TJ sweeps county indoor meets
Pats boys and girls track place first
Tom Fedor/The Gazette
Walkersville's Jon Hill soars over the bar during Saturday's Frederick County Indoor Track Meet.
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The Patriots' girls repeated as Frederick County champions, taking in 99 points and fending off a pile of 91 points for Middletown.
They set three county records in the process, with Stephanie Bryan resetting the times in the 1,600 and 3,200 meter runs, while Emily Vannoy broke her own record in the shot put.
On the boys side, Thomas Johnson had another 99-point finish, despite winning only four events and second in two others. But it was enough to beat defending champion Linganore at 81.
Things didn't seem to be trending that direction for the Patriots in the 500. Going into the final stretch, Thomas Johnson's Marquis Woodyard was making a move to the outside, but was cut off by Tuscarora's Fabian Gonzalez. Woodyard fell, while Gonzalez was disqualified.
Meanwhile, Linganore's Rusty Martin won the race and was backed up by teammate Ricky Conner in second.
"It definitely motivated me to try to run as a hard as I could in the 4x200," Woodyard said. "Brady Wilson, the runner for Frederick, he's been pushing me the whole season. I remembered that he's always right behind me, so I kept thinking about him."
Teaming up with Jordan Dorsey, Brock Chapman and Kevin King set a new record in the 4x200 at 1:34.10. Frederick's team took second, only .8 seconds behind and under the original record, a 1:35.00 set by Urbana in 2004.
Thomas Johnson also got a win from Erick Artusio in the pole vault, while Woodyard won the 55 hurdles. Justin Finucane, Josh Chand, Sam Ebert-Zavos and Matt Bertram won the 4x800.
"I was worried, because we weren't running at full strength today, and I fell in the 500," Woodyard said. "Overall, everyone came [through]."
In the past three weeks, the Patriots' tour has led to team titles at the Frostbite Invitational and the Monocacy Valley Athletic League's Chesapeake Conference title.
Woodyard, Dorsey, King and Chapman also ran the 4x400 in 3:35.21, 1.59 seconds faster than the county record set by Thomas Johnson in 2000. However, they don't get to keep that record, as Tuscarora finished first with Kevin Johnson, Curtis Tynes, Dominic Clarke and Gonzalez finishing in 3:34.77.
Clarke nearly got a second record on the day, winning the 300 in 35.97, only .27 seconds off the mark.
Linganore picked up two victories in the distance events, with Conner winning the 800 and Braden Bruning, a freshman, taking the 3,200.
Walkersville finished third with 63 points, including the almost-guaranteed 10 points from Jon Hill in the high jump. The defending state champion finished his day up at 6 feet, 8 inches, well below his seed of 7-2, but still well above the rest of the jumps.
The Lions also scored off of sophomore Stephen Keith winning the 1,600 and taking second in the 3,200.
Frederick's Wilson captured the 55, helping the Cadets score 44 points for fifth.
Through sheer force of depth, Middletown was fourth with 50 points.
In the shot put, Brunswick's Grant Smith won with a mark of 47-0.75.
In the girls meet, Thomas Johnson lost a whole event when they were flagged out of the 4x200. Middletown's crew of Jenna Caudle, Aylisa Giauque, Kathyrn Papuchis and Sarah Wrieden pounced on the advantage, winning and taking a 10-point advantage in the team score.
The Knights won four events, but were one-upped by the Patriots taking five.
Vannoy picked up her fourth indoor county title in the shot put, taking one last final reset of the meet record at 46-7.75. It added 1 foot, 5.5 inches to the record she set in 2008.
Bryan is a new addition to the meet records. She set the 1,600 at 5:10.14, then won the 3,200 in 11:22.05.
The Patriots are looking at a shift of power. While Vannoy has been a consistent for them in the field events, their running strength has normally come from the sprinters. The only event under two laps won by Thomas Johnson on Saturday was the 55 hurdles, taken by Cenarda Jackson.
"We're definitely weaker in the sprinting. But we can still do what we did last year, we just have to step up," Jackson said. "I always feel I have to step up. I'll never stop improving."
Jackson was unable to finish the MVAL meet last week after injuring her hamstring in the 55 hurdles semifinal.
"I never really got back to practicing hurdles. I was better yesterday. And then today, in the middle of the 300, the pain just went boom and came right back."
Despite the pain, Jackson managed to place second in the 300.
Savanna Plombon, Annie Powell, Amanda Caudle and Eileen Donoghue won the 4x800 for the Patriots.
For Middletown, Jenna Caudle, Giauque, and Papuchis teamed up again with Brittney Caudle to win the 4x400. Brittney Caudle also won the 800, while Wrieden won the high jump.
Linganore was third with 76 points and no first-place finishes. Frederick triumphed in the 500 with Morgan Carroll, and took fourth with 37 points.
Urbana's Sarah Lueck defended her county title in the pole vault as the Hawks placed fifth with 36.
Tuscarora finished with 33 points, with 20 coming from Victoria Kennedy winning the 55 and 300.