by Brad Jaeger

Going into the MIAA championship meet on Wednesday at Oregon Ridge Park, the only real question is who is going to come away with the individual title.

Calvert Hall, coached by Randy Fowler, looks to be head and shoulders above the rest of the league and will enter the race as heavy favorites to capture the team championshp. The Cardinals have been ranked #2 statewide by RunningMaryland.com for most of the season and has one of the tightest top seven packs in the state.

The team is led by Anthony Rowe and Chris Swisko, both of whom have more than an even chance of winning the individual title. Joining them in the top seven are Trent Seawell, Sean Caskey, John Fitzgerald, Logan Pasqual and Kenny Motsay.

Loyola Blakefield has had an up and down year, but senior Joe Orsulak is rounding into shape just at the right time.  Orsulak will be in the main pack along with freshman Matt Jablonski, who spends most of his days playing soccer with the Dons varsity squad. John McAuliffe, Greg Lange, Ben Mackey and Pat Tizzard will be counted on to have a good day if they are to challenge for the team title.

Archbishop Spalding only lost to the Dons by a single point in a league meet two weeks ago and Trevor Keen and Zach Sullivan will be in a large lead pack during the race.

Gilman will also be in the running for the team title with a strong top five that includes Pat Fiske, Evan Bryant, Ben DeFord, Taz George and Alex Chriss.

Park School will be led by Ethan Harswell and Lucas Hulleberg, who have shown that they can run with the leaders all year and freshman Jamie DeMarco has been competitive with other team’s top runners.

Grisha Iventichev of Friends School should be the favorite for the overall individual title, but has been battling injuries ever since his second place finish in the Bull Run elite race in late September. If he finishes on top, he will be the first runner from the B Conference to do so.

Pat Hairfield and Tim Skarda of Archbishop Curley are expected to be in the lead group as is Demetrius Pagonis of McDonogh.  Steve Childress and Phil August of Mount St. Joseph could also be adding another duo to the lead group on Wednesday.

The varsity race starts at 2:45PM on Wednesday at Oregon Ridge Park in Hunt Valley.  DigitalSports and RunningMaryland will be there with full meet coverage.