Two more talented athletes have committed to compete in college. Churchill's Nadim Elhage will do football and track at DIII Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Elhage is a 4A discus state champion. Northwest's India Knight will attend Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, home of the Drake Relays and perhaps the finest outdoor track facility in the United States. Knight has run 2:14.92 in the 800m and was instrumental in Northwest's 2011 indoor and outdoor 4A state titles. The 2012 College Decisions Page - Seniors and their family members should email webmaster@mocorunning.com to be added to the list.
2012 Montgomery Invitational - Mocorunning Recap
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 | There were no first place finishes by Montgomery County athletes or relays at this year's Montgomery Invitational, but there were plenty of close 2nds. Among those, the Northwest girls took second place in the 4x200 and 4x800 relays, after having the fastest preliminary 4x200 time of 1:44.9. 4x2 anchor Camry Torian also placed 2nd in the 55-meter in 7.24. Nadim Elhage of Churchill had the top mark in the shot put until the very final round when another athlete launched a 51 foot bomb to take the win over Elhage (50-06.75). QO's Evan Laratta anchored his DMR to second place just minutes after he individually ran 9:36 in the 3200. Brittney Wade of B-CC finished second in the 800 in 2:19 after winning a heat of the 500 and placing third overall in 1:18. Technically Georgetown Prep's Joey Chapin won the 1600m in 4:25, but there were faster runners in the elite section of the mile including third place Will Conway in 4:23. Paul Joseph from Clarksburg finished second in the long jump with a personal best 21-05.50. |
MCPS Meet #2MoCo is growing accustomed to seeing this pair winning the girls hurdle races, but today they branched out to some new events. After going one-two in the 55-meter hurdles, Gwen Shaw toyed with the high jump while Sylvia Deppen ran a smokin' 1:19 500m (Dee Dee Akpaete ran 1:18 in a different heat and also won the 300 in 41.2). Wootton girls earned the most points of the meet.Clarksburg won the unofficial boys team title with the help of a 9:59 3200m by Will Bertrand and a come-from-behind win by Barry Solomon in the 300m. James Ertel of Wootton outkicked Churchill's Zach Weinstein in an exciting 1600m (4:31) while Churchill's Will Conway ran away with the 800 in 2:02. Stephen Ucheomumu, younger brother of former county champion Bisi Ezekoye, won the boys 55m in 6.6. |   |
Athletes of the Week - 12/18/2011
The MoCoRunning athlete of the week is Kyle Martin from Good Counsel High School. Lost in the celebration of last year's WCAC team victory was Martin's vast improvement in the last outdoor meet of the season. He dropped over a half second off his best 110-meter hurdle time to lead all county runners for the year and dropped nearly a full second off his 300-meter hurdle time. Martin kicked off this season by winning the 55-meter hurdles at the Dickinson Invitational in a time of 7.71, a personal best which ties the second best performance by a county athlete since Mocorunning was created. The Dickinson field house did not allow spikes.The female athlete of the week is Camry Torian. In the first official MCPS indoor meet of the season, Torian burst onto Mocorunning's "since 2006" leaderboard in two events. She won the 55-meter dash in 7.24 and came back to win the 300-meter dash in 41.40.
