Wade breaks meet record in 800 meters

By Emily Young

 By her own admission, Junior Brittney Wade hasn’t been feeling particularly sprightly on the track these days. The combination of grueling mid-season workouts and late nights doing schoolwork has left her feeling tired and her legs feeling heavy and sluggish. Her first race of the day at the Viking Invitational seemed to reflect this fatigue.

Arriving to the meet with only a few minutes to warm-up, Wade ran the anchor leg of the 4x800 looking and feeling tight and labored. So as she stepped to the line for the open 800, she didn’t know what to expect. She knew she wanted to win and that she was facing one of her toughest competitors in Severna Park’s Ashley Hayes, but what she didn’t know was how her legs would respond.

When the gun went off, Wade and Hayes took an immediate lead, running stride for stride for the first 400 meters and opening up a large lead on the rest of field. Around the 400 meter mark, Hayes took a slight lead, but Wade kept her within striking distance, and with a little over 100 meters to go, Wade made her move, sprinting past Hayes and creating an insurmountable lead.

 Wade crossed the finish line in 2:12.26, nearly 4 seconds ahead of Hayes. The time was a 3 second PR for Wade and a Viking Invitational record.

 Also in the 800 was B-CC Sophomore Helen Webster who has been outstanding this season. After getting boxed at the beginning of the race, Webster broke out and ran an impressive 2:23.1.

 Other notable 800 performances came from both the boys and girls’ 4x800 relay teams. Junior Caroline Leuba, Senior Ava Farrell, Senior Hallie Jester, and Wade ran an extremely competitive race and earned a victory in the event with a combined time of 9:36.26.

 Sophomore Peter Horton, Junior Nick McGreivy, Sophomore Matt Boden, and Senior Aidan Hennessey competed for B-CC in the boys’ 4x800. While each of the boys competed extremely well, Boden in particular showed a great deal of confidence and determination as he hunted down runners en route to a monstrous 10 second PR of 2:15.

 Also running a personal-best time was Caroline Beakes in the 3200 meter run. Beakes employed her usual strategy of maintaining a comfortable position before starting her gradual but dangerous kick towards the end of the race. Her time of 11:40 was good for 4th place in the event.

 Freshman Chelsea Folkes ran an exciting open 400 meters, finishing 10th out of 45 competitors. Her time of 61.7 was a personal-best for the promising young runner. In the 300 hurdles, Freshman Sisan Dorsu ran a personal-best of 51.47, and Junior Eugenia Wilson won her heat and finished 7th in 49.06, her fastest time of the season.

 A number of personal records were also set in the field events. Both Sophomore Kenny Norris and Freshman Kyle Nakasaka recorded their farthest jumps in the triple jump, leaping 39’8” and 32’11 ½ ” respectively. Norris finished 6th in the event.

 Junior Nick McGreivy tied for 4th in the high jump with a leap of 5’ 6”. His previous best jump of 5’4” was set just last week at Wootton. He is making quick progress in the event and scoring valuable points for the Barons in the process.

 There are no local meets this week or weekend. Coach Young and Coach Emily will be traveling to Philadelphia on Thursday with Webster, Farrell, Wade, and Junior Laura Nakasaka for the Penn Relays, one of the most prestigious high school, college, and professional track meets in the country. The girls will compete in the 4x800, an event that they had to run a qualifying time for. Make sure to wish the girls luck!

At Woodward Relays, no wins, several PRs

B-CC Junior Laura Nakasaka

By Emily Young

The Barons headed to Georgetown Prep this past Saturday for the 40th annual Woodward Relays. The meet, which originated at the no-longer-in-existence Woodward High School, has changed venues numerous times; however, one thing that hasn’t changed is the high level of competition. While the Barons were unable to walk away from the day with any victories, they did tally a couple of second place finishes and a number of season-best performances.

Early in the day, the girls’ 4 x 800 team stepped to the line without their fastest runner, Junior Brittney Wade. Still confident that they could compete with the best, the girls were determined to run for the win. Sophomore Helen Webster (2:21) led off with a blazing first leg and handed the baton to Junior Laura Nakasaka (2:25) in 3rd place. Nakasaka calmly and confidently moved into second place, gained a lot of ground on the leaders, CH Flowers, and made it a two-team race. Nakasaka handed off the baton to Junior Caroline Leuba (2:28) who took a page from the Caroline Beakes’ playbook and sat behind her competitor, waiting until just the right moment to make a move. With about 200m to go, Leuba moved into the lead and opened up a gap on the CH Flowers runner. Senior Ava Farrell (2:23), B-CC’s anchor, tried to maintain the lead but was quickly overtaken by her competitor. Though Farrell managed to almost catch her in the last few meters of the race, it was too little too late, and she was out-leaned at the line. The girls finished second in 9:40.28. CH Flowers won the race in 9:40.26.

The second runner-up performance of the day came from the girls’ 4 x 1600 meter relay team of Webster (5:39), Beakes (5:29), Nakasaka (5:42), and Farrell (5:28). The girls put forth a solid effort and ran a respectable time, but they were unable to keep pace with the Whitman girls who finished the race in meet-record time.

