`She brings a sense of confidence to our team'

She hadn’t been running track since her freshman year when she buzzed through the competition. So when B-CC senior Alex Doll stepped on the track Wednesday at the Montgomery County Developmental Meet at Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex, her teammates, competitors and even other coaches looked up.

B-CC Coach Chad Young talked to her for a moment. “I told her not to set expectations too high, to see how she felt, to just strive to be competitive,” he said.

He didn’t have to be concerned. Doll, a standout soccer player, led the 4 x 800 relay, running it in 2 minutes 25 seconds. Juniors Grace Reingruber (2:31) and Hallie Jester (2:32) and sophomore Caroline Leuba (2:32) followed, and the team finished in 9:58, for second place overall.

Then Doll ran the 1600-meter race, taking the lead from start to end, winning easily in 5:21. “The impressive thing about her was that all her laps around the track were exactly the same split,” Young said. “If I can get a runner in their senior year, and if I’ve worked with them for four years, I’m really excited they can run an even split. And she got on the track for the first time in three years, and was able to do it right away. It’s really impressive.”

Reingruber and Jester also ran strong 1600-meter races, finishing in 5:32 and 5:33, respectively.

“I think having Alex out there gets everyone a little bit more excited,” Young said. “She brings a sense of confidence to our team when she is out there.”

Strong showing by boys' 4 x 800

The all-senior boys’ 4 x 800 relay also ran well. Terrence James led off in 2:07, the first to pass the baton. The next two runners – Eliot Gerson (2:08) and Trevor Stephens (2:07) – maintained the lead. The anchor, Phillip Catterall (2:13) ran well, but couldn’t hold the lead. The team finished second in 8:48. “It was one of the better times we have run this early in the season. They are extremely competitive,” Young said.

In the girls’ 3200-meter run, junior Ava Farrell battled for the lead up until the final two laps, finishing second in 11:50. Sophomore Laura Nakasaka finished in 12:34, easily besting her goal of finishing under 13 minutes, while freshman Amanda Cohen finished second in her heat in 13:36.

In the boys’ 300, James also ran strong, finishing in 36:18. (Results were not available immediately.)

For the girls’ 300, sophomore Brittney Wade led the team, finishing in 43.41, while freshman Laila Ismail (44.09) was close behind. Senior Katie Williams also ran well, finishing in 45.48, a personal record.

In the girls’ 4 x 200 meter relays, a team comprised of Ismail, Wade, Williams and sophomore Shayna Nash finished in 1:58.86. The top boys’ 4 x 200 team finished in 1:39.01. The runners were sophomore Freddy Nzekele (25:32); James (24.25); freshman Duc Momo (25.54); and senior Nana Twum Agyire (23.90). They were one of the top teams overall.

In the boys’ 500, seniors Agyire and Stephens both ran 1:12, with Agyire edging out his teammate.

And in the triple jump, freshman Kenneth Norris, who had never competed in the event, discovered he had a new talent. He jumped 37 feet, 6 inches. “For the first time, that was really good,” Young said. “It’s the time of the year when people are trying new things, and I really respect him for getting out there and trying.”

Tune-ups done, competition begins

At the beginning of every sports season, a coach is never sure what to expect. Will top performers from previous years build on their successes? What about newcomers? Or previous back-of-the-pack athletes – will they step up?

Chad Young, the head coach of the B-CC indoor track team, is starting to learn some answers to those questions following one scrimmage meet (Dec. 4 at the Montgomery County scrimmage at Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex) and one “practice” against other Montgomery County schools (Dec. 14 at Georgetown Prep).

Here’s seven highlights so far as the team prepares for its first official competition on Wednesday at the first Montgomery County Developmental Meet at Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex. The second county meet will be Dec. 29.

1. Junior Ava Farrell’s fast start. “She seems to be in tiptop shape from cross-country season,” Young said. At the Dec. 4, meet, Farrell battled junior Alexandra Phillips of Whitman during the 1600 meter race. “Ava sat on her shoulder, and they went neck and neck to the finish line, where she was out-leaned,” he said. She set a personal record that day, running 5 minutes, 28 seconds. And then, 10 days later, she ran a new PR, 5:26.
2. Two freshmen performances. Freshmen Helen Webster and Simone McGuinness, both newcomers to track, ran their first 800 meter races at the Dec. 4 meet. “Helen took off in the lead for the first two laps, with Simone on her shoulder,” Young said. “Simone passed her, took the lead, created a small gap, but Helen responded and won at the end. It was fun to watch both of them compete for the first time and do so well.” Webster finished in 2:49, McGuinness in 2:50.
3. New competition: During the cross-country season, freshman Laila Ismail ran well but didn’t finish in the top pack. But Young placed her in some of the sprints for the indoor track competitions, and immediately Ismail provided competition to standout sophomore Brittney Wade. In the 55-meter dash, Wade finished in 7.4 seconds, Ismail in 7.7. In the 300-meter race, Wade was 44.02, Ismail 44.07. “If these two girls push each other, they could be pretty good,” Young said.
4. Another strong freshman performance: At the Dec. 4 meet, freshman Kenneth Norris ran a 5:23 1600-meter ran, winning his heat. At the second practice, he ran 5:36 in the 1600, and 2:22 in the 800-meter race. “He seems to be fitting right in and making it look easy as a first timer,” Young said.
5. Stretching out two stars: In one experiment during the first two meets, Young put two of his returning stars, Wade and senior Terrence James (both qualified for the state meet last year) in the 800 meter races. In the two races, Wade ran 2:41 and 2:37. James ran 2:10 at the Georgetown Prep practice. “Brittney is showing she has a lot of strength and could step up or down in distances depending on where we need her,” Young said. “For TJ, I wanted him to experience something new, and challenge him physically and mentally. Both of them really shined.” In the 800 meter boys race, Young said he asked his top runners to run with James for the first two laps, and “then I told TJ I wanted to see what he’s got.Trevor Stephens was pretty far ahead of him and TJ caught up and beat him. TJ is now making me rethink how we want to put together our 4x800 meter relay because he is so versatile.”
6. Senior Eliot Gerson’s strong performances. “He’s in great shape, and it showed – it’s exciting and encouraging,” Young said. He ran the 1600-meter races in 4:44 and 4:39. Stephens also ran a strong 1600 in 4:48 on Dec. 4.
7. On deck: “Wednesday will be our first opportunity to see where we fit in to the overall standings, and compare ourselves to the entire county,” Young said. “Right now, we’re looking pretty good, and our times are respectable. We’ll be building throughout the season and I believe we will be able to compete with the best teams. I think our effort will be stepped up in Wednesday's meet and that the team will be fired up since the results will be official.”

State meet: A celebration of excellence

For the B-CC track and field team, the prospect of even a few elite athletes making the Maryland state 4A meet was more daunting this year than any before. The school had just moved up into the pool of the state’s largest high schools in the fall because of a large freshman class, putting it as one of smallest 4A schools in the state.

``In the past, qualifying for the 2A and even the 3A was pretty easy,’’ said Coach Chad Young. ``But for this state meet, we had to run as fast as we could or throw as far as we could even to get here. If you make a mistake, or you missed an opportunity, you wouldn’t make it.’’

And yet seven B-CC athletes qualified.

On Friday and Saturday, Young and fellow coach Nathan Herchenroeder proudly watched the seven perform on the largest stage of the year at Morgan State University against several nationally ranked athletes.

The results:

The girls 4 x 800 team (sophomores Grace Reingruber and Ava Farrell and seniors Paige Donnelly and Kate Leuba) finished in 9 minutes, 43 seconds for 5th place, winning four points for the team.

In the 200-meter dash semifinals, junior Terrence James finished in 23.24, sixth in his heat, just out of the running for the finals.

In the shot put, senior Chuck Banks threw 46 feet, 6 inches, for 6th place, winning three points.

On Saturday, in the 400-meter dash, freshman Brittney Wade ran 59.88 seconds for 12th place.

And in the discus, Banks threw 102 feet, 5 inches for 15th place.

In the girls 4 x 800, all the runners performed well in a race won by a Wootton team, which finished in 9:04.39 -- the second fastest relay time in the country this year.

``It was a great race,’’ Young said. ``It was our girls' second fastest time of the year.’’ The only minor hiccup was that Farrell at the end stopped just short of the finish line, before realizing she still had another 10 meters to go. She finished a second or two slower, but it didn’t affect the team’s place.

Afterward, the four girls were extremely happy with their performance as they gathered around Young for a recap. Their times: Reingruber, 2:24; Donnelly, 2:23; Leuba, 2:27; and Farrell, 2:26.