Camry Cruises in First Official Indoor Track MeetFor the first time in four years, someone other than Olivia Ekpone will win a Montgomery County sprinting title. After the first official indoor meet, it appears that torch may have been passed to Northwest's Camry Torian who gave up basketball to run indoor track for the first time. Torian had an outstanding start to hold off Magruder's Bethany White in the 55-meter dash, and a hard finish to outkick Springbrook's DeeDee Akpaete in the 300m. |  |
 | Major Changes to Regional Meet Entry StandardsMCPS Scrimmage NotesNorthwest graduated two of the best female athletes this county has ever seen, but they are still looking strong with Camry Torian running indoor track for the first time, Hayley Henshaw clearing 5-02 in the high jump, and young Kennedy Knight joining the team with her big sister. India Knight dominated the open 500 with an easy 1:22 and won her heat of the 300 with a time of 42 seconds. |
2011 Leaderboards Without Class of 2011: Girls Indoor Boys Indoor Girls Outdoor Boys Outdoor
So far we've heard about two transfers concerning returning athletes in the top five in one or more events. Rachel Watkins has transferred to Frederick County and Darius Lewis has transferred to Seneca Valley. To share more transfer news, email webmaster@mocorunning.com
MoCoRunning Girls All-Freshman XC Team
 | Lucy Srour is MoCoRunning's Female Freshman of the Year after winning the individual Montgomery County title and clocking a time of 18:51.6. She dropped her personal best down to 18:25.4 at the Nike Southeast Regional Meet last weekend. Srour was the first freshman to win a couny title in 8 years. Also in this article, read about the girl who finished 21st at the Footlocker Northeast Regional Championship. Meghan Lockett is a rising star in Montgomery County with times of 18:21 and 18:24 this fall, but she isn't exactly just another MoCo girl. She is enrolled in the GWU Online School and receives personalized coaching advice from the Run SMART training program. She competed in multiple college races this fall such as the University of Alabama Crimson Tide Classic and the FLrunners.com Invitational. |  |
 | MoCoRunning Boys All-Freshman XC TeamRead about Montgomery County's top freshman talent from this cross country season. Churchill's David Fitzgerald left no doubt that he is a future star. He placed fourth in the toughest region in the state and clocked a season-best time of 16:26.5 at the Great American XC Festival. It is the fastest 5k XC time by a MoCo freshman in at least nine years, and he will return to the speedy North Carolina course this weekend for the NXN Regional Meet. |
Maryland Boys Take Back Battle of the Potomac Cup
Walter Johnson Boys Pull Off Unthinkable FOURPEAT
B-CC Girls Cap Off Season with 4A State Title (Video)
Video: B-CC Girls React to Scores
While not necessarily meant for a county-wide audience, B-CC's team blog gives good insight on the team's progression throughout the season including insight on each meet
Read Evan Laratta's Story
The complete story of Evan Laratta, David Laratta, and mother Judy Laratta featured on Dyestat this week
4A West Regional Recap
Caroline Guiot and Will Conway, runners-up at county championship, are regional champions
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State Championship Qualifiers
Read this forum thread for historical state qualification stats courtesy of CoachSpongeBob| 4A West Boys Churchill W. Johnson Q. Orchard Wootton B-CC Whitman G-Burg Stephen Alexander Michael Pasti | 4A West Girls B-CC Whitman Wootton Blair Churchill Northwest Q. Orchard Abbey Daley Jacqui Young Lucie Noall Melanie Cirillo Grace Hanger | 4A North Boys Sherwood Paint Branch 4A North Girls Sherwood Springbrook | 3A West Boys Einstein Rockville Austin Moore 3A West Girls Einstein Allison Marella Abigail Noll Corey Rowley | 2A West Boys Poolesville Naimbai Njerkey 2A West Girls Chelsie Pennello |
Good Counsel Boys End Three Year Drought, Take Home WCAC Title
"I'm glad we finally won one, but I want to go home." - Mike Fitzgerald Photos
A steady rain began to let up during the junior varsity boys race. Then the rain picked up again for the varsity girls before turning to a heavy sleet blowing in sideways for the varsity boys race. The creek crossings were over waist-high and the already steep hills were iced over before the end of the last race. The temperature dropped from 39 degrees in the morning to 34 degrees at the end of the meet at 1pm. Good Counsel Coach Tom Arnold said that it was the worst conditions in which the WCAC Championship had ever been run.
Mike Crozier of Gonzaga won the individual boys title. Bishop O'Connell won the girls team title led by Devin Nihill who won the individual girls' title after being runner-up the last two years.
High Def MoCo Championship Varsity Video Boys Girls
Preseason Prediction Competition Results Midseason Prediction Competition Results
The winner of the Mocorunning Preseason Prediction Competition sponsored by Pacers Running Stores is Conor Spaulding, a Quince Orchard graduate. The winner of the Mocorunning Midseason Prediction Competition sponsored by Pacers Running Stores is Jordan Psaltakis, a Poolesville athlete. Jordan and Conor will each receive a $25 Gift Card to Pacers Running Stores with locations in Silver Spring, Alexandria, Arlington, and Washington DC.
 | Montgomery County Championship RecapAn Inspired Run - QO's Evan Laratta ran for a county title and ran for his sick motherPhenomenal freshman Lucy Srour outkicked Caroline Guiot to add another win to her resume. Proving that Mocorunning's ranking formula should be used for entertainment purposes only, the Week 8 Rankings STILL keep Srour out of the top spot. If you are throwing your hands up in the air, you are not alone, but remember that the other 70 girls on the ranking list are ranked pretty accurately. Heavily favored Churchill boys beat out Walter Johnson, B-CC girls upset Whitman |
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