'They don’t want to lose’

At the mid-point of the boys’ 800-meter race in the 4A State Championships Tuesday at the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex, B-CC senior Trevor Stephens was in pain. And he was far off the lead pack.

That’s when his race began. Stephens eased up slightly in the third lap, and then poured on speed and effort, passing four runners in the final lap and finishing in 4th place in 2 minutes, 2.16 seconds, a personal record.

“At the 400 mark, I was a little concerned,” Stephens said. “I thought I was going to die with the rest of the group. I slowed that third lap down a little bit so I would have something to kick with.”

He continued: “I was feeling very, very sore. It was probably more of a mental thing that I could advance. I’ve adapted to the idea of racing people, instead of just running a race. In the past, I was running to a certain comfort level, instead of taking a little more pain and getting up with that next pack. There were points in that race on Tuesday, where if I were at last season’s level, I would have dropped off and stopped trying.

“But I realized this was my last meet indoors as a senior, so I pushed a little more,” he said.

For B-CC Track Coach Chad Young, Stephens’ performance was one highlight among many. The girls’ team finished in 5th place overall and the boys were 19th.

Another senior runner, Eliot Gerson, also ran a PR, finishing sixth in the mile in 4:34. Gerson also ran his own race, staying back in the pack as a group surged ahead and then he made his move, passing several near the end. Young said both Gerson and Stephens have become much stronger competitors than a year ago.

“It’s amazing to me to see their progress and to see how hard they work,” he said. “Last year, they didn’t qualify for the state meet, but this year they scored points for the team, and put themselves in position to win. They don’t want to lose. The difference was that before they wanted a PR. Now they don’t want to lose.”

Soon after the open 800-meter race, the boys’ 4 x 400 meter relay team finished in 3:38, for 10th place. The team consisted of sophomore Freddy Nzekele (52.66), junior Weyimni Dorsu (55.18), freshman Duc Momo (57.29), and Stephens (53.47). Young said that Momo, the freshman, was a replacement for Nana Twum Agyire, who has a stress fracture in his foot. With the exception of Stephens, the three other members of the team had never raced before this season.

“It says a lot about how hard they worked,” Young said. “They realized on the ride home, ‘Wow, we were just in the state championship in Maryland,’ and a couple of months ago they hadn’t run at all.”

In the girls’ meet, sophomore Brittney Wade had another breakout race, finishing second in the 800-meter race in 2:22. “She almost won the whole thing,” Young said.

Wade also ran in the 4 x 800 meter relay earlier. In that race, the B-CC team led at the three-quarter mark. Wade (2:25), junior Ava Farrell (2:25), and junior Grace Reingruber (2:27) gave senior Alex Doll the lead.

Doll ran well (2:22) but not enough to stave off the anchor runners for two others teams. Still, the time of 9:40 was the best of the year, and Young said there was no reason to feel disappointed with the effort. “The girls ran so well,” he said.

For Doll, it was one of her three races in the meet, which is likely the last of her high school career. She will play soccer in the spring.

Doll also ran the open 800-meter race, finishing in 2:27, and she ran the mile, running a sterling 5:08 – good enough to win in nearly any other year. But two runners posted 5:02 times, edging her out. “It was great to have Alex on the team,” Young said.

And in the two-mile race, Farrell ran what Young termed perhaps that smartest race of the day. A lead pack went out quickly, and Farrell stayed in the back for lap after lap. Slowly, Farrell caught each of them save one. She finished in 11:31, a PR, good enough for second place. “It was really fun to watch,” he said. “Ava has raced a lot now and really gained some confidence.”

For the B-CC runners, there won’t be much time off to savor performances. Outdoor practice starts next Tuesday, March 1. Young is looking forward to it.

“I hope now we can have continued success,” he said. “I think we can have some kids step up and lead us to becoming an even better team.”