For the 200-meter dash, James had had a difficult several weeks beforehand with a nagging Achilles injury, and Young and Herchenroeder said they wondered if that accounted for his time, which was slower than he had run before.

``I think he was really pumped, but he didn’t get quite enough of a warm-up to the race. And the injury he’s had with his Achilles played a factor,'' he said. ``He had to take it easy over the past few weeks, and that could have affected him mentally and physically. But it was a learning experience for him. Just the fact he was at the state meet will provide motivation to get back here next year.’’

In the shot put, Banks was well-prepared. His best throw came on his second attempt – close to his personal record for the year. ``It was a good finish for him,’’ Young said. ``He’s so used to throwing farther with each meet, with each time he competes, so he was a little upset. But it was a good end to his shot put career in high school. He’s not sure where he wants to go in college, but he does want to try shot put in college next year.’’

In the girls’ 400 meters dash -- the finals featured eventual winner Olivia Ekpone of Northwest, who won in 53.60 seconds -- Wade started out slow in the first 100 meters, and then picked up the pace. ``She looked real good,’’ Young said. ``She caught four girls in the last 50 yards in her meet. That was pretty impressive – a great introduction for her at the state meet.’’

Editor’s note: Many thanks to both coaches – Chad Young and Nathan Herchenroeder – for all their efforts over both the indoor and outdoor seasons. Often, these meets stretched up to 12 hours, and they stayed until the very end, encouraging their athletes in ways that few parents could see. This blog, in fact, represented even more time for them – especially for Coach Young, who saw it as an extension of his teaching and coaching, finding a new way to motivate and communicate with his student-athletes. Athletes and parents should feel free to use the comment section to relate your own stories on their efforts, and on the season as a whole.

‘I can’t wait until next week’

Before Terrence James, a B-CC junior, ran in the 200-meter dash finals at the regional meet Thursday at Whitman High School, several teammates offered advice.

``They were telling me, `You were real tight in the earlier race,’’’ James said. ``They told me to relax, use my arms more, raise my legs higher. I did all that, and I leaned at the end.’’

And he finished second in 22.2 seconds, qualifying for next week’s 4A state high school championship at Morgan State University. It will be his first state outdoor championship race.

``I feel like I’m going to give it my all,’’ James said after the race, sitting in the stands and watching his teammates compete. ``I’m real excited. I can’t wait until next week.’’

James wasn’t the only B-CC track and field athlete to qualify for the state championship. Others who accomplished the high honor: senior Chuck Banks in both the shot put (he threw it 45 feet, 3 inches, finishing third) and the discus (117 feet, for second); freshman Brittney Wade in the 400-meter dash (59.53 seconds); and the girls 4 x 800 relay team, consisting of seniors Paige Donnelly (2:24 leg) and Kate Leuba (2:28) and sophomores Grace Reingruber (2:22) and Ava Farrell (2:25).

``We had a really strong two days,’’ said Coach Nathan Herchenroeder, referring to the meet, which took place on Wednesday and Thursday. ``A number of people did really well.’’

Banks wished he had performed even better – especially in the shot put.

``It didn’t come through for me today,’’ he said. ``To throw the shot put, you need to have you lower body relaxed and your upper body strong. It’s like you’re a coil and you explode in one motion. I didn’t do it in one motion today; I did it in two motions. That’s what I’ll work on all next week. I have to relax more when I throw.’’

Banks, who has thrown over 48 feet in practice, said evenly, ``I got to get some payback next week.’’

Wade – who had run five races over the two days – seemed so tired at the end of the competition on Thursday that her reaction was muted about qualifying for the state meet. ``I was really nervous before running the 400,’’ she said. ``I saw who I was running against. But I was really happy with the result.’’

In the girls 4 x 800 race, the B-CC team was in danger of not qualifying until the final lap when Farrell moved into fourth place – the last qualifying spot for states. ``They ran a really good race,’’ Herchenroeder said. ``We had two PRs with Paige and Grace, and they all ran hard.’’

Farrell also ran a strong 3200-meter race, finishing in 11:44, but missed the state qualifying time by two seconds. ``She’ll take this race and learn from it,’’ Herchenroeder said.

Donnelly ran a 2:24 800 on Thursday, finishing 10th overall, matching her PR this season from the 4 x 800 a day earlier.

In other races:

* Junior Julia Hardgrove qualified for the 100-meter hurdles finals in 16.75, and then ran a 16.51 in the finals, finishing eighth.

* Juniors Eliot Gerson and Trevor Stephens ran PRs in the 3200-meter race. Gerson finished in 10:06, Stephens in 10:16.

* Senior Alex Barrett excelled in three competitions: clearing 5 feet, six inches in the high jump, finishing fifth, just missing qualifying for the states; running 53.89 in the 400 meter dash, more than a second faster than his times this season; and running a leg in the 4 x 400 relay, which finished second in its heat.

The 4 x 400 team ran 3:38, erasing its old record by three seconds, even though its faster runner, Terrence James, didn’t run because of a tight muscle. The team consisted of junior Nana Twum Agyire (53 seconds); Barrett (54.9); sophomore Julien Dorsey (54.8); and senior David Segun (54.7), who shot out in the beginning of his lap to first place, only to be passed in the last 50 meters.

* The girls 4 x 400 finished in 4:16, consisting of freshman Caroline Leuba (1:02); senior Kate Leuba (1:03); freshman Cameron Yuetter (1:06); and sophomore Laila Shehata (1:05).

For the state meet at Morgan State, competition on Friday begins at 4 p.m. Events scheduled Friday include the shot put; 4 x 8 girls relay; and boys 200 meter race. On Saturday, when competition begins at 11 a.m., there will be the discus competition, and finals for boys 200 meter and girls 400 meter dashes.

Relentless, and a burning intensity

Nana Twum Agyire, a B-CC junior, started out the outdoor track season with burning intensity – maybe too much so. He injured his leg and couldn’t run for several weeks. So he learned how to throw the discus and shot put. He kept working, kept in shape, kept going to be ready when able.

The time came Saturday, in the Montgomery County `B’ championship track and field event held at Whitman High School. He was ready to run again, and Coach Chad Young entered him in the 400 meter dash, penciling in an expected finish of 62 seconds.

Agyire sped around the track, finishing in 55.5 seconds, 8th place overall.

``He improved his last time by seven seconds out of the blue,’’ Young said. ``He is one of the hardest workers on the team and did a great job to get himself race ready. He’s relentless with this desire to be good at things.’’

Agyire, who is originally from Ghana, wasn’t through. He ran in the 100 meter dash and barely qualified for the final heat – finishing 15th out of 15, in 12 seconds flat. But in the finals, he tied for third overall, finishing in 11.6 seconds.

The meet, which attracted 25 teams, is for athletes who did not quite make the top tier of their school’s team. Coaches love it – the competition allows also-rans in other meets to be champions, and it also brings a mix of ages competing at near the same level together at a time when many are peaking from weeks of training.

For B-CC, the meet brought some pleasant surprises, and again showed the depth of a strong girls team.

But with the boys, some highlights:

* Senior Andrew Crouch ran the 3200-meter run in 11:17, a personal record;

* In the 800 meter race, junior Lucas Morrison finished 5th in 2:12; followed by freshman Thomas Horton in 2:14. (Horton, said Young, went out hard in both the 800 and 1600; ``perhaps he was a little over-confident, but he learned a lot.’’ Horton finished the 1600 in 4:59.)

Also, freshman Greg Picard, running his first 800, went out a little too quickly, but ``it was a good learning experience,’’ Young said. Picard finished in 2:38.

And another freshman, Gavin Donnelly, ran a 2:27 800, his personal best. Young had estimated his finish at 2:40. ``He looked pretty comfortable on the track, and competed extremely well,’’ Young said. ``I thought it was his best race of the season so far. He looked like a runner out there, ready to race.’’ Donnelly had earlier run a 59-second 400, six seconds faster than his previous best time

* In the 1600, senior Nick Richter finished in 4:58, and junior Lucas Morrison ran 5:01. ``They all improved quite a lot in last few weeks,’’ Young said.

The boys finished 16th out of 25 teams, with 6.5 points.

The girls finished second, only behind Clarksburg, with 77.66 points.

For the girls, the fun started early:

* In the 100-meter dash, four girls qualified for the finals. Sophomore Nimie Ndubisi was second in 13.3; Fatoumatta Tunkara, a junior, and Shayna Nash, a freshman, tied at 13.8; and freshman Jamie Potter finished in 14.2.

* In the girls 4 x 800, their dominance showed. B-CC entered four teams, and they finished 1, 2, 6, and 8th overall. Leading the way was freshman Caroline Leuba, who had a banner day.

