In the biggest meet so far this year, the B-CC indoor track team put on its best collective performance Thursday, with five girls and five boys qualifying for the Feb. 22 state meet. Several runners registered personal records.
“Last year, it was a real struggle, especially among the boys, to get anyone to qualify for the state meet,” said Coach Chad Young. “This year, we are stepping up and we are improving and it’s great we have a lot more people who belong in the state’s this year. There will be plenty of us there.”
At the regional meet held at Prince George’s County Sports and Learning Complex, the girls’ 4 x 800-meter relay team was the sole B-CC team to win a race, finishing in 9 minutes, 48 seconds.
Junior Ava Farrell (2:27) led off, followed by junior Hallie Jester (2:29); sophomore Laura Nakasaka (2:29); and senior Alex Doll (2:22). Young was particularly happy with Nakasaka’s performance. She beat her personal record by four seconds.
The boys’ 4 x 400-meter relay team entered the meet as the county winner. But Young did not allow the team’s star runner, senior Terrence James, to run for disciplinary reasons.
“The boys were upset with me when I told them TJ couldn’t run,” Young said. “They are so competitive and know they are better when TJ is on the team.”
But the team hung on to finish fourth, just enough to qualify for the state championships. Top four places automatically qualify, but runners up to sixth place can also go to states if they meet qualifying times.
Freddy Nzekele led off with 53 seconds flat, followed by senior Trevor Stephens (54.21); Weyimni Dorsu (54.38); and Nana Twum Atyire (55.63). Their total time was 3:37.23.
“They showed they could do it. I hope it helps build their confidence,” Young said.
The other qualifiers:
* Sophomore Brittney Wade finished fourth in the 800 meter race in 2:22, the fastest time on the team this year. Doll, finishing just behind her in 2:23, finished sixth, fast enough also to make states.
* Doll also qualified in the mile, finishing second in 5:09.
* Farrell qualified in the two-mile race, finishing in 11:47.
* Senior Eliot Gerson qualified in the mile, finishing in 4:36, for fourth place.
* Stephens qualified in the 800-meter race, finishing in 2:02 (a PR) for fifth place, fast enough for states.
Young also pointed out several other top performances that missed out making the state meet. Among them were Wade’s 300 meter race in 42.42, just 0.2 seconds out of fourth place, or an automatic qualifier; Nzekele’s 300 meter race in 37.38, for sixth place; senior Katie Williams ran a 44.6 second 300-meter race, a PR; junior Grace Reingruber and sophomore Caroline Leuba ran about a 1:25 flat for the 500 meter race, a PR for both; and Nakasaka ran a 12:24 two-mile race, another PR.
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