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The Montgomery Journal
Best in the nation Good Counsel's Sicher sets mark in 1,000-meter run
Originally Published in The Montgomery Journal on Tuesday, February 02, 1999
By: Mike Eacobacci
Photographer: None


Republished with permission granted by The Washington Newspaper Publishing Co. LLC d/b/a MediaDC. Back to Montgomery Journal articles

Best in the nation

Good Counsel's Sicher sets mark in 1,000-meter run

By MIKE EACOBACCI
Journal staff writer

Repeat All-County Runner of the Year Erin Sicher of Good Counsel ran the best time in the nation so far this season in the 1,000-meter run Saturday at a meet Blacksburg, Va.

Sicher, a standout in track and cross country, ran a scorching 2:58.07 at the Virginia Tech Super 8 Invitational.

Good Counsel's girls 3,200-relay team placed 17th at 10:05.53.

Runners from Walter Johnson, Sherwood, Magruder, Richard Montgomery and Quince Orchard also turned in personal-best performances at the meet.

Walter Johnson's girls 3,200-relay team of Mave Payton, Kim Milans, Brynn Dutcher and Jenny Bodine turned in a 9:51 for seventh in the meet, which makes the Wildcats the favorite to win the Class 2A/3A state championship.

Bodine also placed ninth in the 1,000 at 3:05.8. WJ's Fatima Abbas took 10th in the triple jump at 36 feet, 4 1/2 inches and 10th in the long jump at 17 feet, 2 3/4 inches.

For the Wildcat boys, senior David Glynn placed fourth in the 3,200 at 9:38, a personal record by 10 seconds. He won the 3,200 at the 4A/3A state meet last year.

Richard Montgomery also put out a solid team performance, as most of its runners had personal best runs.

Senior Adam Banks broke a personal record in the 500-meter dash at 1:07.69 and again in the 300 at 36.7.

All-County distance runner Cecily Garber placed eighth in the mile at 5:20, three seconds off her career-best finish.

Junior Lisa Bauman notched a personal-best 1:22.2 in the 500. Her previous best was nearly three seconds slower. Also in the 500, senior Karen Tenenbaum set a personal record at 1:23.1.

RM's girls 3,200-relay team ran a 10:00.7, the fastest time by a Maryland 3A/4A school this year and nine seconds better than its previous best to finish 12th.

"That should give us a shot at winning the state championship in that event," RM coach Ben Opipari said.

His girls relay runners still had enough left in the tank to run a county-best 4:10 - their best by seven seconds - in the 1,600 relay, the next-to-last event of the two-day meet.

Of all the speedy Rocket finishes, Opipari said the girls 1,600-relay gave him the most joy. It was 0.7 seconds faster than RM's best time last year with all-county pick Courtney Botts, who now runs at Duke University.

Garber, Tenenbaum and Bauman joined Botts on last year's All-County 1,600-relay team.

Opipari said sophomore Katie Harsanyi has filled in and kept the team from missing a beat, despite this being her first season to run track.

"They needed to see that they're still strong in their own right," Opipari said. "They really needed this to build their confidence."

[Page B2 Headline] Two pairs of sisters pace Quince Orchard track team

Quince Orchard's girls 3,200-relay team finished four seconds behind RM at 10:05 and placed 16th. Coach Pat O'Connor said the relay team - senior twins Lucinda and Claudin Hull, senior Meghan Cathey and freshman Lindsey Schneider - will give the Rockets a run for their money at regionals next Tuesday at the Baltimore Armory at 4 p.m.

"Now that we're in the same heat, they'll have someone to run after," O'Connor said.

All-county distance runner Lucinda Hull set a personal record in the mile at 5:31. She also ran the 3,200 in 11:50.82. Claudin Hull ran a 5:41 mile and the 3,200 in 12:02.28.

Lucinda said she's looking forward to running against RM next week.

"We were really excited because we dropped 16 seconds from last weekend," said Hull, who ran a personal-best leg in the 3,200 relay.

Junior Melanie Cathey placed fourth in the 55 hurdles at 8.48 after she ran 8.41 in the qualifying heat.

Her sister, Meghan, clocked a personal-best 1:20.96 in the 500.

For the Cougar boys, senior Jesse Henderson placed ninth in the 55 hurdles at 7.71. Junior Bryan Schneider took more than a second off his personal best in the 500 at 67.9, good for 20th overall.

Sherwood junior Shaun Luncheon set a personal record in the 500 at 68.0. He was regional champ in the 300 last year but didn't run the event at Virginia Tech.

More than 70 teams attended the meet, including some from as far away as Detroit and South Carolina. Most team brought fewer than 10 athletes because of the invitational's difficult qualifying standards. Virginia Tech's track is considered one of the fastest in the nation.




Eacobacci, Mike. "Best in the nation Good Counsel's Sicher sets mark in 1,000-meter run." Montgomery Journal, 2 Feb. 1999, p. B1-B2.
Transcribed by: Kevin Milsted 02/26/2020


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