MoCoRunning






2A/3A State Preview
By: Kevin Milsted
Photos by: Mike McCary
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
webmaster@mocorunning.com

Here's to the teams of the 2A and 3A. Several of these teams have pulled their programs out of the muck this year and qualified an athlete or a whole team for the state championship. Many of these teams can't remember the last time they made it. Some of these kids weren't born the last time their team made it to the state meet. So here is to you smaller programs that made giant strides this year. Good luck at the state championship and come back next season dreaming big.

And here's to B-CC, a program that looked like they would be forced to take a few steps backwards this year, but have instead come out as one of the strongest teams in the state. These guys have already been one of the biggest stories of the season, and the state championship meet will be the chance to go down in history. Needless to say, it will not be easy, but they do have a shot at coming home with a state title. If they weren't such a nice group of guys with great sportsmanship and a competitive nature, the 4A boys would probably turn their backs and take care of their own business after their race. But just as you saw at the regional meet, you can expect the rest of the county to cheer these guys on to help them reach the dream of a 1st place finish at Hereford and a place in the history books as the best cross country team in 3A in 2007.

3A Boys

Bethesda Chevy Chase Boys:

Short (left), Straughan (right)
Dylan Straughan, Kyle Short, Alex Prevost, Matthew Davey-Karlson, James Lough, Walter Beller-Morales, Andrew Finklestein

Montgomery County Finish: 2nd
3A West Finish: 1st
3A State Prediction: 1st

Things could not have come together better for B-CC. It has been a refreshing season for the Barons who are primed to do great things at the state meet. They feel that running and winning the Bull Run Invitational has given them the confidence and experience to execute their strategy on race day. They continued to improve and gel as a team by placing 2nd in the county meet and winning the 3A West region. All that remains to be seen is whether they have what it takes to come home with several all-state athletes and a team state title. Wilde Lake will be their biggest competition.
MD-K (left), Prevost (right)


Damascus Boys:
Wil Zahorodny, Ben Constaninides, Thomas Arias, Charlie Ramirez, Jon Constantinides, Billy Thane, Sam Weeks
Montgomery County Finish: 8th
3A West Finish: 3rd
3A State Prediction: 7th


Thane (left), Ramirez (right)
Wil Zahorodny will get to run with his team at the state championship for the first time in his running career. With a very young team overall, this season has been a roller coaster ride for Damascus, but they finally made it back to the big show for the first time in 3 years. All the leadership and consistency in the world from Zahorodny could not get the sophomores to all bring their 'A' game on the same day, but with flashes of talent from each, they know that they could be a top 5 team or better if they all bring it the same day. Zahorodny should be good for a top 5 spot or better.


Albert Einstein Boys:
Alex Bodaken, Sebi Devlin Foltz, Milo Johnson, Jonah Zinn, Sam Rivers, Martin Swift, Andrew Ceruzzi
Montgomery County Finish: 15th
3A West Finish: 4th
3A State Prediction: 18th

The Einstein boys could not be more thrilled about qualifying for the state championship after a drought of 17 years from state competition. They also have boasting rights as the only team at their school heading to state competition this fall. Sebi Devlin-Foltz returns as the only athlete who has been to the state meet, but after running at the Bull Run Invitational, the team feels that they are prepared to work the hills and have a good showing. Alex Bodaken, who is one of the breakout runners of the year in Montgomery County, will make a run at all-state honors along with Devlin-Foltz, but with a very large drop off, the success of the team depends on the remaining varsity runners.
Bodaken (left), Devlin-Foltz (right)


Watkins Mill Boys:
David Gaynor, Chris Kaczmarek, Ryan King, Jed Lingat, Tanner Brophy, Marko Modric, David Anderson
Montgomery County Finish: 21st
3A West Finish: 6th
3A State Prediction: 20th


David Gaynor
This has to be the surprise of the year. Watkins Mill first won the Division IV title, then fell to 21st place at the county championship, and now qualified for the state championship. Coach Paul Ranno admits that even they were surprised that they qualified this year, but says that they used every bit of home course advantage that they had to succeed at regionals. They pounded the hills of the course and sprinted the field hockey fields atleast twice a week in preparation for the qualifying meet. With the final spot to regionals wide open, the hard work paid off as they were able to catch opponents on hills and on the final, flat, finishing stretch. Simply qualifying for the state meet marks a successful season for Watkins Mill and if they can beat any teams, it is just an added bonus to take away from this season.


