Region track & field: Smithsburg girls win 1A West team title

Friday

Day 2 of the Class 1A West championships ended in triumph for the Smithsburg girls, who captured the team title for the first time since 2015, a week after they won their first Washington County championship in seven years.

Next week, they’ll try to join that 2015 team as state champions.

“Being region champs is special,” Smithsburg coach Adam Rudy said. “If you want to build a good program, you’ve got to win regionals. It’s a stepping stone to get to states, but it feels good to win it.”

The host Leopards scored 139.5 points. Fort Hill finished second (96) and Allegany took third (90) in the 13-team field.

“Allegany and Fort Hill are going to be really competitive at states, so to be able to beat them as a team … our kids, they ran like champions,” Rudy said. “On Wednesday, I sat them down and said, ‘We’ve got to bring it. We’ve got to have the energy.’ And the girls responded really, really well. I’m proud of them.

“We’ll see what next week brings,” he added. “There’s some tough competition down there. Largo is really, really good, and Fort Hill and Allegany have some superstars, but we’ll see what we can do. We’ve got a team full of freshmen, so the future is bright.”

On Friday, the Leopards again were led by senior Lexi Zimmerman, who placed first in the 200 (26.62), second in the 400 (1:00.60) and third in the 100 (13.15). She also anchored the 4x400 relay team to a runner-up finish (4:17.27).

The top two finishers in each event in each region meet advance to next week's state championships, along with the next top-eight performers from all regions in each class. Athletes also can qualify by meeting the state meet performance standards.

Washington County’s other champion Friday was Smithsburg junior Cameron Rejonis, who won the boys 400 in 50.62 seconds. He also automatically qualified for states by running 2:03.46 in the 800 to place third. He’s the defending state champ in both events.

Friday’s second-place finishers included Boonsboro’s Gabby Cook in the girls high jump (5-0) and, for the Smithsburg girls, Jenna Howe in the 200 (26.92), Alexis Hymes in the 100 hurdles (17.15), Taylor King in the 300 hurdles (50.83) and the 4x100 relay team of Amanda Hawbecker, Howe, King and Alaina Pate (51.48).

Ten other county athletes automatically advanced by meeting the performance standards — Boonsboro’s Caroline Matthews (5:25.82) and Smithsburg’s Kayla Hawbecker (5:33.25), who placed third and fourth in the girls 1,600; Hancock’s Aidan Faith, who took third in the girls long jump (15-8 1/2); Boonsboro’s Yasmine Marriott (32-2 1/4), Hancock’s Joslyn Foltz (31-9 1/2) and Boonsboro’s Kaitlyn Queen (31-2 1/4), who placed fourth, fifth and sixth in the girls shot put; Smithsburg’s Liam Fisher, who took third in the boys 1,600 (4:39.43); Smithsburg’s Owen Brophy, who was fifth in the boys pole vault (10-7); and Smithsburg’s Kyle Dwinnells (127-0) and Clear Spring’s Jairik McCauley (126-2), who placed fourth and fifth in the boys discus.

The state championships will be held at the Prince George’s Sports & Learning Complex in Landover. The meet begins May 26 for 1A and 2A and May 27 for 3A and 4A. It concludes May 28 for all four classes.

Thursday

Washington County athletes won five events during Day 1 of the Class 1A West championships, including three by host Smithsburg.

For the Leopards, Sean Milligan took first place in the boys 3,200-meter run in 10:05.17, while Jenna Howe, Taylor King, Amanda Hawbecker and Alaina Pate teamed up to win the girls 4x200 relay in 1:48.76, and Ella Fisher, Kayla Hawbecker, Cora Gentzel and Grace Ellis won the girls 4x800 in 10:05.78.

Boonsboro’s Caroline Matthews won the girls 3,200 in 11:34.12, and Clear Spring’s Tyler Josenhans placed first in the boys high jump at 5 feet, 11 inches.

The top two finishers in each event in each region meet will advance to next week's state championships, along with the next top-eight performers from all regions in each class.

Second-place finishers included Boonsboro’s Michaela Carney in the girls pole vault (8-3) and Smithsburg’s Cameron Rejonis, Milligan, Liam Fisher and Kyle West in the boys 4x800 (8:28.49).

Athletes and relay teams also can qualify by meeting the state meet performance standards.

Seven county athletes earned state berths by meeting those standards.

For Boonsboro, Kaitlyn Queen placed third in the girls discus at 97-4.

For Hancock, Aidan Faith placed third in the girls triple jump at 33-3 3/4, and Joslyn Foltz finished sixth in the girls discus at 91-1.

For Clear Spring, Jacob Faith took third in the boys high jump at 5-11, and Jairik McCauley placed eighth in the boys shot put at 43-2 1/4.

For Smithsburg, Kayla Hawbecker placed fourth in the girls 3,200 in 12:38.61, and Kyle Dwinnells was seventh in the boys shot put at 43-7.

Wednesday

South Hagerstown's Cole Schlotterbeck won the 3A West boys 100-meter dash in 11.04 seconds and the 200 in 22.28 during the second day of competition at Oakdale.

The top two finishers in each event in each region meet will advance to next week's state championship meet, along with the next top-eight performers from all regions in each class.

North Hagerstown's Ryder Johnston placed second in the boys 300 hurdles in 41.72.

Athletes and relay teams can also qualify by meeting the state meet performance standards. North's Lauren Stine took fifth in the girls 1,600 in 5:17.16, getting under the qualifying standard of 5:23.25. South's Kaleb Dillow placed fifth in the boys 200 in a personal-best 22.81, better than the qualifying standard of 22.92.

North's girls 4x800 relay team was third in 10:08.76. South's boys 4x400 relay placed fourth in 3:33.23.

In 2A West, Williamsport's Joseph Rodriguez earned a state spot by placing second in the boys discus with a throw of 119 feet, 6 inches.

Mia Parker placed third in the girls 100 hurdles in a personal-best 17.14 seconds, and the Wildcats girls 4x100 relay placed fifth in 56.18.

Tuesday

North Hagerstown's Alex Duncan and Jake Scallion secured state championship spots with second-place finishes on the first day of the 3A West meet at Oakdale.

Duncan placed second in the boys 3,200 in a personal-best 9:44.71. Scallion finished second in the boys long jump, clearing 20 feet, 7 inches.

The top two finishers in each event in each region meet will advance to next week's state championship meet, along with the next top-eight performers from all regions in each class.

Athletes and relay teams can also qualify by meeting the state meet performance standards. Scallion met the high jump standard on the number by clearing 5-11, placing third. In 3A West girls action, South Hagerstown's Rebecca Tellez placed third in the 3,200 in a personal-best 11:36.83 and North's Lauren Stine was fourth in 11:46.00 — each getting under the 11:57.51 qualifying standard.

North's girls 4x800 relay team placed third in a season-best 10:08.75 and South's Ethan VanMeter placed fifth in the boys shot put (42-0½).

In 2A West, Williamsport's Joseph Rodriguez placed fifth in the boys shot put (41-8½).