On Saturday, the girls cross-country team captured their THIRD consecutive team state cross-country title at the infamously challenging Hereford High School cross-country course. Almost unbelievably, the boys cross-country team pulled off the same feat and won their first team state championship a half an hour later.
The girls team scored 52 points to best runner-up Smithsburg by 45 points. The two teams finished in the same position last year when the Huskies won by 31 points. The girls team has now finished in the Top 3 teams in every state meet since 2015.
How did they do it? The girls ran the ultimate team race, packing all seven runners in the top 35. The Lady Huskies ended up with six girls earning All-State Honors by placing inside the top 25.
Sophia Brown earned All-State honors for the third time placing 8th in 21:50. Lydia Nelson was right behind her in 9th at 21:53. Danika Krause ran a phenomenal last mile earning a 15th place finish with a time of 22:47. Running right with her in a tight pack were Kaylee Bowser (18th in 22:58), McKenzie Upole (20th in 23:05), and Isabella Yoder (21st in 23:16). Leah McKenzie had an absolutely fantastic race to put the team’s full strength on display, garnering a 33rd place finish in 24:38.
In a showing of great depth, the girls team had all seven runners finish before any other competing team had their fourth runner cross the finish line. Another mark of a remarkable team is the time between when their first runner and fifth runner finishes. This is known as the spread. Solid teams have a very small spread or time gap. Last year, the Huskies’ spread was the lowest in the race at 2:33. On Saturday, the girls’ spread was 1:14.
Girls Finishers
8th Sophia Brown 21:50 All-State (3rd time)
9th Lydia Nelson 21:53 All-State (2nd time)
15th Danika Krause 22:47 All-State (1st time) 18th Kaylee Bowser 22:58 All-State (1st time)
20th McKenzie Upole 23:05 All-State (2nd time)
21st Isabella Yoder 23:16 All-State (1st time)
33rd Leah McKenzie 24:38
Girls Team Standings
1st Northern Garrett 52 points
2nd Smithsburg 97 points
3rd Fallston 104 points
4th Southern Garrett 124 points
5th Mountain Ridge 146 points
The boys race was a much tighter affair. Edging out a very talented Catoctin team, the boys scored 78 points to win by just 9 points.
Much like the girls team, the boys relied on great depth and determination. The boys ended with a spread of 59 seconds from their first to their fifth runner. The team was able to put their fifth runner across the finish line before any other team would have their fourth runner finish.
The boys were led to the line by Ethyn Peck, finishing 6th in 18:22. Ashton Sober had an outstanding performance to grab 11th place in 18:38. Finishing 20th was Jayden Fike with a time of 18:54. Almost immediately behind was Matthew Yoder, running 19:04 for 23rd. DeVante Ross had an excellent race to finish 30th in 19:22. Ted Guingrich nabbed a 73rd place finish in 21:33. The gutsiest, most determined race of the day went to Josh Brobst who battled through dehydration to cross the line in 81st. It was a showing of a runner fully devoted to his team refusing to give up no matter what. Four of the seven boys runners netted All-State honors.
Boys Finishers
6th Ethyn Peck 18:22 All-State (2nd time)
11th Ashton Sober 18:38 All-State (1st time)
20th Jayden Fike 18:54 All-State (2nd time)
23rd Matthew Yoder 19:04 All-State (1st time)
30th DeVante Ross 19:22
73rd Ted Guingrich 21:33
81st Josh Brobst 22:07
Boys Team Standings
1st Northern Garrett 78 points
2nd Catoctin 87 points
3rd Brunswick 104 points
4th Francis Scott Key 114 points
5th Fallston 122 points
