panthers.

Varsity Letter Winners

Josh Borris

Zach Brandes

Jason Burtnick

Kyle Clark

Josh Coonin

Joey Fox

Kyle Glazer

Max Gold

Steven Goldstein

Ross Hyatt

Jason Kornblatt

Ed Mukasey

Chris Pettijohn

Jeremy Schreier

Kody Silverman

Jeffrey Sommer

Michael Steinberg

Paul Toney, Jr.

County Championship Qualifiers, Regional Participants, and State Meet Qualifiers

Taymar Davenport – 4x200 Relay

George Fuzayl – 4x800 Relay

David Johnson – 4x200 Relay

Haile Kostin – 4x800 Relay

Shawn Markow – 4x800 Relay

Mikail Mayo – 4x200 Relay

Patrick Murdock – Shot Put

Nnaemeka Oduze – Shot Put

Colin Shackelford – 4x800 Relay

Alex Ullman – 4x800 Relay

Josh Wesalo – 3200 Meter Relay

State Meet Scorers (top 6)

Geoffrey Boggs*: State Champion, Pole Vault

Jackson Boggs*: 5^th place, Shot Put

Corey Cutler: 4^th place, 300 Meter Dash; 4^th place 500 Meter Run

Justin Lui*: 5^th place 1600 Meter Run; 5^th place 3200 Meter Run

New School Records

500 Meter Run: 1:09.41, Corey Cutler

Pole Vault: 12 feet, 6 inches, Geoffrey Boggs

*Region Champion

2008-09 Girls Indoor Track

            The 2008-09 Girls Track Team was the largest team in the program’s history.  With the loss of the team’s two top scorers to graduation, the Lady Panthers sought a new identity.  From the beginning of the season, the coaching staff recognized the potential of the team; this team had the ability to be the best team in the program’s 30 year history. 

            Of the 40+ girl’s on the team, only 10 of them had run Indoor Track for Pikesville before this season.  Additionally, there were only 5 seniors on the team.  The Lady Panthers did return many talented athletes.  Sasha Smallwood (Sophomore), already with one state title in the pole vault, returned as the #1 pole vaulter in the entire state.  Alyssa Jeffers (Senior) and Shalini Malaki (Junior) brought valuable experience as they had been a part of successful sprint relays in past season.  Rosemary Starobin (Senior) has been with the program since her freshman year and was looked to for guidance by a young group of throwers. 

            The 2008-09 saw many new faces to the program.  Skylar Fidel (Sophomore), who can be seen running past the competition on the soccer and lacrosse fields, decided to give Indoor Track a try.  Paulina Miller (Sophomore) also decided to run track after running past opponents on the soccer and lacrosse fields.  Takera Smalley (Sophomore) transferred to Pikesville this fall from Virginia.  Despite limited opportunities at her old school, the coaches saw tremendous potential in the short sprints at Pikesville.  Finally, one of the biggest additions to the girls program was Brandi Hurtt (Sophomore).  This year’s was Brandi’s first season playing sports at Pikesville.  She showed a natural ability and a lot of potential in the Shot Put.  A talented group of newcomers when added to the veterans of the program was a combination that led to a record setting season.

            From the outset of the season, the Lady Panthers were showing that they were a very well rounded team capable of scoring points in almost every event.  The ladies also showed some glimpses of talent that got the coaches thinking that a number of the school records were in jeopardy.  In addition to the standouts on the team, there was also a great number of athletes that fill in supporting roles in most events and on the various relays.  There was a large contingent of freshmen and sophomore girls that populated the mid-distance group.  Laurie Fisher, Stephanie Honig, Arienne Schreier, and Julia Shackelford became regulars on the 4x400 and 4x800 relays. Other underclassmen, Simone Briscoe, Keyona Anthony, Abby Molofsky, and Dianne Patterson contributed in the sprints and 4x200 Relay.

            At the County Championships, the Lady Panthers finished in 11^th place (out of 24 teams).  They were led by a 1^st place performance from Sasha Smallwood.  Smallwood won the Pole Vault by clearing 10’0”; her mark broke both the County Championship Meet and All-Time County Record.  Brandi Hurtt contributed with a 5^th place finish in the Shot Put.  Her throw of 30’ 0.50” was only a foot off the school record.  The Lady Panthers enjoyed similar success at the Freshman/Sophomore Meet where they finished in 7^th place.  Skylar Fidel blew away the field in 800 Meter Run, Keyona Anthony tied for 5^th in the High Jump, and Emily Friedlander placed 6^th in the Shot Put.

            At the Regional Championships, the Lady Panthers finished in 3^rd place, their best finish in the program’s history.  Sasha Smallwood continued her winning streak in the pole vault and upped her personal best to 10’2”.  Also taking home regional titles were Brandi Hurtt in the Shot Put and also the 4x800 Relay of Hannah Marcin, Paulina Miller, Jara Title, and Skylar Fidel.  The Panthers also qualified athletes for the state championships in the 4x200 Relay (4^th place), 4x400 Relay (4^th place), and Shot Put (Rachel Riter, 4^th place).

            This team saved their best performance for their last meet of the season, the state championships.  The Lady Panthers broke 4 team records at this meet.  The 4x800 Relay of Skylar Fidel, Paulina Miller, Hannah Marcin, and Shalini Malaki began the meet on a good note when they broke the record in this event by almost 30 seconds.  Next up was Brandi Hurtt in the Shot Put; she let loose a mammoth throw of 34’1”, an improvement of over 4 feet.  The 4x400 Relay of Fidel, Marcin, Keyona Anthony, and Malaki just narrowly broke the old school record, but they did it in dramatic fashion.  Anchor leg, Shalini Malaki, trailing by over 75 meters with one lap to go in her heat, exploded off the final turn and overtook the two teams in front of her to help the relay to a 6^th place finish.  Sasha Smallwood saved the best for last.  With the running events completed, all that was left was the Pole Vault.  She won the event on her first jump, but she was not done yet.  By the end of the event, she had cleared 11’1” breaking the 1A State Record and establishing herself as the second best female pole vaulter in the state’s history. 

            The 2008-09 Campaign by the Lady Panthers was truly one for the record books and with only one senior among the athletes that competed at the state championships, the girls are poised to reach even higher heights next year.

Varsity Letter Winners

Tyisse Baxter

Simone Briscoe

Kenesha Brooks

Madison Cooper

Melanie Ehudin

Laurie Fisher

Hannah Fralliciardi

Omega Guzman

Morgan Hazel

Stephanie Honig

Nina Horodowicz

Katie Jacobi

Mackenzy Kaplan

Emily Levy

Abby Molofsky

Arielle Moshell

Dianne Patterson

Amanda Rock

Arianne Schreier

Julia Shackelford

Rachel Wolven

County Championship Qualifiers, Regional Participants, and State Meet Qualifiers

Alyssa Jeffers – 4x200 Relay

Rachel Riter – Shot Put

Takera Smalley – 300 Meter Dash, 4x200 Relay

Rosemary Starobin – Shot Put

Jara Title* - 4x800 Relay