Andrew Jesien Finishes 7th in the Nation in the 1500 (3:45.39) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Morgane Gay took care of business in the jr women 1500m prelims, leading from start to finish and winning the heat in 4:31.42. This sets up a championship showdown between her and the great Jordan Hasay who holds the American junior record in the 1500. Morgane said that she's confident heading into the finals, but just having fun. Watch Post-Race Interview with Morgane
Watch Andrew Jesien Interview from after qualifying race
UVA/Walter Johnson's Andrew Jesien PR's in 3:41.78 and finishes 2nd to automatically qualify for the US Championship 1500m Finals! Watch Race Video
Check out the other track news websites for the best coverage of the US Championships. Check out my blog if you want to read about my trip.
The Mocorunning.com All-Decade T&F Team
We have now finished counting down #50-31 on the mocorunning.com all-decade teams. A common theme you may have picked up on was that many of these athletes only competed for a few seasons due to injury, ineligibility, other sports, etc. Some coaches may have thought highly of a certain athlete, while other coaches may have forgotten about them because of their injuries or whatever the case was. You may be concerned that some athletes appear ranked out of order based on their PR's and accomplishments and in some cases that's true. The order from 31-50 had more to do with opinion and memory of the voting coaches than hard solid facts. Coaches were asked to put more emphasis on the athletes they ranked #16-30 than those they ranked #31-50, and of course put the most emphasis on ranking #1-15. There was a jump in the poll scoring point value between the three categories to go along with this point of emphasis. As we enter the top 30 in the countdown, you will start to learn about the athletes that all of the coaches remember well and you should start to see a more logical order to the countdown. John Jones  Ryan Janes  Katherine Salke |
#30 John Jones, Paint Branch Class of 2008 - Jones surprised Moco fans in his senior year when he became a Nike Indoor National All-American by running 49.66 for 400 meters. He followed that up running under 49 seconds many times outdoors including a PR of 48.57 at the Metro Run and Walk Invite. He won regional titles in the 200 and 400 and went on to place second in the state in the 400. He also ran 21.90 for 200m, 35.5h for 300m and 1:06.88 for 500m. #30 Erin Moore, Poolesville Class of 2004 - Erin Moore was a winner. Between 2002 and 2004, she won six individual 1A state titles. This ties for the second most state titles won by a county athlete this decade. She nearly swept the 500 and 800 at three consecutive indoor state meets, but her teammate grabbed the 500 title in her junior year. Her 2002 500-meter time of 1:18.3 is the fifth fastest of the decade by a county athlete and was the 1A state meet record until 2008. #31 Ryan Janes, Gaithersburg Class of 2006 - Janes was known for competing in four events at every meet and competing at a high level no matter who he was up against. He never won a county title or state title in track, but he rarely competed in a meet where he didn't run the 4x800, 1600, 3200, and 800 to score the most points for his team. He is best known for a little rivalry with WJ's Chris Moen which included one 1600m race that pulled both runners to four-second PR's and a new county meet record. He had personal bests of 1:58.00, 4:16.7, 9:33.2, and split 1:54 on a 4x800 relay that ran 7:59.93. #31 Katherine Salke, Sherwood Class of 2009 - Running indoor track for the first time as a senior really helped Salke become one of the best hurdlers of the decade. She ran 8.48 to make the finals at the highly competitive Virginia Tech Invitational, the fourth best time of the decade by a county athlete. She proved to be on a new level outdoors by running under 15 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles multiple times including a region-winning 14.60 which was reportedly run on a stress fracture in her foot. It is the third best time of the decade by a county athlete. #32 Darius Ray, Magruder Class of 2008 - When Darius Ray really committed to track and field in his senior year, he became one of the best jumpers of the decade. He jumped 22-06 for second place at the 2008 state championship, which ties for the best jump of the decade by a county athlete. He jumped 45-06.50 in the triple jump and 6-04 in the high jump. #32 Hilary Moen, Walter Johnson Class of 2006 - Moen won three consecutive regional titles in the 300-meter hurdles and may have won three consecutive county titles in the event if she was not DQ'ed in 2004. She posted a best time of 44.78 in the 300m hurdles, the third best of the decade by a county athlete. She also won a county title in the 55-meter hurdles (8.69) and a region title in the 100 hurdles (15.18 PR). |
Mocorunning.com is proud to present the Mocorunning.com All-Decade Team. Between 5/25/2009 and 6/1/2009, a select group of Montgomery County coaches voted on the top 100 track and field athletes (50 boys and 50 girls) who competed in Montgomery County between the years 2000 and 2009. Over the next several weeks, we will be counting them down from #50 to #1. Only six athletes will remain on the front page at a time so you will need to check back often to see them all. Two articles with all 50 boys and 50 girls will be released once we reach #1.
