Lackey, McDonough, Westlake top region at indoor meets
Lackey girls, Westlake boys win 2A East indoor meet; McDonough boys take 1A East Region crown
LANDOVER — As they have throughout the indoor track and field season all winter, the Lackey High School girls and Westlake High School boys made quick work of their opposition on Monday evening to capture their respective Class 2A East Region championships at the Prince George’s Sports & Learning Complex.
Further bolstering the dominance of Charles County runners at the meet, the McDonough boys team pulled away from Surrattsville of Prince George’s County to attain the 1A East Region crown.
The Lackey girls accumulated 121 points to nearly double that of runner-up North Caroline (66) of Caroline County, while Westlake (29) finished seventh, one spot ahead of Southern Maryland Athletic Conference foe Calvert (25). Patuxent (23.5) finished 10th, while La Plata (5) was 14th of 15 girls squads who scored.
Among the Lackey runners, junior Dominique Jeffery tuned up for the upcoming 2A state championships at the same venue with a trio of victories. Jeffery edged senior teammate Sydney Williams in the 300-meter dash (40.21 seconds) by a half of a second, nipped
her again in the 55 (7.32) by six one-hundredths of a second, then just outlasted North Caroline senior Elizabeth Walston to prevail in the 500 (1 minute 21.84 seconds) by 21 one-hundredths of a second.
“In the 300, I was mainly just going out there and trying to go as hard as I could,” Jeffery said. “I got off to a fast start and I was able to get a big lead. I was ahead early in the 500, but I really had to pump my arms to keep going. That was a lot harder. But now I feel like I’m in a good spot for states.”
Williams did later prevail in her signature event, the 55 hurdles (8.44) by nearly four-tenths of a second over senior team- mate Nikiya Mitchell. The Chargers 1,600 relay quartet of freshman Day- nah Desir, junior Destiny Thompson and sophomores Erin Pearson and Taylor Williams (4:14.59) triumphed, while junior Courtney Hawkins suc- cessfully defended her ti- tle in the shot put (39 feet even) with senior team- mate Elysse Jackson tak- ing second (34 feet 5 1/2 inches).
Westlake’s boys dis- played their prowess again in the sprints as well as the distance events to win the team title with 121.50 points, with Lackey in second at 56.50. Calvert was eighth with 23 points followed by La Plata in ninth with 19, Patuxent 14th with seven and Stone 15th with two.
Wolverines senior Will Moton defeated teammate Thomas Alcorn in the 300 by almost a second (35.05), then Alcorn drew clear from sophomore teammate Justin McIntyre to capture the 500 (1:06.45) by nearly four seconds. Moten also edged Lackey junior Justin Green in the 55 (6.52) by 12 one-hun- dredths of a second.
“We’ve been competing for the same team ev- ery year since the sixth grade,” Alcorn said of his friendly rivalry with team- mate Moten. “We were running against each other in middle school, in club and now in high school. We just keep pushing each other to keep getting better. If we keep improving, then we know the team wins and team titles will come.”
Westlake was equally as strong in the various relays. In the 800, seniors Anthony Johnson, Alcorn, Tobias Hurley and Moten combined to prevail in 1:32.01, over two seconds ahead of Lackey’s quar- tet of junior Justin Green and seniors Tevin Thom- as, Jonathan Wood and Tre Gulley. Later, Moten, McIntrye, Hurley and Alcorn combined to capture the 1,600 (3:34.08) by more than five seconds over Lackey juniors Joshua Redden and Demetrius Sims and seniors Wood and William Chambers.
While Moten and Al- corn dominated the sprints for Westlake, Wol- verines junior Jay Hall enjoyed a big lead early and then just outlasted Kent Island’s Brandon Nichols by seven-tenths of a second to prevail in the 1,600 (4:37.70), then later he drew off from Calvert sophomore Justin Diehl to capture the 3,200 (9:51.17) by more than 12 seconds.
“I thought I was going along pretty easily in the 1,600,” Hall said. “I want- ed to get out in front and maintain the pace. I didn’t know how close [Nichols] was getting until I heard some of my teammates yelling to pick it up. In the 3,200, I felt pretty good. I knew Justin was behind me the whole time, but I felt strong.”
In many of the SMAC meets this winter, McDonough had been overshadowed by Charles County rivals Lackey and Westlake, but it garnered a fair share of the spotlight Monday evening. The boys easily captured the 1A East Region title with 111 points, 39 better than Surrattsville, thanks to the efforts of junior Hezikiah Hawkins, senior Ricardo Oliva, Brant Butler and Avaughn Holley.
Hawkins edged Oliva by three one-hundredths of a second in the 300 (37.60), Butler prevailed in the 55 hurdles (8.06), then Hawkins edged Holley in the 55 dash (6.66) by six one-hundredths of a second. Oliva, Hawkins, Butler and Holley combined to capture the 800 relay (1:35.34). Holley also won the high jump (6-2), while junior Jonathan Thompson captured the shot put (39-2).
McDonough’s girls placed fifth with 44 points behind champion Surrattsville, which won with 102. Sophomore Alliayah Ottley placed second in the 300 (44.71), while the 800 (1:55.25) and 1,600 relays (4:38.63) also picked up runner-up finishes.