The A team -- Leuba (2:30), sophomore Laila Shehata (2:31), freshman Laura Nakasaka (2:40), and senior Darcy O’Connor (2:43) -- finished in 10:24, easily beating the field.

The B team – freshman Cami Yeutter (2:33), sophomore Alison Thomas (2:41), freshman Elena Crouch (2:59) and junior Minna Jacobson (2:49) – finished second in 11:06.

``Cami had an injury in the spring, and didn’t join our team halfway through,’’ Young said. ``So, she’s been running only for a month. She had been running the 200 and 400 and I told her last week that I was going to put her in the 800, and she’s been really nervous. But of all the 12 girls, she had the third fastest time. She’s now a candidate to be part of future 4 x 8 teams.’’

* In the open 800, Leuba finished first, in 2:30 again, out of 54 runners.

* In the 400 meter dash, Shehata finished third in 1:03, while freshman Eugenia Wilson finished fifth in 1:05.9.

* In the 200 meter dash, Wilson finished first in 27.6. Freshman Jamie Potter finished fifth in 28.7, while Nash, another freshman, finished sixth in 28.8. Tied for eighth: sophomores Emily Roy and Amy Heaton in 28.9.

Next up: The regional meet, at Whitman, next Wednesday and Thursday.

`He took his anger out on shot put’

When B-CC senior Chuck Banks started preparing for Wednesday’s shot put competition in the Montgomery County track and field championship, a judge stopped him. She said he could not compete because he had signed up too late. Banks ran to find Coach Chad Young, and the two of them argued on his behalf.

After huddling with other coaches, the judge allowed Banks to compete. ``Chuck was pretty annoyed by the situation and took his anger out on his throwing,’’ Young said. ``He threw 45 feet something.’’

Rain postponed the meet until Thursday. Banks wasn’t late this time. He threw 46 feet, 11 inches – more than a foot better than his personal record.

``He took his anger out on the shot put,’’ Young said. ``He’s an emotional guy. To throw more than a foot past your PR is quite something – especially as far as he is throwing.’’

At the county meet, Banks wasn’t the team's only highlight. Senior Kate Leuba joined the girls 4 x 800 team for the first time in a year, giving it a huge boast toward a fourth place finish in 9 minutes, 47 seconds.

``She’s a senior, so I wanted to give her a chance to run in the state meet if we can get there,’’ Young said. ``She ran 2:28, which is close to her PR. She’s picking up where she left off and looked really strong on her leg.’’

Sophomore Ava Farrell, who anchored the relay, ran her fastest 800 of the year in 2:24; sophomore Grace Reingruber also ran her fastest 800 split in 2:25; and senior Paige Donnelly ran 2:27.

For Leuba, the 4 x 800 was only one of her three races at the meet. In the 4 x 200, she joined senior Nia Harrington, freshman Brittney Wade, and junior Katie Williams to run a 1:50, good for eighth place.

In the 4 x 400, Leuba, Donnelly, Wade and sophomore Hallie Jester combined to run 4:18 to finish in 11th place. The time was the fastest 4 x 400 of the year for the team by seven seconds, and Wade’s 60-second lap was the fastest individual time of the year by any B-CC runner.

In the longest run of the meet, the 3,200-meter race, Young took aside Farrell to talk about strategy.

``We talked a little bit, about the girls she was running with, and we set a goal in mind for the first mile -- 5:50. She kind of likes to go out a little slower, but this time she wasn’t looking at her watch, she just ran, and she did a 5:50 first mile,’’ Young said. ``She looked comfortable, and she started to slow down a tiny bit, but the field was slowing down, too, and gradually she began creeping up in the field, and started passing people. One girl in Clarksburg who had beaten her almost every time was ahead of her, and then Ava went by her. The girl jumped on Ava’s shoulder and passed her back and created a gap in the last 100 meters. But somehow Ava found the power and surged one more time, and passed her.’’

Farrell finished in 6th place, running 11:38 , or 11 seconds faster than she had ever done before.

In the boys 1600 meter race, senior Chris Henderson had been running steadily better in past weeks. He set a PR of 4:51 two weeks ago, and then ran 4:44 during the past weekend. On Thursday, he ran faster stiill, 4:41. ``He has really dropped his time,’’ Young said. ``That is always fun to watch, and he seemed excited.’’

In the boys’ 800 meter race, junior Trevor Stephens and Henderson ran together, with Stephens (2:04) finishing ahead of Henderson (2:05).

Junior Terrence James, one of the county’s fastest 200 meter runners, didn’t run in the county meet because of a balky ankle.

The county B meet will be held Saturday at Whitman High school. The regional meet is being held Wednesday and Thursday at Whitman. At the regionals, athletes have to make qualifying times or finish in the top four to compete in the state meet.

``A lot of people are running faster right now,’’ Young said. ``And it’s a good time of the year to run faster.’’

A test before county meet

B-CC Track Coach Chad Young looked forward to the 26th Annual Katie Jenkins Memorial Invitational Track and Field Meet at Sherwood High School on Friday and Saturday. It would be a good test going into a battery of tough meets ahead -- this week’s county meet, and regionals and state competition after that.

The test was especially grueling for the team’s sprinters, who on Friday ran preliminary and semifinal heats – and for the qualifiers, again on Saturday in the finals.

``It gives them a good feel for racing two days in a row,’’ he said.

For the sprinters, it felt like they were running all the time.

In the girls’ events, freshman Brittney Wade qualified for the 100 and 200 meter finals, while senior Nia Harrington qualified for the 200 finals. For Wade, it meant four races on Friday, plus three on Saturday: the two finals, plus a leg of the 4 x 400 relay.

Her finishes: fifth place in the 100 in 13.27 seconds, and second in the 200 in 27.21. Harrington finished fifth in the 200 in 28.17.

In the boys’ events, junior Terrence James qualified for the 200 and 400 meter races, as well as anchoring the 4 x 400 team. He finished third in the 400 in 52.5 seconds, and – just two events later – finished second in the 200 in 23.13.

``That was pretty impressive to put those two together,’’ Young said. ``I think the highlight of the whole meet was the sprinters, getting through preliminaries, semifinals and then finals. That was a big deal for us.’’

But the strong performances didn’t end there.

The girls’ 4 x 800 finished first in the meet, running it in 10:00. The team was comprised of sophomores Grace Reingruber, Hallie Jester and Ava Farrell and senior Paige Donnelly.

Its 4 x 400 team – Wade, Jestor, Donnelly and sophomore Laila Shehata – finished second overall in 4:26.

In the open 800 meters, B-CC finished one-two-three, with Reingruber (2:29), Farrell (2:30), and freshman Caroline Leuba (2:31). ``They were racing each other down the home stretch,’’ Young said.

Leuba was just coming off a third place finish in the 400 meters (1:03.9). While in the mile, Reingruber was second (5:30), Donnelly fourth (5:40), and Jester sixth (5:43).

In the 3200-meter race, Farrell finished second in 11:55.

For the boys, the 4 x 800 team (seniors Chris Henderson and Eric Damtoft and juniors Trevor Stephens and Elliot Gerson) ran their fastest time of the year, finishing second in 8:34.

``That’s a big confidence boost for them going into the county meet,’’ Young said. ``We really do belong and we really are ready to compete against the county’s best. It’s fun for me and for them to watch and see how they are doing better over entire season.’’ In comparison, the 4 x 800 team’s indoor best time was over 9 minutes.

The 4 x 400 team also ran its fastest time of the year – 3:42 – for second place. The team consisted to James, sophomore Julien Dorsey and seniors Alex Barrett and David Segun.

Three boys ran well in the 1600 meter race, including Henderson shattering his old personal record by seven seconds, finishing in 4:44. Gerson finished in 4:43, while Damtoft ran 4:46.

In the 3200 meter race, Gerson finished sixth (10:19), Stephens seventh (10:22) and senior Andrew Crouch 18th (11:19).

And in the shot put, senior Chuck Banks nearly threw a personal record (44 feet, four inches) for fifth place.

The Katie Jenkins invitational also featured an unusual competition – the quadathlon – which involves a 400-meter race, discus throw, long jump, and a 1500 meter race.

Senior Kate Leuba finished second overall, while fellow senior Darcy O’Connor finished third. For the boys, junior Patrick Frampus (see photos) and freshman Thomas Horton competed well. Horton won the 1500-meter run.



Now the team faces its toughest challenge of the year – a varsity county meet Wednesday in Clarksburg, in which teams can submit only one competitor per event, or athletes can qualify with very competitive times. On Saturday, those who don’t compete in Wednesday’s event will compete in a meet at Whitman High School in Bethesda.

