For the past several track seasons, a quiet truth trailed the B-CC team: the girls outperformed the boys. But in small if perceptible ways, the boys’ squad this year has been making steady advances, even as the girls’ team remains at an elite level.
At Saturday’s Montgomery Invitational, a meet that drew elite athletes from more than 100 schools, some as far away as Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the boys 4 x 800 meter track team turned in its fastest time of the year, 8 minutes, 43 seconds, even with one key performer missing.
The team – seniors Nana Twum Agyire (2:18.52, filling in for Terrence James, who arrived late), Trevor Stephens (2:08), Philip Catterall (a PR 2:11), and Eliot Gerson (2:04) – finished in 17th place. They now are ranked 10th on the Montgomery County leader board.
Coach Chad Young said that he appreciated Agyire stepping in at the last minute to help the team, even if his main event is the 400-meter race. He also said he appreciates the overall leadership by his senior distance runners who have ``been improving and becoming more competitive.”
He specifically mentioned Stephens, Catterall, and Gerson. While Gerson has had much success earlier in his high school career, Young said that Stephens and Catterall have made great strides even in recent months.
“I’ve talked a lot to Trevor and Philip about racing and how it’s different than going out for a run,” Young said. “Running a mile is not the same as racing a mile. They have been transitioning from running laps around the track to racing around the track, and they’ve been teaching their teammates as well. They are showing senior leadership. They are leading by example. They’re putting a lot of work on the track and on the weekends.”
For the first time in three years, the boys 4 x 800 relay team has a shot at making the state meet, Young said.
Gerson, meanwhile, also competed in the 1600-meter race, finishing in 4:36, a PR, for in seventh place. “It’s really impressive,” Young said. “He’s been running under 4:40 almost every meet this year.”
In other boys’ races:
* In the open 800-meter race, Stephens ran 2:04, for 14th overall. He is ranked 8th overall on the county leader board for the distance;
* In the open 400-meter race, James ran 51.78, for fifth overall. He is ranked third in the county.
In the girls’ elite mile, senior Alex Doll, who is competing for the first time since her freshman year, turned in a performance that Young called “one of the highlights of the meet.”
After running in second place for most of the race, Doll was passed in the last 400 meters by two runners, finishing fourth. Her time was a sparkling 5:11.
“It was a chance for her to see what she still has from her freshmen year, and she battled some of the top runners from Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey,” Young said. “She’s a really good natural runner, but she and I were in the dark about what to do with this race. Two, three weeks ago, the last time she ran the mile, she ran even splits on all her laps and easily won (in 5:21). The only thing I said to her was to try to stick to the pack for a while, and not be too aggressive at the beginning. She did hang back, and was fighting the urge to lead in the race. … She really did well.”
So well that Doll is currently ranked as the top miler in the Montgomery County leader board ratings.
In other girls’ races:
* The 4 x 800 meter team finished in 10:10 for fourth place overall. The team consisted of Grace Reingruber (2:33); Ava Farrell (2:25); Laura Nakasaka (2:34); and Hallie Jester ( 2:36). All are juniors except for Nakasaka, a sophomore.
* Sophomore Brittney Wade finished 10th in the open 400 meter race in 1:01.43. She is ranked sixth in the county.
* Farrell, in the elite 3,200-meter race, finished in 11:38, for second overall. “She’s really fun to watch,” Young said. “She’s in really good shape and is competing well.”
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