Another strong event for both the boys and the girls was the Sprint Medley Relay (SMR), a 400-200-200-800 relay. Nolan Ebner (400—54.64), Weyimini Dorsu (200—22.98), Max Braganza (200—25.36), and Peter Horton (800—2:03), raced their way to an impressive 5th place finish out of 25 teams.

For the girls, Caroline Leuba (400—65), Shayna Nash (200—28.2), Sisan Dorsu (200—30), and Hallie Jester (800—2:29) earned a 6th place finish in the event. They competed against 24 other teams.

The Barons also finished the day with a number of season-best performances. The boys’ 4 x 800 relay ran their fastest time so far this year thanks to particularly impressive legs by Sophomores Peter Horton and Nolan Ebner. They teamed with team of Junior Nick McGrievy (2:10) and Senior Thomas Horton (2:10) to run a total time of 8:28.

In the field events, Senior Luidgi Morton jumped 17’ 3/4'”, his farthest long jump this year. Freshmen Liam McGowan and Kyle Nakasaka, two newcomers to the triple jump this year, stepped up to complete the triple jump relay for the Barons and jumped personal bests in the process.

Junior Anthony Royster

Also recording their top marks of the year in the throws were Senior Ruth Orevba and Junior Anthony Royster. Orevba threw 27’3” in the shot put, and Royster sent the discus flying 83’ 10.5”. The mark was also a personal record for Royster, who is showing a great deal of potential in his first year as a thrower.

The Barons are back in action on Tuesday for their last divisional meet at Wootton. They will also compete this Saturday at Whitman’s Viking Relays.

B-CC track teams sweep rival Whitman

B-CC Junior Thomas Horton

By Chad Young

The B-CC-Whitman rivalry is intense in all sports, and running is no exception. Most years, like this year, B-CC and Whitman’s track and cross country teams tend to be fairly evenly matched. Knowing they could both walk away with wins if they competed well, both the B-CC boys and girls track teams arrived at Whitman ready to compete and take down their cross-town rivals.

The rivalry for the boys kicked off with a battle in the first event, the 4x800 relay. Whitman and B-CC ran within strides of one another for the first three legs. Junior Thomas Horton began with a lead and battled Whitman’s anchor leg, who gradually began to catch him. Horton sensed him inching closer and even looked over his shoulder a few times to make sure he knew how close he was. It came down the final stretch and Horton found something extra and surged ahead for the win in the team’s best time of the year in 8:35.03: Peter Horton (2:06), Nolan Ebner (2:09), Nick McGreivy (2:10) and Thomas Horton (2:06). Whitman finished less than a second behind in 8:35.59.

B-CC Sophomore Kenneth Norris competed most of the day in the jumps. Early in the day, Norris tied teammate Max Braganza to share a win in the long jump. Norris and Braganza both jumped 16’ 08”. Norris then ran the 400 and finished second to a Whitman runner by the narrowest of margins—0.01 seconds.

Later in the meet, as the open pit for triple jump neared its end, Norris had completed two jumps with average marks. He realized the 800 was about to start and ran to the starting line to compete. Clearly a little tired from his earlier events, he ran 2:27; however, this race proved to be the warm-up he needed for his final triple jump of the day. He jumped a season best 38’01” for the win.

B-CC's Max Braganza

In the throws, newcomer Junior Anthony Royster made his debut at the meet, earning second place in both the shot put (36’ 11”) and the discus (83’10”). His teammate, Mike Nyarko, won both events, throwing a season-best 40 feet in the shot put and 115’8” in the discus.

Success for the boys continued as they won all of the relays except the 4x100 because B-CC did not have a team compete in the event. The boys won 11 of 17 events and won the meet 82-51. Their victory was their first divisional win of the year.

In the girls meet, B-CC also recorded a victory. Even though the B-CC and Whitman girls match up well in the distance events, the depth of the Barons in all events proved to be too much for the Vikings. The girls won 12 of 17 events including all of the relay events.

The most exciting race of the day for the girls was the 4x200 relay. Shayna Nash (28.87), Sisan Dorsu (28.09), Chelsea Folkes (28.23), and Alexia Thorpe (27.72) ran a very close and competitive race. Whitman had a slight lead as the final handoff was executed, but Thorpe was determined to win and made a strong move past her Whitman counterpart, just barely edging her out at the finish line to win in 1:52.30. Whitman finished in 1:52.44.

Thorpe also helped the team to a win in the high jump in 4’6.”

The team’s success continued in the field with Junior Ruth Orevba’s first place throws in both shot put (26’11”) and the discus (68’2”). Both are best throws of the season. Teammate Olea Rugumayo also had an impressive day, finishing second behind Orevba in both the shot put (21’6”) and the discus (59’8”). Both throws were also season bests for Rugamayo.