``The county meet will be our most challenging for the entire year,’’ Young said.

Reflections on seniors, part two

This is the second of two parts on the B-CC track team coaches' reflections on their senior class members. This post highlights the girls team.

Girls team:

Paige Donnelly, captain

Chad Young: ``On the team four years, obviously she’s a great leader. Seniors as a whole have a great core of leadership, and there are a few people like Paige who have been on the team a long period of time and they are able to communicate to others what they have learned and that has made my job easy as coach. She was able to lay back as a freshman and sophomore and didn’t have to dominate the field. The last two seasons she has run extremely well to get to a state championship. But what has been really impressive is her leadership, especially this year. She has done more than she has to. Sometimes she gets a little out of her comfort zone, but recognizes it will mean a lot to the team, all on her own. It’s an accumulation of smaller things, leading a group run, or talking to some of the younger runners, that goes above and beyond what she has done in the past.’’

Nathan Herchenroeder: ``She’s served a great purpose with the young sophomores on the team this year. Most of the top girls on the team now are sophomores, and they definitely wouldn’t be there right now if it wasn’t for Paige.’’

Nia Harrington

NH: ``She is new to the team this year. She’s from a strong program in Oregon, and I think she really brought a lot of knowledge to a really young team in general. She brought that knowledge of success they had – her team had won a state championship in Oregon. She has a lot of technical knowledge, lot of running knowledge, skill knowledge, and a lot of great leadership to young sprinting team. She definitely wants to see good things come out of this season for her and her teammates.’’

Kate Leuba, captain

CY: ``She had a couple of great experiences with her running over the past few years. She was on the 4 x 400 team that went to the states. She has had a tough time in the last year or so with injuries. But she is fully committed to the team, she loves track, loves everything about it, dying to be a meaningful contributor to the team. She is so determined she is still scoring points in every outdoor meet. Physically, emotionally, and mentally, she’s extremely strong. She’s kind of our social leader to the team. She organized our T-shirt order, got people’s names on back of shirts, and that was a great way to bring the team together.

NH: ``It’s like Kate Leuba won’t be leaving the team next year, because her little sister Caroline is exactly like her.’’

Rachel Meltzer

CY: ``She ran cross country before, she joined track, and decided she wanted to throw shot put and discus. She has been very determined to continue to improve. As a senior her attitude has been extremely positive, and she has done a good job with some of the younger girls, helping orient them and helping them get settled.’’

Darcy O’Connor

CY: ``She is a distance runner and has improved a lot. She is more quiet, especially with the coaches. She organizes the runs with the girls, and a lot of the girls feel really comfortable talking with her. She is also very encouraging to them as well. I think her role on the team is so important for the way she deals with all the girls and helps me manage things.’’

Racing `like some crazy freshman'

Eric Damtoft, a B-CC senior distance runner, wasn’t exactly sure of his strategy as he lined up for his 1600-meter heat Saturday at the Viking Invitational at Whitman High School. But when the gun sounded, he went out at a near sprint, quickly opening a 20-meter lead in the first 200 meters.

After the first lap, he had a 30-meter lead, running it in 62 seconds, or a 4:08 pace.

On the track, B-CC track coach Chad Young said to Damtoft as he passed, ``Are you sure this is what you want to do?’’

On the sidelines, his coaches and teammates couldn’t believe their eyes. ``Can he keep that up?’’ one of Damtoft’s fellow runners asked no one in particular.

``Gonna be tough,’’ replied Nathan Herchenroeder, assistant head track coach.

Damtoft didn’t keep the same pace, and the pack caught up to him by the third lap. But in the fourth and final lap, he poured it on again, running it in 66 seconds. ``That’s all mental,’’ Herchenroader said as he watched Damtoft surge a second time. ``He’s really pushing himself.’’

The senior finished in 4 minutes, 37 seconds, seven seconds faster than his PR.

``Unbelievable,’’ Herchenroader said. ``That was great.’’

``I was uncertain about what I was going to do,’’ Damtoft said later. ``Then I went out fast. I thought everyone would think I was some crazy freshman who didn’t know how to race.’’

Damtoft wasn’t the only top performer at the meet. Chris Henderson, a fellow senior 1600-meter runner, also ran a personal best, finishing in 4:51 in an earlier heat.

In the boys 200 meter race, Terrence James won the event in 22.59, the fastest time posted in the county so far this season. Earlier, James, a junior, had false started and was disqualified for 100 meter race.

``So he was a little fresher for this one, which is good,’’ Young said. ``Even in the 200 meter race, they had to restart it. He must have had some nerves. He hasn’t had a lot of work in the starting blocks, and he was the only one in final heat who didn’t use blocks. If he learns how to use them properly, he will drop a little bit of time. But he looked great. He had a fairly large lead coming off the turn, and was determined not to let anyone come close to him.’’

The boys 4 x 200 relay – featuring seniors Alex Barrett (23.82), David Segun (24.66) and Brendan McClafferty (25.08), and James (21.5, all unofficial splits) – won the second fastest heat in 1:34.99

The boys 4 X 400 relay also ran well, posting its best time of the year, 3:42. ``That’s encouraging,’’ Young said. ``We’ve had some runners step up now.’’ The team consisted of Barrett, Segun, James, and sophomore Julien Dorsey.

In the girls competition, the 4 x 800 relay finished third in 9:56. The runners were Hallie Jester (2:29), Grace Reingruber (2:26), Paige Donnelly (2:29), and Ava Farrell (2:29).

``They ran well,’’ Young said. ``I’ve been switching their order, allowing each of the girls to learn something different. Hallie led off and got a little boxed in, and she learned something from that. Grace had a lot of room to run and was able to bridge a gap with the frontrunners. Paige tried to go for the lead and made a lot of ground in the first lap and faded at the end but still held second place. Ava ran well to close it.’’

Farrell also ran well in the 3200-meter race, finishing in 11:51.

In the 4 x 200 relay, the B-CC team finished fourth in 1:50.26. The runners were senior Nia Harrington (28.9), freshman Caroline Leuba (28.2), sophomore Jasmine Holmes (27.3), and freshman Brittney Wade (25.6).

Wade also ran in the fastest 200 meter heat, finishing in 26.5.

Julia Hardgrove, a junior, qualified for and ran in the finals in the 100-meter hurdles, finishing seventh. ``It’s very difficult to make it to the finals,’’ Young said. ``It’s a very technical run. Any one thing that goes wrong, and you’re out.’’

In the shotput, sisters Ruth and Naomi Orevba both set personal records. Ruth, a freshman, threw it 28.5 feet, while Naomi, a sophomore, threw it 23 feet.

``It was really good for both of them. They are brand new to this and both are learning,’’ Young said. ``They are challenging each other as sisters do. At the end of one meet recently, Ruth got some pointers from the Stone Ridge coach, and I think that carried over to this meet.’’ Ruth beat her personal record by more than five feet.

Reflections on seniors, part one

During a ceremony before B-CC's home track meet Tuesday, the team and dozens of fans cheered the squad’s 16 seniors. In interviews afterward, Coaches Chad Young and Nathan Herchenroeder gave more personal assessments of the seniors, talking about not just their performance on the track, but their role off it as well.

This is the first of two parts, highlighting the boys team. The post on the girls team will go up on Sunday.



Boys team:

Chuck Banks

Nathan Herchenroeder: ``He has been on team past couple of years, started out as a sprinter, and then we felt like we could have used him as a shot putter or discus thrower. It’s something he took on himself. We have no shot put or discus coach. He’s been very successful in picking up tips at meets. He made it to states in indoor track, and done a really good job this season, taking a lot of the girls and guys who want to throw and teaching them what he has learned. He’s definitely a lively one on a workout, an outspoken person as well.’’


Alex Barrett

Chad Young: He’s our high jumper and also he’s a 400 meter runner. His highlight was qualifying for the states in high jump in the indoor season last year. He is a good leader as well; a lot of kids look up to him. He bridges that gap between sprinters and distance runners. When I started coaching there was a divide -- we had some groups on our team, and Alex has done a good job in bringing the groups together.

NH: ``He has made major strides last four years. In ninth grade, he wasn’t too serious, he probably didn’t attend practice much, and maybe ran one meet his freshman year. Sophomore year, he was a little more serious; he probably ran in two meets. Junior year he realized he did have some talent and he could help the team and he got really successful as a runner. It’s been great watching him develop into one of the leaders of the team now as a senior.’’

Andrew Crouch, captain

CY: ``He’s a very good student, extremely hard working. He hasn’t been happy with what he has done so far, but he wants to continue to improve. He’s making his way to the group of the faster guys. He’s so determined. He does a great job with the boys team in bringing them together for runs on the weekend. Distance guys are a rare bunch, and are more to themselves a bit, and need encouragement to run together on the weekends. If they are going to improve they need to run together, and Andrew does a good job in bringing them together.’’

