In the B-CC outdoor track’s first meet on Tuesday, the girls beat Gaithersburg 87-49.
The boys lost 77-59.
Let’s get the stars up high:
* Senior Terrence James, three wins, in the 200 meters (22.63), 400 meters (52.14), and 4 x 400 meter relay (team’s time was 3:37.4);
* Senior Eliot Gerson, two firsts in the 1600 meters (4:42) and 3200 meters (10:16) and one second in the 800 meters (2:10);
* Sophomore Brittney Wade, four wins, in the 200 meters (26.44), 400 meters (58.19, a PR), 300 meter hurdles (51.87) and as part of the 4 x 400 meter relay (team time, 4:24.9);
* Junior Ava Farrell, three wins, in the 800 meters (2:41), 1600 meters (5:49), and 3200 meters (13:13).
* And a semi-hidden star, sophomore Laura Nakasaka who finished second to Farrell in each race by a fraction of a second each time.
But for Coach Chad Young, one of the strongest moments was a race in which his team didn’t win a point: the boys’ 4 x 200 meter relay. The team was disqualified because of a bad baton pass.
The team: Freddy Nzekele (who finished in 23.95); Duc Momo (23.66); Weyimni Dorsu (22.93); and James (22.62). They finished in 1:33.3.
Still, Young said, the disqualification didn’t negate the strong effort, which was capped by James’ electric final 200 meter leg, in which he surged past a Gaithersburg runner in the final 50 meters, in full view to fans in the bleachers.
“That was probably the most exciting race,” Young said. “The team fell behind, but TJ stormed back and crushed the Gaithersburg team. People in the stands were yelling. There was some energy in the stadium to see him for the first time outdoors this year.”
For Young, it was just nice to be outside for a competition, especially one at home.
“It was exciting to be back outside again and away from the PG Sportsplex for a change,” he said. “The girls did extremely well. The boys also competed well. A few mistakes were made and I hope we can learn from them. It was closer than the score really let on.”
Other top performances:
* The boys’ 4 x 400-meter relay team won in 3:37.4. The team included Momo, Dorsu, James and Trevor Stephens.
* In the boys’ 400-meter race, the boys swept: Behind James were Nzekele (53.83) and Stephens (53.91).
* In the boys’ 800, another 1-2-3 B-CC finish: Stephens (2:08), Gerson (2:10), and Phillip Catterall (2:12).
* In the 3200-meter race, freshman Alex Riishojgaard (10:56) finished in third place.
* In the 110- and 330-meter hurdles, sophomore Jordahn Brown, a newcomer, finished fifth and third respectively. He also finished fourth in the shot put, while his brother Juhstin, a junior, finished third in the shot put and second in the discus.
* In the girls’ competition, the 4 x 400 relay team won in 4:24.9. Its members: sophomore Cammi Yeutter (1:06); junior Grace Reingruber (1:09); sophomore Caroline Leuba (1:08); and Wade (1:01.)
* Yeutter finished second in the girls’ 400-meter race (1:02) and fifth in the 800 meter race (2:42). “She has come along very well, transitioning from basketball, and I’ve been impressed with her hard work and how competitive she is,” Young said.
* Sophomore Ruth Orevba finished second in the shot put (24 feet, 4 inches), first in the discus (63 feet, 6.5 inches), and fourth in the long jump (13 feet, 11 inches).
* Junior Mimie Ndubisi finished second in the long jump (14 feet five inches), won the triple jump (27 feet, nine inches) and was third in the high jump (4 feet, 4 inches).
Ariana Braganza finished second in the high jump, and Alanna Diggs finished fifth.
* In the 100-meter hurdles, senior Julia Hardgrove won in 16.44.
* And in the 100-meter dash, senior Katie Williams finished third in 13.04.