The voting panel consisted of the following coaches who have been coaching in Montgomery County since at least 2001: Steve Bettis, Robert Burke, Richard Drozd, Greg Dunston, Fran Parry, Scott Mathias, Herb Tolbert, Matt Wheeler, Tom Rogers, and Steve Hays. Other coaches were invited to participate, but these coaches followed through. Thank you, coaches, for making this possible.
Coaches were asked to use their own discretion to determine what constitutes "the best" athletes, but coaches were specifically asked to only consider accomplishments in high school track & field - not other sports, not cross country, and not college competition.
Solomon Haile Wins Sixth National Title with NON 5k Meet Record 14:32.36
Solomon's sixth national title in a year and a half - 3 indoors, 2 outdoors, 1 cross country
Paint Branch Girls Fast 4x200 - 1:41.81; Josh Ellis 4:37.02 PR in Freshman Mile; Jonathan Haughton 21.63 PR in 200
2009 College Decisions Flash Results Nike Outdoor Nationals Videos & Photos
 | Solomon Haile and Atholton's Graham Bazell take 2nd and 3rd in 8:56.08 and 8:56.65 behind phenomenal freshman at Midwest Distance Gala. Solomon and Graham fastest Maryland 3200 runners ever after Centrowitz? Andrew Palmer 10th in 9:22.14 (9:19.00 converted to 3200 meters is MoCo #3 this decade) Midwest Gala Home Page Palmer, Haile to Midwest Distance Gala (preview) |
Ramsey Chapin 1:53.04 800 at Boston Twilight Series, #2 this decade by MoCo athletes
Morgane Gay takes tenth in the nation at NCAA's in 4:19.59
Morgane Gay 4:15.56 1500m! - qualified for finals at NCAA Nationals!
Mocorunning All-Stars Break DMR Meet Record at Milestat Track Gala - 10:07.88
Marcus Brown "elitest of elite" award after shot put / discus wins, shot put meet record
| 2009 Mocorunning.com Girls All-Freshman Team When it comes to the girls, there are always several who have an immediate impact on the county competition. Not every year does a freshman step up to win a state title. One Montgomery County freshman not only won a state title, but recorded the fifth best mark in the long jump by a Montgomery County athlete in the last ten years. |  |
 | 2009 Mocorunning.com Boys All-Freshman Team June of 2009 means the end of the greatest throwing rivalry of this era. Sean Stanley of Gaithersburg and Marcus Brown of Quince Orchard are both moving on to their college careers, but one athlete in particular is waiting in the wings to take over the role of top thrower in Montgomery County. |
Class of 2009: First 4-Year Graduating Class of Mocorunning - 42 Indiv. T&F State Titles!
Class of 2009 42
Class of 2007 26
Class of 2003 25
Class of 2004 24
Class of 2008 23
Class of 2005 13
Class of 2011 8 So Far
Class of 2006 7
Class of 2010 2 So Far
Class of 2012 1 So Far
Congratulations and Good Luck!
Class of 2007 26
Class of 2003 25
Class of 2004 24
Class of 2008 23
Class of 2005 13
Class of 2011 8 So Far
Class of 2006 7
Class of 2010 2 So Far
Class of 2012 1 So Far
Photo of the Week - Week of 5/24/2009
Troy Shelton, Hassan Dixon, Marvin Lisk, and Christopher Onuigbo of Northwest High School embrace after winning the 4x400 state title in a county best time of 3:18.98. Marvin Lisk, shown most prominently in the front, ran the third leg. Photo By Kevin Milsted. See Poll, Don't Vote Flotrack Race Video Flotrack Video Interview
Athletes of the Week - Week of May 24, 2009
The male athlete of the week is Sean Stanley of Gaithersburg High School. Stanley had a career meet, becoming the second Maryland athlete to ever throw over 60 feet in the shot put at the outdoor state championship in two consecutive years. The only other Maryland athlete to boast this accomplishment is George Saah from Montgomery Blair who did it in 1978 and 1979, exactly 30 years ago. His mark of 60-04.75 was a personal best by 4.25 inches and puts him at #5 on the all-time list. The next day, Stanley set a personal best by over ten feet in the discus in an effort to out-throw QO's Marcus Brown in what has been the greatest throwing rivalry of this era. His best mark of 169-08 was two feet shy of Brown's best throw and lands him at #9 on the all-time list.The female athlete of the week honor goes to the Northwest girls 4x400 relay. Britt Eckerstrom, India Knight, Alyssa Henshaw and Olivia Ekpone became the first non-PG County team to ever go under 3:52 at the state meet. Their time of 3:51.29 was faster than their previous season best by four seconds and landed them at #6 all-time at the state meet, now the only non-PG County team in the top ten. Only Eleanor Roosevelt has run faster at the state meet in the last 25 years. All four girls will return next year. Flotrack Race Video Flotrack Video Interivew
Winning the popular vote for male athlete of the week is Blair's Jonathan Haughton. Haughton electrified the spectators including the camera crew of Flotrack.org. He won the 200 in a personal best time of 21.86 (Race Video, Video Interview), helped his 4x200 to an incredible come-from-behind victory in 1:28.32 (Race Video), was the third leg on the winning 4x100 (42.74) (Race Video), and helped his team to sixth in the 4x400 (3:24.51) (Race Video).