Eric Damtoft

CY: ``He had that long, long streak of never missing a day running, but he has missed days now. He took time off after the indoor season because he was feeling extremely run down and needed a rest. He loves running, and fully committed to running and help his team and try to improve, but I think it’s smart he took that time off and regrouped and prepared for his senior year. One of top four guys in the 4 x 8, I think he’s going to have a good strong finish to the season. He does a good job keeping things interesting for the guys. He’s very outdoorsy. I was on a run the other day and I saw him climbing a building. Another day at practice they were repelling from the baseball field down to the track. He provides a little bit of excitement.’’

Ben Dixon

CY: ``It’s his first year running track, running shorter distances, 100 and 200 meters, extremely quiet. He was on the football team, and in the past it’s been difficult with the changing of football coaches to get players to come out for track team. He’s part of that group who decided to come out for track and work on their speed. ‘’

NH: ``He’s a hard worker and when we’ve needed him for races, he’s more than willing to step in. That’s a great personality trait – that he is willing to help.’’

Max Dudek

NH: He’s been on the team for three years or so, and I think Max was kind of stuck in between that spot not knowing if he was distance or sprinter. In track, he always liked sprinting events, and he has stuck to running the 200. He has made a lot of personal progress in his 200 time-- probably taken over the past two seasons about five seconds off his 200 time, which is huge. I know he is very vocal about those improvements, he gets excited.

Chris Henderson

NH: ``He had been playing soccer, but he made switch to run cross county in the fall the last two years, and that has helped his track performances. He’s now the top 800 on team, a big improvement from the past few years. He was over 2:20; he has worked his time down to 2:06. You could see something click with him the last year, being a lot more committed to running. He’s developed a passion for running and that has rubbed off on his teammates.’’

Brendan McClafferty

NH: ``He was a soccer player that joined the team last year for indoor track, and this year decided to do indoor and outdoor. He has stepped up to as a leader on the team, and has been leading workouts for the younger kids at practice. He’s had to really switch roles as far as races he is running. He had been running 400, now he is running 200 and 100, and think he has found his niche on the team.’’

Nick Richter

CY: ``Funny story about him -- and he shakes his head every time we tell it: He was a very small freshman. He was with three other guys, also small freshmen, at one big invitational meet, and we had a 4 x 400 team that was really great but at the last minute, somebody couldn’t run and we were going to scratch the relay. So there’s these freshmen out here, and not thinking much of it, and they wound up being in the fast heat in 4 x 4. They looked like little boys running against grown men; they were barely over 5 feet tall. We gave them an award, the Fearsome Foursome. That race they got lapped, and I had never seen that before in a 4 x 4 relay. He still continues to enjoy being on the team – he runs the mile, two mile and 800. Everyone on team calls him `Bonecrusher,’ for whatever reason. Maybe when he was a little freshman, everyone used to call him that because
he was a smaller guy, and so they gave him a name that made him feel bigger than he was.‘’

NH: ``He’s always been quiet on the team, and it’s interesting to see Nick Richter in his senior year really come out of his shell. He’s really outgoing, lively, social. It’s interesting to see, a great thing.’’


David Segun, captain

NH: ``He has run all four years, and I don’t think there’s anyone on the sprinting side these four years who has been a harder worker than David Segun. I think this season, he was finally put in this leadership role as captain and he has naturally fit that role. He is coming out of his shell as a good captain. I can see him pushing himself and leading by example and a lot of freshmen and sophomores are receptive to it. He is encouraging others constantly. Like Alex, he’s kind of a bridge between distance and sprinting. Also get along with anyone on the team. He’s going to be friendly to anyone on team no matter who you are.’’


Casey Shamma, captain

NH: ``He started off as a sophomore with a lot of talent as a sprinter. He really saw when he was a sophomore from the older guys what it is to be successful as a high school runner and has carried that on the last few years. He has fallen in love with running. He was a football player until this year, when he switched to cross country. Now he’s using it in his senior seasion to teach others, whether it is starting off on blocks, or handoffs, trying to demonstrate to others we can be successful but it takes a lot of hard work – all comes from that love of running from his sophomore year.’’

Knees bloodied, finishing first

In the first race Tuesday at B-CC’s second and last home meet – the girls’ 100 meter hurdles -- junior Julia Hardgrove crouched for the starter’s gun. A slow, steady rain had dampened the track, making the footing less sure. The gun sounded and Hardgrove shot to a commanding lead, but halfway through her leg caught a hurdle and down she went on her knees.

Wobbily at first, then regaining her stride, Hardgrove finished first in her heat – and first overall – in 19.30 seconds. At the finish line, she looked down at her bloodied knees and wondered if her day was over.

It wasn’t. ``She was banged up a little bit,’’ said Coach Chad Young. ``She skinned both her knees and then went and cleaned them up a little bit.’’ And then she kept competing, finishing second in the 300 meter hurdles (56.3); third in the triple jump; and fourth in the high jump.

``She’s tough,’’ Young said.

The meet against Blair, Landon’s boys and Stone Ridge’s girls featured other gritty performances – as well as some hard moments. Overall, the B-CC girls ended up winning the meet, while the boys finished second, behind Blair.

Rain fell intermittently. Temperatures dropped to near 50. Runners and field athletes, many wearing coats, were shivering only minutes after their races.

Among the highlights:

• A 1-2-3 finish in the boys’ 1600 meter race -- senior Chris Henderson (4:54); junior Eliot Gerson (4:57); and senior Eric Damtoft (4:59) – and a 1-2 finish in the boys’ 3200-meter, with Gerson winning in 10:47, and junior Trevor Stephens right behind in 10:56;

• Freshman Brittney Wade finished second in the 100 meters (13.4) and 200 meters (27.8);

• In the high jump winners in both girls and boys: junior Ariana Braganza cleared 4 feet 6 inches, while senior Alex Barrett cleared 5 feet 6 inches. (In a lonely scene with just two officials watching at the end of field, Barrett, the only competitor in the boys event, gamely attempted 5 feet 8 in the pouring rain but nicked the bar.);

• And in the shot put and discus, dual winners for boys and girls: senior Chuck Bank (41 feet in shot put and 94 feet in discus) and freshman Ruth Orevba (23 feet shot put for third and 63 feet discus for first).

In addition, the girls distance runners continued to dominate.

In the 4 x 800, the B-CC `A’ and `B’ teams finished first and second among five teams. In the 1600 meter race, Grace Reingruber (5:44) outlasted Hallie Jester (5:46) to finish 1-2. ``They were pushed by a girl from Stone Ridge,’’ Young said. ``They were surprised when the girl passed them, and so then they put their heads down and got going. Both are very competitive; it’s always fun to watch them race.’’

In the 3,200 meter race, senior Paige Donnelly and sophomore Ava Farrell ran together in the lead by themselves until the very end, when Donnelly held off Farrell. Donnelly finished in 12:18, Farrell a fraction of a second behind.

And in the girls 800, BCC swept the top five places: Reingruber (2:37); Jester (2:39); sophomore Alison Thomas (2:43); senior Darcy O’Connor (2:45); and freshman Laura Nakasaka (2:46).

But the day wasn’t all about wins.

In the boys 4 x 200 relay, senior Casey Shamma, running the first leg, went to ground in pain with an apparent hamstring injury. ``We’re trying to figure out the problem,’’ Young said. Shamma has been a standout sprinter so far this season.

And the B-CC girls 4 x 200 relay team never got to race because one sprinter couldn’t remove an earring. State competition rules prohibit wearing jewelry of any kind, and sophomore Jasmine Holmes couldn’t remove an earring in time.

Afterward, Young was philosophical.

``As horrible as it is not to run a race, it is a lesson learned,’’ the coach said. ``I’d rather learn it here at a dual meet, than at a bigger meet when it will be a big deal. Things are not going to be perfect every time, and so we have to learn these lessons.’’

Team-building: Cheering Laila

At the Woodward Relays on Saturday at Georgetown Prep – a meet featuring about 25 schools from Maryland, Virginia and District of Columbia – the top scorers for B-CC were an elite group of girls running the 800 and 1600 relays. The 4 x 800 team finished second, while the 4 x 1600 team finished first.

But the most fun of the day, spurring the whole team to gather at the track’s edge, was watching sophomore Laila Shehata compete in the steeplechase. The 2,000-meter, five-lap race features four hurdles on each lap, including one in which the runners try to get over a pool of water (and often don’t succeed).





