by Jen Slinglandjslingland@gmail.comSouth River "Hawks" 4A Pat Kiley (4th year)Head coach Pat Kiley is very excited for the Hawks' upcoming season. His runners are conditioning all summer with other Hawk athletes and alums that return to get in some miles. They are doing lots of aerobic miles on trails and some weight training, and they are also participating in the Anne Arundel County Summer Cross Country Series races so they can get some competition under their belts before the August 16th comes around. Last fall, both boys and girls squads finished 2nd in the county and 3rd in the 4A East region, and with no key losses on his girls side, Kiley's hoping they make a surge and defeat the top teams in the area. Kiley is really pumped for his girl’s team, and said that standout Junior Hillary Lee is one runner to watch. In her short high school career, Lee has already been impressive, coming in 2nd in the county her freshman year, and she is currently the defending county champion. She was also the only South River girl to break 20 minutes at the state meet with an impressive 19:53. "She's just starting to hit her stride," Kiley said, adding that Lee has the potential to be one of the top 5 runners at states this fall. With Severna Park 4A East Regional Champion Liya Kasimova graduating, Lee has a phenomenal chance to do just that and to help elevate her team above the Severna Park Falcons and claim the championship. Kiley will also be depending on seniors Mary Fromme and Miranda Heater who are also looking to have standout performances for the Hawks this fall. "They are the backbone of the girl’s team for four years...they are wonderful kids and wonderful runners," Kiley said of his leaders. "I want to see us break through as a team and win something," he said.
When asked which team the Hawks were chasing this fall, without hesitation, Heater said Severna Park. "Watch out," added Fromme, issuing the Falcons a warning.
On the boy’s side, Kiley is hoping to maintain last season's performances, but it will be a challenge. The squad lost three of their top five runners to graduation - John Brungot and Nathan Suberi who both hope to walk on to the cross country team at the University of Maryland, and Andrew Stressing who looks to walk on the team at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Kiley will depend on Junior Nic Walsh and Senior Ryan Glynn to lead the Hawks in the fall. "Ryan has always been good. This is the year he could be great," Kiley said, adding that Glynn is a great triathlete who won his age classification in the Half Ironman in Delaware last year. Glynn finished 30th in the county championship and 25th in the region with a time of 17:04. Walsh, a second year captain, placed sixth in the county in 17:20 and fourth in the region in 16:06. Kiley has great expectations for Walsh this season, saying that he has the talent to win a county or regional championship because he is quite naturally gifted.
Look for the Hawks to participate in the Peter Gherety Mt. St. Mary's Invitational, the Howard County Invitational at Centennial High School, and the Bull Run Elite Race for the third consecutive year. "We'll do well [at Bull Run] - not great, not poor.... The girls could make a little noise in the elite race," Kiley said. He was vocal on the elite race, explaining "We can't have Maryland schools dropping out of that race like last year." He said that the reason schools come from other states to participate in the elite race is because of the reputation of great competition, but if Maryland schools drop out of that race, those other states will lose interest in coming to Hereford to compete, a very unfortunate situation for the state of running in Maryland.
Southern High School "Bulldogs" 2A
The Bulldogs will look to build off of last season, where they earned their first trip to the State Championship in school history. While not as competitive in the county as they would like to have been, being able to run against stronger 4A teams throughout the season prepared them for the 2A championships. For the girls, Southern's top runner again this year will be Kerry Kramer, who is currently putting in a lot of miles and should have an extremely competitive senior season both at the county and regional level. Key losses for the Bulldogs are Marie Rohrbaugh, Rachael Powers and Jessie Ames. Look for seniors Kerry Kramer, Allison Bobby, and junior Khyber Rabdau to step into those lost spots this fall.
On the boy’s team, there will be a lot of new faces on the varsity squad, as the top runner from last season will struggle to stay in the top five. Pickups from the track team such as seniors Lawrence Baker, Josh Smith, Josh Moore, and Aaron Brantley will all be critical to the team making a jump into the middle of the county pack and hopefully achieving some of the results the girls team did last year.
Severna Park High School "Falcons" 4A Josh Alcombright Boys (3rd year) and E. Purpura GirlsThe Falcons are looking to repeat as county champs this fall and possibly make a push for the schools first-ever boys state championship. All the boys’ runners are returning but one - JP Reddinger - from a team that placed third in the state meet. With TJ Cowing and Andrew Finlayson leading the team, Severna Park could potentially have one of the best one-two punches in the state, boy’s coach Josh Alcombright said. Cowing ran a personal best 9:47 3200 in outdoor this past spring, and with added strength from the summer, could carry over the aggression from outdoor and be a runner to watch this fall. Look for the boy’s team to run Great Meadow, and both teams to run at Salesianum DE, the South Carrol Invitational, the Knights Invitational, and the Bull Run Invitational.