Sophomore Nicole Flibbert also scored for B-CC in the jumps, finishing second in both the long jump (12’2”) and the triple jump (26’7”).

The B-CC girls won 12 of 17 events to beat Whitman 100-37.

Event Winners:
4x800 - Nolan E, Peter H, Nick M, and Thomas H (8:35.03)
1600 - Peter Horton (4:49.95)
4x200 - Max B, Carl Z, Nolan E, Luidgi M (1:40.29)
3200 - Nick McGreivy (10:36.71)
300 - Hurdles Nolan Ebner (45.62)
4x400 - Peter H, Thomas H, Sam B, and Luidgi M (4:15.52)
Shot Put - Mike Nyarko (40-00ft)
Discus – Mike Nyarko (99-04ft)
High Jump – Nick McGreivy (5-02ft)
Long Jump – Kenneth Norris and Max Braganza (both at 16-08ft)
Triple Jump – (38-01ft)

Girls
4x800 - Ava F, Caroline L, Helen W, and Brittney W (9:55.36)
1600 - Caroline Beakes (5:37)
4x200 - Shayna N, Sisan D, Chelsea F, and Alexia T (1:52.30)
400 - Brittney Wade (61:61)
3200 - Ava Farrell (12:16)
300 - Hurdles Eugenia Wilson (51:03)
800 - Caroline Leuba (2:32)
4x100 - Shayna N, Kayla F, Tatiana A, and Alexia T (55.63)
4x400 - Ava F, Laura N, Caroline L, and Brittney W (4:30.56)
High Jump – Alexia Thorpe (4-06ft)
Shot Put – Ruth Orevba (26-11ft)
Discus – Ruth Orevba (68-02ft)

The next divisional meet will be on Tuesday April 17th at Wootton starting at 3:30pm.

The winner of 'Devils' race: Beakes

Caroline Beakes, left, winner of the girls' 'Devils' race.

By Chad Young

If you ask any runner about what motivates them in a race, you’ll get a range of answers: some like you to yell at them, some like you to quietly and positively encourage them, some like to manage the race on their own without any motivational cries. Each year, the Cougar Relays is kicked off in a devilish way with a race that is meant to test your endurance, your motivation, and your desire to test and push yourself for just one more lap.

The race is called “The Devil Takes the Hindmost” where after two laps the devil, Quince Orchard Coach Seann Pelkey, pulls runners off the track that can’t stay with the pack.

In the girls’ race, Caroline Beakes and Nora McUmber sat in the middle of the pack for a mile or two until the pack thinned out. Then a front pack formed of about ten runners, and the two B-CC runners moved up to sit just behind the leaders. They were smart not to push the pace, not knowing how long the race would last. They ran mile after mile: 6:17, 6:28, 6:35, 6:25 until there were just three runners left.

Beakes took the lead, leaving McUmber and a Severna Park runner to battle for second place. McUmber was just barely out-kicked and ushered away from the track by the devil. McUmber was impressive and covered 4.5 miles in 28:45. Beakes unleashed a strong kick on the final lap and opened up a very large lead on her way to victory. She covered 4.75 miles in 30:07. Beakes’ victory was the only first place finish of the day for B-CC and is the fifth B-CC victory in that event in seven years.

In the last seven years, we have also seen an emergence of B-CC middle distance running excellence. The girls 4x800 team of Helen Webster (2:23), Ava Farrell (2:24), Laura Nakasaka (2:25) and Brittney Wade (2:16) placed second and ran the second fastest time of any BCC team in the last seven years en route to what would have been a meet record in 9:30.

The girls’ distance medley relay, Brittney Wade (1200-3:51), Laura Nakasaka (400-1:05), Hallie Jester (800-2:29) and Ava Farrell (1600-5:27) finished second as well after a tough battle with Severna Park.

The boys showed great improvement in the field events on Saturday.

Sophomore thrower Devin Doherty set a personal best in the discus by almost three feet in 71 feet 11 inches. Senior thrower Romario Newman-Latty also set a three-foot personal best in the shot put with a distance of 33 feet 8.5 inches.

Senior Michael Nyarko set a season best in the shot put with a distance of 39 feet five inches.

In the jumps, Max Braganza set a personal record in his final long jump of the day to hit 17 feet even. Kenneth Norris jumped a season best 36 feet 4.75 inches in the triple jump.

Also impressive were two B-CC freshmen who were happy †o help the team and competed in events that they didn’t think they would run.

Freshman Orlando Pinder.


Orlando Pinder, after helping complete the shuttle hurdle relay, checked in to complete the triple jump relay. With very little training in this technical event, he successfully jumped and helped to make sure B-CC’s relay team was complete. Sam Baker filled in to run a 200, a distance he has never raced, on both the 4x200 and sprint medley relay teams.

Freshman Sam Baker.

Our next meet will be at Whitman on Wednesday April 11th. Please come out and support the team.

We look forward to seeing everyone who is in town at practice this week on Tuesday and Thursday from 9:00am-11:00am at B-CC.

Enjoy your break and make sure to keep up with your training.