Coach Chad Young has to find a volunteer for this once-a-year race, and he approached Shehata, a long-limbed athlete who also plays field hockey at B-CC.

``I ran it by her, and I think she was secretly excited, a little nervous about it,’’ Young said. ``It’s brand new and she was a little intrigued and agreed to give it a try. She’s a good athlete and I have a lot of faith in her.’’


Shehata, one of about 15 runners, started out well, nearly clearing the water pit the first few times around.

``Most people get pretty wet, and the some of the competitors in this race were not good at it, almost had to swim out of it,’’ Young said. ``But Laila was a natural.’’


She finished fifth, to the cheers of her team.

In the girls’ 4 x 800 relay, sophomore Ava Farrell went out quickly and put the team in second place. Her teammates – senior Paige Donnelly and sophomores Grace Reingruber and Hallie Jester – kept that position throughout, finishing second in 10 minutes flat.

Later, in the 4 x 1600 meter race, the competition had more drama.

Donnelly led and initially stayed with the pack as a runner from Sidwell Friends went out exceptionally fast. Donnelly broke from the group and closed the distance some, putting the team in second place. Jester followed and lost more ground, staying in second, but the team was 100 meters behind. Reingruber, determined to close the gap, finished her 1600-meter leg just 50 meters behind.

Farrell went out hard. ``She caught the first-place girl after the first lap, and then gave the team a large lead, running away with it,’’ Young said. Their times: Donnelly, 5:30; Jester, 5:46; Reingruber, 5:44; and Farrell, 5:34.

``It was not our greatest performance – they have all run faster -- but they competed well, and came out with a win,’’ Young said.

The boys relay teams did not place in the meet, but Young said one runner – senior Chris Henderson – had a particularly strong day.


Henderson also got a good workout, running four events. He opened the 4 x 800 relay; he then led the DMR with a 1200-meter leg (the DMR is 1200, 400, 800, and 1600 meter legs); he ran the 800 leg of the SMR (400, 200, 200, 800); and he ran a leg of the 4 x 1600. For his 800-meter runs, he finished with identical times, 2:08, close to his personal best.

The last race of the day was a co-ed relay.

The B-CC team consisted of Farrell (400 meters), senior Casey Shamma (200 meters), freshman Brittney Wade (200 meters) and sophomore Julian Dorsey (400 meters).

``Our goal was to medal – finish in the top three,’’ Young said of the race, which B-CC won last year.

Farrell (1:07) put the team in third place, and Shamma (23.9) kept it there. Then freshman Wade (25.7) burst through the field, vaulting the team into first place. Dorsey (55.5) fell back into second, but the team still reached its goal to earn a medal.

The next meet will be Tuesday, at B-CC, the second and final home meet of the year. One special part of it: The school will recognize the team’s 18 seniors in a ceremony at 3 p.m. Competition starts at 3:30 p.m. and will finish at around 6:30 p.m.

Beating allergies -- and her competition

The temperature had soared past 90 degrees. Pollen dusted the B-CC track. And sophomore Alison Thomas looked in pain, her face red, her eyes bloodshot from allergies. Still, the B-CC sophomore took her place for an 800-meter race against Watkins Mill on Wednesday.

She ran so hard that she won. Finishing second and third were teammates Darcy O’Connor, a senior, and freshman Laura Nakasaka. Thomas’ winning time was 2 minutes, 44.8 seconds, but for Coach Chad Young the most impressive thing was simply that she ran.

``She didn’t look so well because of her allergies,’’ he said. ``But she ran very well – it was maybe the highlight of the meet because she wasn’t feeling so great and still managed to do so well.’’

The meet – the second of the outdoor season, following a competition against Gaithersburg earlier in the spring – produced an unusual result: B-CC girls won handily over Watkins Mill’s girls (111-22), while Watkins Mill boys won just as handily over B-CC’s boys (100-30).

For the girls, the stars seemed endless.

O’Connor, the senior who finished second in the 800, won the mile in 6:08; junior Minna Jacobson was second in 6:15; and Thomas finished fourth in 6:18.

In the triple jump, O’Connor was the only entry in the girls’ competition, netting a first place in a 26 foot, three inch jump. For Young, the result was important for the five points, but also for the point that O’Connor made: She wasn’t afraid to try a new event, especially if it helped the team.

``It’s a technical event, so some people are too scared to try it,’’ he said. ``So because Darcy wasn’t shy, we came out with five points. I credit her for trying something new.’’

In the high jump, B-CC took the first four places: Junior Ariana Braganza, new to the team, won in clearing 4’ 8’’; junior Alanna Diggs cleared 4’ 6’’; junior Julia Hardgrove cleared 4’ 4’’; and sophomore Naomi Orevba cleared 4’ 2’’.

Kate Leuba, a senior, won the shot put with a throw of 21 feet 1.5 inches, while Ruth Orevba came in second with 21’ 1’’.

In the 200 meter sprints, B-CC swept with three newcomers to the team: Freshman Brittney Wade (26.72); senior Nia Harrington (27.88); and sophomore Jasmine Holmes (28:01). The three also joined with Katie Williams, a junior, to win two relay events, the 4 x 100 and 4 x 200.

``The new girls jumped right in and helped our team right away,’’ Young said.

Hardgrove also had a great day, winning the 100 and 300 meter hurdles races.

In the boys’ competition, despite the lopsided overall score, Young saw several positive outcomes.

One was Chris Henderson’s two races – narrowly finishing second in both the 800 and 1600 meter competitions. In the 800, senior Eric Damtoft finished third, close behind Henderson.

``Chris learned a lot about race strategy and tactics,’’ Young said. ``He said the Watkins Mill runner was really skilled in holding the inside of the track. He wasn’t happy that he lost, but he was satisfied with the competitive nature of the race.’’

In the sprints, Watkins Mill dominated – with one exception: Senior Casey Shamma finished third in both the 100 and 200 meter races.

Elsewhere, junior Elliot Gerson, who had not raced since the cross country season, won the two-mile in 11:13, with junior Trevor Stephens finishing second, just a second behind (11:14).

And in field events, senior Alex Barrett won the high jump, clearing 5’ 6’’, while senior Chuck Banks finished second in the shot put (42 feet, one inch) and third in discus (95 feet, two inches).

B-CC now has two meets in rapid succession: a large invitational competition Saturday at Georgetown Prep, and the second and last home meet of the year Tuesday against Blair and Landon.

State Championship: Nerves, then high performances

Nervous and pumped up, B-CC’s elite track and field team members competed extraordinarily well Tuesday at the 4A state championship at Prince George’s Sports Complex. Each placed in their event.

The girls’ 4 x 800 relay team –sophomores Grace Reingruber, Hallie Jester and Ava Farrell running the first three legs and senior Paige Donnelly running the last – finished fifth overall in 9 minutes, 52 seconds – their best time of the season. Sprinter Terrence James finished sixth in the 300 meter run in 36.71 seconds, close to his personal best. And shot putter Chuck Banks threw the shot put 45 feet, 6 inches – a whopping two feet farther than he’s ever thrown – for seventh place.

Afterward, the athletes were ecstatic.

``I was really nervous, like, oh man, I’m running against the fastest guys, but I’m fast, too, or else I wouldn’t have made it here,’’ said James, a junior, who was competing in his first state championship. ``Before I ran, I did my stretches harder than I have ever done the whole year. I was still nervous at the starting line, but when I started, all that nervousness went away.

``I ran as fast as I could,’’ he said.

Banks arrived with his team at 2 p.m. and then waited five hours before his event. Coach Chad Young told him to stretch. Instead, Banks turned up his iPod.

``I turned to music that would motivate me, and I got pumped back up in time to throw,’’ said Banks, a senior, who also was competing in his first state championship.

Banks had basically taught himself techniques in the shot put during the year (Coaches Young and Nathan Herchenroeder have running backgrounds), and for his throw on Tuesday, he felt all he had learned came together at once.

``I had talked to some of the guys, the other shot putters, and they would tell me to get low, explode, and get your hips around,’’ Banks said. ``It didn’t hit me, it didn’t click -- until today. You need to swing your arm and get your hips twisted and you get more velocity and more strength behind the ball. It was really weird. I was actually kind of like, OK, this is working out.’’

The first event Tuesday afternoon was the girls’ relay. Last week, the girls had run their slowest time of the year for the regional meet, and even though the track was poor, Coach Young said he could tell the relay team was nervous – perhaps laden with a little self-doubt.

The pack started out fast, and Reingruber, mindful of her pace, backed off a little bit. ``She was running her own race and she was smart to stick back a little bit,’’ Young said. She ran a 2:29 leg, handing off the baton to Jester with the team ``in a good position,’’ Young said, in about 10th place.