The girls will also be looking to repeat as county champions. Coach Ed Purpura, who is returning for his 20th season at Severna Park, believes this will be an interesting year as the girls transition from what they had with the state championship last year to what the future will hold. "We have to rely on our depth in order for us to be successful. We have a great group of juniors and seniors who have seen amazing success, and the lever of our own destiny lies in their hands," Purpura said. With the key loss of Liya Kasimova who will be at Towson this fall, Purpura will be counting on a large, solid group of returning vets, who include seniors Kelsey Kenealy, Jaci Gassaway, Anna Patterson, Kathleen Barranco, juniors Sadie Dempsey, Becky Selle, Megan Irminger, and sophomore Chris Patrick. He said it is too early to tell much about any new additions. Look for the girls to run at South Carroll Invitational, The Bull Run Invitational, the Meade Invitational, and the Knights Invitational.
Northeast High School "Eagles" 4A Elmer McPhail (5th year)
The Northeast Eagles are setting reasonable goals for themselves this fall. Coach McPhail would like to see his boys finish in the top half of the county, and with the loss of Ricco Borrero and Nick Weddle to graduation, McPhail is counting on senior Joe Rosenthal - 1st team all-county last year and best race at the Knights Invite in 16:58 - to continue his individual success and carry it over to group success to lead seniors Austin Lopez, Marty Beckner, juniors Cody Garrett and Spencer Grenagle to a better finish. With a very competitive top half in Anne Arundel County teams, the boys will have to pull together and be conscious of scoring places. "Last year, we were one point away from 4th place, three points away from 3rd... we finished 8th in the state meet, so I would like to see us build up again like last year by starting out easy and peaking at the right time," McPhail said.
McPhail is still trying to fill a full team so the team can score on the courses. Last season he had three consistent runners, and he is expecting big things from junior Ashley Sturgill, the top returning girl. Her best finish last year was at the Meade Invite where she finished 21:55. Kayla Borrero may not return, and Monica Dietrich is expected to come back.
McPhail, a former Fresno State runner whose daughter Marissa now attends Fresno and runs there as well, believes that this will be a down year for the county on the whole - besides of course the Severna Park and South River teams and possibly a stronger Chesapeake boys team - so he hopes his teams can take advantage of the losses in other parts of the county and move up. Look for the Eagles to run in the Bull Run Invitational, Knights Invite, Annapolis Invite, the Meade Stampede, and the Centennial Park Invite.
Chesapeake High School "Cougars" 4A Tom Slichter (8th year)
Coach Tom Slichter knows his athletes are running this summer and are excited for the upcoming season. His boys are hoping to move up from a third place finish last year and place second this fall, trying to capitalize on the losses Severna Park has to graduating seniors. The Cougar boys are returning all of their runners, including his one-two runners senior Kyle Fairchild and junior Will Neal, who run very close to each other in the mid-to-low 17s. Chesapeake's 3rd-5th runners include seniors TJ Myers, Collin Wojociechowski, and sophomore Ripken LaMarsh. Slichter is also returning seniors Chris Seto, Tim Wickless, and Dan Fontaine, who all ran varsity last fall. The Cougars have four newcomers to look for with junior transfers Tyler and Phil Trainor and freshmen Sam Phipps and Matt Fontaine.
Chesapeake's girl’s team finished sixth in the county last fall, but Slichter said he did not run his best girl in the county meet last year. The team lost two seniors, the 5th and 7th runners Jessica Riley and Katie Muranto. Look for seniors Katie Phipps, Laura Blevins, Tori Schenker, Rachel Sattler, Andrea Hendrix, junior Kortnie Walker and Josie Fillat to fill out the varsity roster and all from the top nine from last fall. Newcomer Freshman Kate Rilee could show some promise for the Cougars this year as well.
The Cougars will run in the CM Wright Relays, the Meade Stampede, the Knights Invitational, and the Bull Run. The boy’s team will be running in the elite race at Bull Run while the girls will be running in the large schools race. Slichter, when asked about the state of the elite race, believes the best teams should be encouraged to run elite races and the top two teams from the previous year's regional meets must run the elite race in order to maintain the competitive nature of the race. Slichter, who has been coaching running for 18 years, 10 years as an assistant before taking the reigns as a head coach, believes that overtraining is a huge danger for high school athletes, and school schedules that require athletes to race twice a week can truly hurt a runner - "sometimes even racing once a week hurts your training," he said. Conferences like Anne Arundel County's that have two county meets with a mandatory three invitational attendances and the freedom to add five more invites allows coaches the ability to plan appropriately for their athletes' training and help them peak at the correct point in the season by avoiding over-racing and preventing potentially season-ending injuries sustained from overtraining.