Winning the popular vote for female athlete of the week is Jessie Rubin of Wootton High School. Rubin helped her team win the 4x800 relay in a county best time of 9:23.15 (Race Video). She later came back and dominated the girls 3200 in a time of 11:03.80 (Race Video). The next day, she dueled Eleanor Roosevelt's Amirah Johnson and fell to second place, but got a nice four second personal record of 5:03.12 (Race Video).
Mocorunning Leaderboards Updated List of '00-'09 State Champions and Medal Counts Updated List of 09 Champions
Live State Championship Results
State Coverage by Runningmaryland State Videos By Flotrack
Clarksburg Boys Win 2A State Title in Third Year School is Open
Seventeen State Titles By Moco Athletes on Day 3 - 28 Overall!
# of state titles by Montgomery County athletes/relays the last ten years:| Outdoor | 2009 | 28 |
| Outdoor | 2008 | 21 |
| Outdoor | 2007 | 16 |
| Outdoor | 2006 | 12 |
| Outdoor | 2005 | 11 |
| Outdoor | 2004 | 13 |
| Outdoor | 2003 | 20 |
| Outdoor | 2002 | 19 |
| Outdoor | 2001 | 14 |
| Outdoor | 2000 | 12 |
| Day 3 Photos: Album 1 Album 2 Album 3 Bailee Freeman, Clarksburg - 2A Long Jump - 17-03.50 Owen Cain, Gaithersburg - 4A Triple Jump - 47-05.75 Marcus Willacy, Paint Branch - 3A Triple Jump - 47-09.75 - 3A State Record Marcus Kinney, Clarksburg - 2A Discus - 140-01 Marcus Brown, Quince Orchard - 4A Discus - 171-06 Olivia Durr, Poolesville - 1A 100 Hurdles - 15.06 Avery Graham, Clarksburg - 2A 100 Dash - 11.08 Bisi Ezekoye, Kennedy - 3A 100 Dash - 10.93 Addie Tousley, B-CC - 3A Girls 1600 - 5:15.37 Solomon Haile, Sherwood - 4A 1600 - 4:17.90 Olivia Ekpone, Northwest - 4A 400 - 54.24 Avery Graham, Clarksburg - 2A 200 - 21.99 Jonathan Haughton, Blair - 4A 200 - 21.86 Blair Boys 4x100 - 42.74 Clarksburg Boys 4x100 - 42.49 Northwest Boys 4x400 - 3:18.98 Northwest Girls 4x400 - 3:51.29 - Sixth All Time at State Meet |
Eight State Champions From Moco on Day 2 - Day 2 Photos
| Arielle Statham, Paint Branch - 3A Triple Jump - 40-04 First time over 40 feet! Sean Stanley, Gaithersburg - 4A Shot Put - 60-04 - Fifth Shot Put State Title! Wootton - 4A Girls 4x800 - 9:23.15 Damascus - Boys 3A 4x800 - 7:55.50 Addie Tousley, B-CC - 3A Girls 3200 - 11:23.59 Jessie Rubin, Wootton - 4A Girls 3200 - 11:03.80 Solomon Haile, Sherwood - 4A Boys 3200 - 9:13.77 Montgomery Blair - Boys 4A 4x200 - 1:28.32 |  |
Clarksburg Boys and Girls Sweep 2A 4x200 Relays - Day 1 Photos
Christian Smith Wins 2A Shot Put Title 50-01
 1:43.28 Girls 4x200 |  1:28.97 Boys 4x200 |
 4A Girls State PreviewFast times are coming for Olivia Ekpone and Katie Wolf in the sprints, but they will be challenged every step of the way by the ER girls. Jessie Rubin, like Wolf and Ekpone, also has a few ER girls between her and a state title, but she should win at least one race. 4A Boys State Preview The 4A boys of MoCo are going to have to fight for every medal, but two things are certain: Marcus Brown and Sean Stanley will lead the way in the throwing events, and Solomon Haile will dominate the distance races Prospective 3A State Champs Arielle Statham of Paint Branch will be favored to win the triple jump while teams are going to have a tough time beating the Damascus boys in the 4x800 at the 3A State Championship. Prospective 1A/2A State Champs Avery Graham of Clarksburg will be favored to win the 2A 100 and 200 while Poolesville's Olivia Durr will attempt to win two more 1A hurdle state titles. The two veterans could bring their personal state title counts up to 6 and 5 respectively before graduating. The 2009 outdoor state championship will mark the end of a decade's-worth of amazing performances. In that time, Montgomery County teams have brought home 5 outdoor team state titles, 10 indoor team state titles, and 249 individual and relay state titles. Montgomery County athletes have brought home an average of 11 individual state titles per indoor state meet and 15 individual state titles per outdoor state meet. Poolesville leads the way in the Moco Medal Count with 45 individual and relay state titles so far this decade, eleven more than any other team. Montgomery County athletes have brought home twenty eight 3200m state titles and twenty four 1600m state titles in that same time frame. Click Here to see more fun statistics and a sortable list of state titles won by Montgomery County athletes between 2000 and 2009. |
IAC Results Georgetown Prep 7:59.44 4x8, 3:20.59 4x4, New Moco #1's
WCAC: Championship Videos Meet Results Boys Rankings Girls Rankings Wash Post Article
Sean Stanley and Marcus Brown are preparing to graduate, but Ryan Watson has established himself as the future. The Good Counsel freshman won the WCAC shot put title with a throw of 47-10.50 and placed 4th in the discus with a throw of 129-03.50.