Jester took off. ``Hallie closed the gap in three laps or so, and surged ahead of a pack of about four girls,’’ Young said. She ran her leg in 2:27. Next was Farrell, who started out even faster, causing Young to become a little nervous.

``I was a little worried she could keep it up,’’ Young said. ``But she did.’’ She ran a 2:26 leg, putting the team in fourth position. Next was Donnelly, ``who ran a great leg also, in 2:27, and made sure she extended the gap with the rest of the field.’’ A runner passed her near the end, giving the team a fifth place finish. Said Young: ``It was the team’s strongest performance of the year, no doubt. They all ran extremely well.’’

James' competition followed the girls' race. He ran in the second of three heats for the 300-meter race, starting in the fifth lane – the far outside – one of four runners. ``He went out a little quick,’’ Young said. ``I’m always a little concerned when they go out too fast, fearful whether they will be able to hang on. He was able to, and he ran extremely well.’’

Last up was Banks. ``He was definitely anxious and ready to go,’’ Young said. ``Each time he throws now it seems it’s a longer distance – it’s a testament to his hard work, talking to other coaches and athletes, and trying to learn as much from them as possible. Nathan and I are clearly not expert shot putters. He’s done a lot of work on his own.’’

The meet marked the end of the indoor season. Outdoor season starts March 1, with the first scrimmage set for March 20.

Young said the indoor season was a big success, and he believes the runners and field athletes will continue to get in better shape for the outdoor season.

James and Banks both can’t wait – and they have already set high goals for themselves.

Said James: ``I feel like I should have prepared more, come to practice more (for indoor season.) If I had a little more practice, I could have done even better. My commitment grew more during the year. I was seeing I could actually be good at this stuff. I started trying harder and I started doing better. Coach always tell me that, come to practice, you have to practice. He’s right. For outdoor, I’m going to get ready. I’m going to all the practices, and I’m just going to run harder. I’m going to go to states, too.’’

Banks: ``I threw my personal best today. But I should do better. You can always do better. I’m definitely doing outdoor. You’ll definitely see me at states. I’m going to be focusing on shot putting and be ready. I can be in top three.’’

Regional meet: `They did a double-take to be sure'

Both B-CC junior Terrence James and senior Chuck Banks were hoping for the best, but they weren’t sure. They kept walking over to the wall where organizers at the Maryland 4A West regional track meet on Wednesday were posting places. The top four would go to the state finals. The others were done.

Finally, officials posted the results.

James, No. 3 in the 300 meters.

Banks, No. 3 in the shot put.

They had made it – they had qualified for the state 4A finals next Tuesday at 3 p.m. at the Prince George’s Sports Complex. For both, it was the first time making state finals.

``It was a breakout performance for TJ and Chuck,’’ said coach Chad Young. ``They kept walking over the wall, two, three times to check. When they posted the results, they did a double-take to be sure. They were pretty excited.’’

Banks threw the shot put 43 feet, 2.75 inches – just a couple inches from his personal best. ``He brings his emotion and competitiveness to the shot put, and both of those qualities combined helped him in his performance.’’

James ran 38:39 seconds, finishing second in his heat. Twenty-four runners competed in eight heats, and James had to wait until all had finished – and the organizers sorted out the results.

B-CC’s other state qualifier was the girls’ 4 x 800 relay team consisting of senior Paige Donnelly and sophomores Ava Farrell, Grace Reingruber, and Hallie Jester. Their time was 10 minutes, 32 seconds, good for fourth place. The time was much slower than their best races, which Young attributed largely to the poor surface at the Baltimore Armory.

Young also said he expected the girls team to run a better race in the state meet. ``I think the extra week now, and now that the snow is a little more out of the way and less of a distraction, they will do better. They will be running on a nice surface at PG and they will run a lot smoother this time. I think they are ready to roll.’’

Overall in the regional meet, the boys team scored 12 points, finishing 10th, while the girls also had 12 points, finishing eighth.

Four athletes barely missed qualifying for the states, finishing either in fifth or sixth place, just out of the running.

Farrell finished fifth in the two-mile, running 12:27, and Jester finished fifth in the mile in 5:43.

Julia Hardgrove, a junior, finished fifth overall in the 55 meter hurdles, running 9.4 seconds in the qualifying meet, and 9.6 seconds in the final. ``It was a great performance by her on a bad surface,’’ Young said. She was just 0.35 seconds out of fourth place.

And Casey Shamma, a senior, whom Young described as one of his hardest workers on the team, finished 7th in the 55 meter sprint qualifying race, in 6.78 seconds. Young said he finished 5th or 6th in the finals; an error in the official scoring made his time and place unclear. ``It was really impressive,’’ Young said of Shamma’s performance. ``Just like Julia, he really pulled through in a big meet.’’

County meet: `The whole team was cheering'

All season long, B-CC indoor track and field coach Chad Young was hoping for breakthrough performances. At the Montgomery County track and field championship Monday at Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex, he witnessed several.

Senior Chuck Banks broke his personal record in the shot put by a foot and a half, throwing it 43 feet, five inches, finishing seventh overall in the 25-team meet. Banks was just two inches out of fifth place.

``I think he got really pumped up,’’ Young said. ``Watching him warm up, you could see he had some adrenaline going. He was excited to compete; he looked really good.’’ Banks scored two of the boys’ team’s six points.

The other four were won by junior Terrence James, who was fifth in the 300 meter race, finishing in 36.93 seconds.

``It really was a bit of a surprise,’’ Young said. ``He hasn’t run the 300 a whole lot, and has not had a lot of experience in big races either, but he was another athlete who was really pumped up.’’


Young said that James approached him and coach Nathan Herchenroeder with his strategy for the race – to go out fast in the first 50 meters, slow a little in the next 50, and pour it on in the last 75. ``He did just that,’’ Young said. ``It was really exciting for all of us. The whole team was cheering him on. I was really proud of the strategy he came up with and that he stuck to it. TJ been up and down, but now he’s turned things around; this may be a turning point for him in his running career.’’

In other boys’ races, the 4 x 800 meter team, which had struggled much of the season and finished many races in over 9 minutes, beat their best time by more than 20 seconds, finishing in 8 minutes, 45 seconds. They were 10th overall; the runners were Trevor Stephens, Eric Damtoft, Nick Richter, and Chris Henderson.

For the girls’ team, sophomore runner Hallie Jester had a banner day.


Jester ran three races: the mile, 4 x 800 relay, and 4 x 400 relay. In the mile, she ran 5:29, easily beating her earlier PR of 5:40 and finishing fourth overall, good for five points. ``She ran a really tough race, and didn’t have a lot left in the end,’’ Young said. ``She ran about the same pace in the last lap as in the first three. She was working very hard the whole time.’’

The girls’ 4 x 800 team finished third overall, winning six points. The team – composed of senior Paige Donnelly and sophomores Jester, Grace Reingruber and Ava Farrell – ran a combined 9:55, or roughly 20 seconds faster than earlier races. All four ran either 2:28 or 2:29 times.


In the girls’ 4 x 400, Hannah Levin, Jester, Caroline Leuba, and Laila Shehata ran 4:25 – their best time this season for a 9th place finish.

In the 3200 meter race, Farrell stayed with the lead pack, which set a fast pace in the first mile, running 5:45. She slowed in the second mile, but still finished in 11:52, or good enough for fourth place, or five points.





In a day of mostly good surprises, perhaps the best was senior Kate Leuba’s performance in the shot put. Leuba, whose strength had been in middle-distance and distance races, has been injured much of the year, and at first tried the shot put for fun.

She threw it 21 feet, 8.25 inches – or 12th overall. ``It was a kind of fun thing to watch her,’’ Young said. ``She has a bit of potential there. One thing is for sure – she’s really a competitor.’’

Overall, the boys finished 15th in the meet, the girls 12th.

On Feb. 3, the team will competed in the 4A West regionals, starting at 4 p.m. in the Baltimore Armory. ``I’m looking forward to it,’’ Young said. ``We are rounding into form.’’

Photographs by by Kevin Milstead, mocorunning.com

Runner spotlight: Darcy O'Connor

This is one in an occasional series of profiles on B-CC track and field team members.


Darcy O’Connor, a B-CC senior, knows the value of running with teammates.

Without them, she says, she might not get out much.

And without them, she certainly wouldn’t improve her times on the track.

She has run all four years on the B-CC cross country team, and now is in her third year on the indoor track and field team.

When she was a freshman, her top mile time was 6 minutes, 40 seconds, and top two-mile time was over 14 minutes. Now, her top times are 5:50 for the mile and 12:30 for the two-mile.