Paint Branch Boys:
Nicholas Schmedding

Although Paint Branch missed qualifying as a team, the senior Nicholas Schmedding will be at Hereford to represent his team. Schmedding is the first athlete from Paint Branch to qualify individually for the state championship in a long time.

Nicholas Schmedding


3A Girls

Damascus Girls: Taylor Colbert, Janna Domico, Amanda Zyzak, Ellen Davis, Chelsey McMinn, Taylor King, Nicole Urps
Montgomery County Finish: 7th
3A West Finish: 2nd
3A State Prediction: 10th


Davis (left), Domico (right)
After training all year to compete with 4A teams, a young Damascus team had no problem qualifying for the state championship in the 3A West. As a tight pack team, they will fit right in with the tight teams from the 3A East and could conceivably finish anywhere from 3rd to 12th. Whatever the case may be, they will be excited to compete as a team on the state level and should return almost everyone next year.


Bethesda Chevy Chase Girls: Addie Tousley, Annie Bateman, Joanie Webber, Caroline Quill, Alex Beehler, Darcy O'Connor, Laura Keeling
Montgomery County Finish: 10th
3A West Finish: 3rd
3A State Prediction: 14th

It has been another rebuilding year for the B-CC girls who will send plenty of new faces to this year's state championship. Luckily, they all ran at the Bull Run Invitational this year and feel comfortable with the course. The coaches have told the athletes to treat it like any other race because they have been ready since June. While Addie Tousley pushes for a top 5 spot, the team probably won't move much from last year's 13th place finish.
Addie Tousley


Paint Branch Girls: Korine Duval, Noelle Tom-Wigfield, Michelle Tabisz, Sarah Chang, Sarah Adams, Sylvie Vu, Mponya Asher
Montgomery County Finish: 15th
3A West Finish: 4th
3A State Prediction: 17th


Korine Duval
The Paint Branch girls were hoping to win their division title this year and were let down when they came up just short. They were able to stay focused with the team slogan, "Run Like Champions." They ran at the Bull Run Invitational earlier in the season to prepare to compete at a higher level and were able to grab the final spot in the 3A West to allow them to advance. However they may perform at the state meet, this season was a step in the right direction for a team that has not qualified in a very long time.


2A Boys

William Orndorff, Rockville
Ramon Munoz, Clarksburg
Mike Leaman, Clarksburg
Giovanni Reumante, Northwood


The boys of the 2A are making their schools proud. Clarksburg celebrated becoming the only school to win their cross country division for the boys and the girls this year. Now, in just its second year of existence, Clarksburg has once again qualified two athletes for the state meet in Ramon Munoz and Michael Leaman. Says Munoz, "This is the last year and this blue haired guy wants to leave a mark for my teammates and my school."

Giovanni Reumante became the first Northwood High School athlete to qualify for the cross country state meet since it reopened in 2003. He is excited to have qualified but is going there with a purpose, shooting for the top 20 in the race or better. A big fan of the Moco scene, he would also like to come away from the meet as the top Montgomery County finisher in 2A.

Reumante, Leaman, and Munoz will have to go through Billy Orndorff of Rockville if they want to be the top Montgomery County finishers in 2A. Orndorff (pictured right by Michael Menase) went undefeated in divisional meets this year and recently placed 7th in the 2A West Region meet in a time of 16:04. At states, he hopes to get out quickly and establish position early.






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