Clarksburg Girls, Northwest Boys Bring Home State Titles Shyheim Wright threw down a performance for the ages: 7.27 makes him MoCo's undisputed greatest all-time 55m hurdler and the second fastest ever at the Maryland indoor state meet. He is now ranked #3 in the United States this year according to Dyestat.com. 8.07 is the best time by a Montgomery County athlete since 2007 and a new personal best for Clarksburg's Alexus Pyles, now a two-time 55m hurdle state champ. She is the first Montgomery County girl to repeat as 55m hurdle state champion in 30 years (1984-85). She also took second place in the high jump with a mark of 5-04. Seneca Valley girls pulled away from the field to win the school's first ever 4x800 state title with another school record time of 9:48.67. Three of the same four girls returned to win their heat and take second overall in the 4x400 in a season best time of 4:04.31. Mia Del Borrello of Damascus posted possibly the top mark ever recorded by a Montgomery County athlete in the pole vault, 10-06. If anyone is aware of a higher mark, email webmaster@mocorunning.com. Certainly it is the highest mark by a MoCo female in at least 15 years. (10-06 matches the state-winning mark by Katie Bolac of Gaithersburg from 1998. Oh, how far we've come). Wootton's Jaron Woodyard ran the fastest 55m time by a Montgomery County athlete since 2009 (6.45) and the fastest 300m time since 2011 (35.14). Northwest's Diego Zarate doubled up to win the 800m and 1600m between performances in the 4x800 and 4x400 relays. In the last 24 hours, coaches (not from Northwest) have given me the following unsolicited comments: Coach 1: "Diego is a rare level of stud." Coach 2: "I can't ever remember an athlete with his toughness." Coach 3: "From a fan's perspective, this whole season the focus has been on Diego vs. the world. Diego is going to get the Athlete of the Year." 1997 was the last time a boy won the 800m and 1600m at the indoor state meet in Maryland's largest classification. He is the first Montgomery County athlete to win the 4A state title in the 800m since 2009. Just for the record, the fastest 800m of the day did not come from Diego Zarate. Miguel Suero of Rockville had the fastest 800m time of the day from a Montgomery County athlete. Although he only placed 4th in the 3A competition, 1:57.71 is the fastest 800m time by a MoCo athlete at the indoor state meet since 2009. The boys 3200 was a trippy race. For starters, the lights went out at the beginning of the race. It was a slower race than we saw earlier in the season when Itai Bezherano and Amir Khaghani hammered the track from the gun. The pace remained slow until Bezherano made a late race surge into the lead to break the race open, but Walz hung on and outkicked the field in the end. Bezherano took 2nd (9:39.36) and Khaghani 3rd (9:45.10) behind Eric Walz of Dulaney in 9:37.97. While only good for 4th place overall, Northwest's 1:31.63 4x200 performance was the best by a MoCo team indoors since 2008. In a nail-biting race, the Paint Branch boys held off Northwest for the state victory in the 4x800 in 8:05.85. Aaron Beidleman won his first state title in the high jump in 6-02.00. Noah Vernick of Quince Orchard won the shot put by more than 4 feet with a mark of 53-02.50, exactly matching his mark from the Virginia Tech Invitational and best by a Montgomery County athlete in three years. Mocorunning published a very intense photos of Adassa Phillips earlier this season. Here is a happy shot of Maryland's latest 4A state champion in the 55m dash, 7.18. Additionally, the Paint Branch girls took home the state title in the 4x200 in 1:44.53 with Phillips at anchor. 39.28 was nearly a half-second PR for the now 2-time 300m state champ from Blake, Martha Sam. It was the third fastest 300m time in Montgomery County history and will be a top 5 performance in state meet history. Additionally, Blake took home the 4A state title in the 4x400 in 3:58.62, a time that cracks the top ten all-time at the indoor state meet. Whitman's Clare Severe set an indoor personal best at 2:15.29 to claim her 6th all-time individual state title. It will go down as the #2 all-time performance at the indoor state meet. Additionally, Whitman won the 4x800m relay in 9:40.67 with an approximately 2:13 split from Severe. "Kickin" Kiernan Keller of WJ won the girls 1600 in 5:01.48 with her signature two lap kick. It was the fastest time by a Moco athlete indoors since 2008 and the second fastest time ever recorded at the Maryland indoor state meet. The 4A girls 3200 is best described as a fierce yo-yo and a gem of a race for distance fans. Bethlehem Taye of Paint Branch had a true breakout season and challenged B-CC's Nora McUmber in every possible way at the state meet, but McUmber pulled away in the final quarter mile for the win in 11:03.93 while Taye set a personal best in 11:12.86. McUmber now has won state titles in cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track.