For Coach Chad Young, O’Connor has been an invaluable member of the track team, both as a competitor and a teammate. He said she has served as a mentor to younger teammates.

``She’s always been one of the hardest workers on the team,’’ Young said. ``It’s not only her improvement in running that is important, it’s the leadership that she shows with the younger girls. Because of her leadership, she’s so important to have on a young team.’’

O’Connor said the team has always tried to support the younger runners.

``I like to encourage the underclassmen because I remember being a freshman on the team and having a great time, which is why I continued to run,’’ she said. ``I know that encouragement from an upperclassman meant something to me, because it was coming from someone experienced in the sport. We encourage the underclassmen to come with us on runs, and join us outside of practice, like for lunch after our weekend runs.’’

She joins a big group of girls on long runs, and on workout days she participates with fellow senior Paige Donnelly and four sophomores – Grace Reingruber, Hallie Jester, Claire Cohen, and Ava Farrell.

``I really like my teammates,’’ she said. ``I wouldn’t go out running every day by myself. I’ve learned a lot about commitment from running.’’

She laughed. ``I learned if you don’t run every day, you will not get faster.’’

Her goal for the indoor mile: 5:40, or 10 seconds faster than her PR. ``It seems like a long ways away, but I’m trying,’’ she said.

Runner spotlight: Eric Damtoft

This is one of an occasional series of stories on B-CC track and field team members.



In the beginning of 2008, Eric Damtoft made a New Year’s resolution, which was inspired by another B-CC runner at the time, Matt Davey-Karlson: Run every day. Now, more than 740 days later, Damtoft, 17 and a B-CC senior, has kept his promise. He has run every day since.

``A couple of times I was really sick and only ran a mile,’’ he said after a short after-school run with his teammates on the B-CC indoor track and field team. ``I remember one day last year I had to leave school in the middle of the day and couldn’t really stand up, I had so much stomach pain. But a few hours later, it got better, and I ran a mile.’’

``I wanted,’’ he said, ``to keep it up.’’

As the B-CC track team prepares for the county championship races on Jan. 25, Damtoft stands as an example of commitment to his teammates. He has been running his whole high school career, being a member of the cross-country and indoor teams all four years. He also plans to run his fourth outdoor season this spring.

``Eric was on the cross-country team that won the state meet two years ago,’’ said head coach Chad Young. ``He brings some of the spirit of that team to this year’s squad. The younger guys and girls don’t understand that to win like we did it takes a lot of work, and holding each other accountable. He has a lot to share with the younger guys on what it takes.’’

Damtoft said part of his motivation is that he simply enjoys the sport.

``I really like running,’’ he said. ``Once you get into the race, you start out competing against your own time. Then you get to know what the others are running, and you want to keep sort of improving and getting better.’’

So he has. In his freshman year, he ran the mile in about 5 minutes, 30 seconds. Last year, he set a personal record of 4:44. So far, this year, he is running the mile in about 4:50. He also is a member of the 4 x 800 relay team, which has a shot at running in the state championship.

To qualify for the mile, he faces tough odds. He must run about a 4:40.

``It’s going to be a lot to drop,’’ he said, ``but I’m trying.’’

Practice meet: Winning with their legs - and minds

At the Georgetown Prep practice meet Tuesday, B-CC track and field coach Chad Young thought his team might be tired. Some had participated at the Montgomery Invitational, which stretched for nearly 12 hours on Saturday, and he had pushed them hard during Monday’s practice – a combined five miles with different workouts. But several runners responded with strong performances at Tuesday's meet, impressing the coach.

In the top-seeded girls’ two-mile race, sophomores Ava Farrell (11 minutes, 50 seconds) and Hallie Jester (12:02) set personal records, finishing in the top six overall. In the slower two-mile heat, sophomore Claire Cohen also set an indoor PR, finishing in 13:02. ``Claire led her race from start to finish and paced herself extremely well. She looked really great on the track,’’ Young said.

Senior shotputter Chuck Banks also performed much better Tuesday than in Saturday's competition, throwing the shot put slightly more than 40 feet, finishing second.

And in the girls’ 300-meter race, sophomore Hannah Levin won her heat, finishing in 44:25 – an impressive two seconds faster than any of her teammates. ``She was wearing brand-new spikes, and after the race, she came over to me and saying how light they felt,’’ Young said. ``She was very excited.’’

But for the coach, perhaps the best moment from the practice meet – it drew about 10 teams from the area and no official times were kept – was the last event: the Scramble Relay, a Georgetown Prep special.

It worked like this: Eight runners -- four girls and four boys – per team each ran a 200-meter leg; instead of passing off a baton, they handed off an envelope, each of which contained a letter; at the end of the race, the team ripped open the eight envelopes and spelled an eight-letter word; the first team to guess the correct word won.

B-CC finished fourth across the finish line.

But they won the Scramble. Their word: TEMPO RUN.

``They were really quick to get the word,’’ Young said.

He enjoyed watching the eight, plus a few others, gather around and excitedly try to solve the puzzle. And he especially enjoyed seeing who ran. The team included three runners who have been injured this year – juniors Patrick Frampus and Philip Catterall and senior Kate Leuba.

``They hadn’t been able to participate, but they ran their one lap, and helped their team to victory,’’ he said. ``It was great to see.’’

The next race will be the county championship, held Jan. 25.

Montgomery Invitational: `She hung in there'

The B-CC indoor track and field season just turned serious.

At the Montgomery Invitational’s meet Saturday inside Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex, the elite competition drew 70 teams from Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Competitors had to meet qualifying times and standards in order to participate.

Coaches Chad Young and Nathan Herchenroeder brought about 15 B-CC competitors (a third of the team) to the nearly 12-hour meet, and both saw it as a good measuring stick for the athletes.

The top performers: the girls’ 4 x 800 relay team, comprised of senior Paige Donnelly and three sophomores -- Hallie Jester, Grace Reingruber, and Ava Farrell. They finished in 10 minutes, 15 seconds, placing 6th out of 45 teams.

``With this elite meet, they had an incentive to run a little faster, and they competed extremely well,’’ Young said. ``Their goal is to get under 10:08, which is the qualifying time for the state meet, and they are on the right track to get there.’’

The girls’ distance runners form one of the deeper parts to the team. Young noted several others not on the A team were just a ``step behind this group, and a couple of them would run on a 4 x 8 team for just about any other school.’’

Three of the four girls on the 800 team ran individual events. Donnelly ran a competitive 5:32 1600-meter race, finishing 14th out of 70 runners; Jester went out aggressively with the top pack in her 1600-meet, finishing with a strong 5:43, 36th out of the 70; and Farrell competed in the championship 3200-meter run, finishing in 12:05, or 14th of the 15 elite runners who finished her heat.

Young said Farrell competed well. ``She was nervous going into it,’’ he said. ``Based on previous times, she was the slowest in the heat, and she was worried she was going to be last. We talked a little bit before the race about hanging in the back of the pack in the first part, hang with three or four girls. A couple of other girls finished only one or two seconds ahead of her. So she hung in there.’’ Her finish was only seven seconds slower than her personal best, set at the end of the outdoor season last year.

For the boys’ competition, shot putter Chuck Banks, also a B-CC football player, threw the shotput 39 feet six inches. He finished 28th out of 34 throwers.

The boys’ 4 x 800 team ``had a pretty good day,’’ Young said. The team – comprised of two holdovers from last year, Chris Henderson and Eric Damtoft, and two newcomers, senior Nick Richter and junior Lucas Morrison – finished in 9:02, placing 36th out of 49 teams. ``They are where the team was at this time last year, and I hope we’ll continue to improve,’’ Young said.

The boys 4 x 200 also competed well, finishing in 1:39, or 41st out of 65 teams. The team consists of Terrence James, Brendan McClafferty, Casey Shamma, and Amin Sijelmassi.

On the boys’ 4 x 400, the team had to adjust to running without top performer Ben Gold, who is out four to six weeks with a torn ligament in his ankle. ``They didn’t run as they hoped,’’ Young said. Their finish: 3:53, or roughly 10 seconds slower than their normal times.

``I know they are missing their top guy, but it shouldn’t be a 10-second difference,’’ Young said. ``I think part of it is having the winter break, and they still are getting their feet back.’’

The effect of the break, he said, was felt team-wide.

``So many people go away, and it’s easy for them not to get out,’’ he said. ``Now they are back, and there is a focus on county championships coming up, as well as regional and states, and we have outdoors after that. Saturday’s meet is kind of a wakeup call. If they are not running well, I hope they get a little motivated and are ready to go.’’

The next competition is a scrimmage at Georgetown Prep this Tuesday. The county championship is Jan. 25, just two weeks away.