 Photo by Craig Amoss  Photo by Darrell Cavey | 4A West Videos PhotosArielle Statham 55.59 400m, DeVante Thomas 48.84 at 3A WestDamascus boys, Paint Branch girls win 3A west Churchill girls, Gaithersburg boys win 4A west Marcus Brown 170-10 Discus Throw at 4A West Region Meet! Believe it or not, that barely cracks the top 100 nationally, but a throw of 170 in Maryland is rarely seen. 59-06.25 shot put. Northwest girls 3:55 4x400. Northwest Boys 3:23. Jessie Rubin 5:07.90 1600 (PR) / 11:12.96 3200 / Wootton 9:30.91 4x800 Solomon Haile 4:21.00, 9:23.77. WJ 8:01.37 4x8, Churchill 8:02.48 Video Antonio and Wayne rekindle an old rivalry in the 800 - Video Clarksburg Boys 1:28.76 4x200, girls 1:44.88 at 2a west Poolesville boys win 1A west 4x800 in 8:27. Karissa Harris wins 100 and 400 in 12.58/59.39. Olivia Durr wins 100/300 hurdles in 14.90/46.73. |
St. Andrew's Episcopal School Wins MAC Title - Results
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| St. Andrew's Episcopal of Potomac, Maryland was the surprise winner of the 2009 MAC outdoor track & field title. A rookie in track and field, senior Alexander Zurn was the key to success as he scored 42 points by himself: 99-07 discus (3rd), 42-10.50 triple jump (1st, meet record), 6-02 high jump (1st), 21-05 long jump (1st, meet record, best in Montgomery County in 2009), 40-03.50 shot put (3rd). | |
County B Videos Photos More Photos: 1 2 3
Montgomery County Championship Meet - Videos
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| After seven straight hours in the rain, the Northwest girls and Gaithersburg boys spent a few extra moments posing with their new county title plaques. Northwest girls last won it in 2006. Gaithersburg boys last won it in 2005. | |
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| Olivia Ekpone of Northwest and Marcus Brown of Quince Orchard were voted by coaches as the James Demoss Athletes of the Meet. Olivia won the 100, 200, and 400 and anchored her team to victory in the 4x400 relay. Marcus broke two of the oldest county meet records, the discus (1996) and the shot put (1985). | |
2009 College Decisions: Solomon Haile to University of Arkansas
| Solomon Haile of Sherwood High School has decided to attend the University of Arkansas this fall. Solomon says he was not seriously considering Arkansas until his final college visit. He really enjoyed the visit and feels that the schools suits him best. Arkansas was 28th at the 2008 NCAA National Cross Country Championship and will lose their top runner to graduation. Solomon will be expected to have an immediate impact on the team. He was also considering Auburn University and Oklahoma State University. |  Photo By: Cheryl Barnard |
Since coming to America just over a year ago, Solomon has won the 5000 meter race at Nike Indoor Nationals (winter 2008), Nike Outdoor Nationals (spring 2008), Footlocker Nationals (fall 2008), and the National Scholastic Indoor Championship (winter 2009, where he held the national indoor high school record for a short time). He holds the Maryland high school state meet record for 3200 meters and holds cross country course records at the Manhattan Invitational 2.5 mile course at Van Cortlandt Park as well as the Hereford High School state championship course.
These standings are currently outdated. They will be updated soon.
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