Arundel High School "Wildcats" 4A Kim Boyce (2nd year), Jamie Kahn and Kristin Hooper, assistant coachesHead coach Kim Boyce says that the Wildcats have a great chance of placing in the top five teams this fall in the county. Last season, Arundel boys finished seventh and the girls placed eighth, so Boyce is looking for the runners' potential success to come from increased dedication and promising new athletes. Both teams are looking at full returning rosters since they did not lose any key runners to graduation. Seniors Skylar McCullough - who ran a best 17:53 in the Knights Invite last year - and Andrew Heys look to lead the boys this season, along with junior Matt Dyjack. Boyce is expecting fresh talent to come out this fall that could push the veterans to perform even better, including junior Ryan Kingrey.
Returning on the girls side are sophomore runners Nela Reynolds, Sarah Platt, Kelsey Barbour - who ran a best 21:22 at the Knights Invitational last fall - and senior Maisa Megahed will return a solid group of runners who could move up in the county if they learn to run closer together and follow Barbour's faster times. The Wildcats are looking to attend the Knight's Invitational, the Doc Jones Invitational, and the Bull Run Invitational, among others.
Annapolis High School "Panthers" 3A
The Panthers finished sixth in the county last fall and eighth in the region. With most of the team returning this fall, Annapolis could move up in both the county and region. Stephen Guth and Luke Hart both graduated last season leaving senior Christian Smooth, who finished first in the county last fall in 16:58, to lead seniors Nathan Bickell, Cory Toomey, junior Nick Korbelak and sophomore Dylan Zingler. The girls placed third in the county last fall and seventh in the region. They lost three of their top seven runners to graduation, including Kathryn Howser, Lindsey Miller, and Erin Harmon. The Panthers' top runner, junior Camilla Henriksen, will return to lead the team this fall. Henriksen finished 12th in the county in 21:31 last fall and 16th in the 3A region meet in a time of 21:49, and she will lead juniors Casey O'Brien, Kelsey Swensen, and senior Erica Juras.
Broadneck High School "Bruins" 4A
The Broadneck Bruins boys and girls team finished fourth in both the county and 4A east region. The boys will need to rely on their four returners after graduating three runners, including their top two runners, Jeremy Buyer, Ben Olson and Nick Garner. Buyer was the top runner in the region last fall finishing in 15:58, and Olson finished eighth in the region. Junior Ryan Cleaver will have to stop up into the top spot to lead sophomore Avery Wentworth, junior Tim Caudle, and senior Robert Hofer of the returning runners. The girls fared better with graduation, losing only their number two runner Katie Limbacher. Look for senior Jennifer Steinweg to lead a stacked team with junior Ellyn Hopper, seniors Amanda Pollander, Katie Gilbert, Stephanie Hicks, and junior Mariah Smith.
Glen Burnie High School "Gophers" 4A The Gophers had a split boy’s team last year, with four seniors and young underclassmen. The team, which finished tenth in the county and eighth in the region, graduated Alamgir Akbac, Ethan Brewer, Lloyd Elgert, and Steven Boyer. Junior Rick Henderson will return to lead junior Emilio Henderson and sophomore Danny Ferris for a young Gopher team. The girls will try to fill an entire team roster with junior Chiara Trangali and sophomore Jasmine King returning.
Meade High School "Mustangs" 3A The Meade Mustangs will return two solid teams this fall, only losing one runner to graduation, Corey Robertson. The boys finished eighth in the county and 11th in the region last fall and will probably look to move up with experienced runners returning. Look for senior Josh Day, who finished 14th at counties in 17:48, to lead sophomores Alex Cartron, Demetrious Anderson, Derek Holland, and senior Daniel Sesay this fall. The girls, who have a strong team, return an entire roster that finished fifth in the county and fourth in the 3A east region. Senior Jasmine Savage will lead juniors Jasmine Martin, Machaela Washington, Victoria Phillips, Leah Whitt, and seniors Anna Grimes and Lauren Hunt. Look for the lady Mustangs to maintain their position in a very competitive county and region.
North County High School "Knights" 4A The Knights will look to fill their rosters this season as they struggled to do last season. The top boy, Donte Brown, graduated, leaving seniors Danny Seibenhaar, Gage Mestro, and sophomore Jeff Giles to continue running for the team. On the girl’s side, sophomore Linday Holland, who placed 15th as a freshman in the region meet in 20:18, should return to lead senior Amanda Desautels this fall.
Old Mill High School "Patriots" 4A The Patriots ended up in the middle of the county and region last fall, the boys finishing ninth in the county and seventh in the region, and the girls finishing seventh in the county and sixth in the region. The boy’s team graduated their number two runner, Steven Behringer, and returns the rest of their roster. Sophomore Cody Vernon, who finished 18th at regions as a freshman in 16:54, will lead sophomore Brian Brewer, juniors Kyle Oslund and Eris Pinto, and seniors Charles Heward and Nathan Dasch. The girls did not fare as well as the boys, graduating their top runner Sarah Foster, as well as two other runners in their top seven - Courtney Bardell, and Laine Converso. Look for senior Cassandra Trevino to lead senior June Bouchard, junior Jazmine Holland and sophomore Kaili Owens.