Lions roar in cross country
The Howard High School girls cross country team has set a new standard for its dominance.
The Lions placed seven runners in the top 10 at the Howard County girls cross country championship at Centennial High School on Wednesday to set what is believed to be a record with a title-winning score of 17 — only two points more than the minimum.
“Anytime you win Howard County, you have to be proud,” said Howard coach Zack Dickerson. “This is a very tough county to win in, and to win the way we did, I couldn’t be more proud.”
The Lions were led by Amanda Eliker en route to their second straight county crown. Eliker, a senior, crossed the finish line first with a time of 18 minutes, 36 seconds — nearly 40 seconds better than any other runner. She was followed by teammates Nimrit Ahuja (second), Sara Kindbom (third), Jasmine Wilson (fourth), Emily Gorny (seventh), Madison Radford (eighth) and Ella Werdell (10th).
In the boys race, River Hill’s Anish Nanjappa set the Centennial course record at 15:21 to lead the Hawks to the county championship.
“We placed second the last two years to Howard, so to win it this year is exciting,” said Nanjappa, who beat the previous record set by Arundel’s Tanner Piotrowski earlier this season at the Howard County Invitational.
The Hawks won with 37 points — 34 ahead of second-place Centennial. Paul Hugus’ squad placed four runners in the top 10. Joshua Galindo finished sixth, while
Awais Khan and Sean Krein placed eighth and ninth, respectively.
Boys soccer
No. 1 Archbishop Curley 3, Boys’ Latin 0: Jalen Anderson scored the first two goals and Anthony Schlee had the third as the host Friars (14-2-1, 11-1 Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference Black Division) shut out the Lakers (2-12, 1-11).
No. 2 McDonogh 5, Dulaney 0: Vince Petrera had a goal and three assists to lead the host Eagles (12-4-1) over the Lions (7-9). Connor Smith made a save in the shutout for McDonogh.
No. 3 Mount Saint Joseph 6, St. Paul’s 1: Brett Callahan had a hat trick to lead the host Gaels (12-3-1, 8-3-1 MIAA A Red Division) over the Crusaders (2-11-1, 2-10). No. 15 Gilman 1, Archbishop Spalding 0: Jack Stuzin scored 13 minutes into the game on a pass from Johnny Melancon and Grant Farley made a big save in the final minute to preserve the win for host Greyhounds (9-7-1, 5-8 MIAA A Red Division). The Cavaliers fell to 4-11, 3-9. Gilman will face No. 5 Loyola Blakefield in the quarterfinals.
Hammond 2, Atholton 1: The last time Hammond won a playoff game, the current seniors were in sixth grade. It was 2013 when the Golden Bears beat McDonough on the road 3-0, but they had since lost five straight playoff openers. The streak came to an end Wednesday as Hammond (6-9) came from behind to beat visiting Atholton to advance to the second round of the 3A East, Region II playoffs.
Severn 1, Annapolis Area Christian 0, OT: The host Admirals (10-7-1, 9-6 MIAA B) got their third straight win, beating the Eagles (8-9-1, 6-8-1).
Glenelg Country 1, St. Mary’s 0: The host Dragons (6-12,-1, 3-12-1 MIAA B) broke a three-game losing streak and beat the Saints (5-8-3, 4-8-3).
Boys golf
Dulaney wins: The Lions won the Baltimore County Golf Championships with a
No. 1 Archbishop Spalding 1, Maryvale 0: Lindsay Beardmore scored in the first half and the visiting Cavaliers (17-2-1, 7-1 Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland AConference) shut out the Lions (5-12, 0-8).
The victory marked the Cavs’ 11th straight win and third straight shutout. Maryvale suffered its fourth straight loss.
Roland Park 3, St. Paul’s 1: Peyton Woodward scored two goals and Shannon Smith had a goal and an assist to lead the visiting Reds (7-8, 2-5 IAAMB) over the Gators (2-8, 1-6). The game was tied 1-1 in the first half. Roland Park has won three games in a row. Severn 1, John Carroll 0, OT: Libby Wild scored the unassisted game-winner to lift the host Admirals (11-4-1, 4-2-1 IAAMB) over the Patriots (9-5, 3-4). Wild took the ball to the circle on a breakaway, drew the goalie to slide left and shot into an open goal.
Girls volleyball
Hereford 3, No. 14 Dulaney 1: Hereford won its second straight Baltimore County title in a rematch of last year’s championship match. The Bulls (11-4) prevailed 25-21, 23-25, 25-23, 25-18 at No. 14 Dulaney (11-4).
The Bulls, who rallied to win the first set after trailing 13-6, were led by the hitting of Lily Gaffney (nine kills), Olivia Armstrong (seven kills) and Cindy Parker (six kills). They also got strong setting from Emma Clark and passing from Emma Thompson and Autumn Welsh.