Eagles team up to capture meet

Centennial wins Howard Invitational on tiebreaker; Meade wins soccer opener

By the narrowest of margins, Centennial was crowned meet champion at the Howard County Invitational on Saturday while Howard settled for runner-up. Following these two juggernauts from the county were Atholton in the fourth place with 108 points and then River Hill (fifth), Glenelg (sixth), Reservoir (seventh), Mt. Hebron (10th), Marriotts Ridge (11th) and Long Reach (15th).

“They understand a situation where if the sixth-place girl is kind of struggling a little bit, the next girl totally understands, ‘OK, I have to do this. I have to step up. I have to make sure that I’m there, and I have to do the job for my girls,’” Centennial girls coach Kevin McCoy said. “They’re so close and so tight and they adopt the family atmosphere so well. It’s just beautiful to watch.”

Seniors Alison Betler and Cora Blount earned fifth and seventh, respectively, to lead the way for Centennial, while the Lions relied on a trio that co-coach Zachary Dickerson said could be the best in the state.

On the boys side, Loyola Blakefield secured the team title with 109 points and Severna Park (119 points) was the runner-up, with Howard (121), Liberty (129) and Oakdale (157) rounding out the top five.

Dickerson was pleased with the Lions’ third-place finish. After losing five of their top seven runners from last year’s county championships team, including Runner of the Year Nick Deamer, the Lions have reloaded thanks to veteran leadership and talented underclassman. Senior Alex Strawley paced the group with a ninth-place finish (16:38.92).