As a freshman, Brittney Wade was a sprinter, running strong and hard and challenging some of the county’s best runners. Now as a sophomore, Wade started competing in longer distances -- 400 and 800 meters. On Tuesday, at the Montgomery County championship meet, she did more than challenge.
In the 800-meter race, Wade finished second to Northwest senior Britt Eckerstrom, running 2 minutes, 15.81 seconds, which former B-CC coach and current social studies teacher Tim Gilmore said was the best time at B-CC for at least the last decade.
During a student-athlete's first year in high school, “you try a number of new things – and Brittney was good at everything,” said Coach Chad Young. “Now, as a sophomore, she is making a serious push for the states, and even this year as a sophomore, even in just a couple of weeks, it’s very possible she can win the whole thing.”
Wade ran third for much of the race, but passed Wootton junior Grace Corbett in the home stretch, and finished just a little more than a second behind Eckerstrom, who broke the meet record in 2:14.17.
Of the first eight finishers, all were juniors and seniors except for Wade. B-CC junior Ava Farrell finished seventh in 2:25.08, and sophomore Caroline Leuba finished ninth, in 2:26.28.
In the mile, Farrell also had a breakout race, finishing third in 5:14, which was the fastest mile time during Young’s six years as head coach, breaking Addie Tousley’s time two years ago by one second.
“Ava’s and Brittney’s races were very similar,” Young said. “Both went out hard, established position toward the front of the race from the beginning. So they stayed away from trouble and both finished strong, passing people at the end.”
In other highlights from Tuesday’s meet at Walter Johnson High School:
* Two throwers had excellent outings. Junior Michael Nyarko had been throwing the shot put around 36 feet all season long. On Tuesday, he threw 40 feet, 9 inches, breaking his personal record by more than two feet and finishing 12th. He also did well in the discus, throwing 108 feet after only reaching in the 70-foot range in the season. He was 15th in the discus. “It was a huge day for him,” Young said.
For the girls, sophomore Ruth Orevba’s best shot put throw of the season had been 28 feet in the first meet, but then she dipped to 24 and 25 feet for much of the year. But Tuesday, she threw 30 feet, 1 inch, finishing 13th. In the discus, she threw 74 feet, 9.5 inches for 14th.
* The boys’ 4 x 800 meter team finished in 8:20 – one second off their best time – but still need to lower that time in the regional meet in order to qualify for the state championship. The all-senior team -- Eliot Gerson, Phillip Catterall, Patrick Frampus, and Trevor Stephens – “have the potential to run a lot faster than they did,” Young said.
* In the open 800 meter race, Stephens became the first B-CC runner to finish under 2 minutes since 2008, finishing in 1:59.99 – or a one-hundredth of a second under the mark. “He ran a great race,” Young said. “He was pretty happy about it. It was way better than two minutes flat.”
* The boys’ 4 x 400 meter team received a blow the day before the race when senior captain Terrence James informed coaches that he would not make the meet. But with Julien Dorsey filling in admirably, running 52 seconds for his lap, the team finished eighth overall in 3:32. The team consisted of Nana Twum Agyire, Stephens, Weyimni Dorsu, and Dorsey. “Julien did a great job,” Young said. “He’s been a star since his freshman year and had been running 56, 55 seconds, so to have him close to 52 in this race was huge for him and the team.”
* And finally, the trio of freshmen pole vaulters -- Conrad Jones, Sam Hainbach, and Lucas Beck – competed but failed to clear the opening height of 8 feet. Still, Young said, they were back practicing after the meet, traveling to Gaithersburg to meet their pole vaulter coach. They will compete in next week’s regionals. “It’s going to be a challenge,” Young said. “But this is a good experience for them. It they stick with it, they could be very good.”
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