Towson boys capture 1st Baltimore County indoor crown
A league title had eluded the Towson boys since Baltimore County started competing in indoor track and field in 1961.
The drought is over.
At the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore on Tuesday, Towson and Dundalk were tied with 60 points apiece heading into the final event, the 4x400-meter relay. While Hereford won the race, Towson’s quartet of Cole Weihs, Hunter Parsons, John Grandsire and Ryan Wahler took third and Dundalk finished fifth, giving the county title to the Generals.
“With all the good runners we had come through going back to the ’60s and ’70s, we never won a county title,” Towson coach Gil Stange said. “Dulaney or some other school was always just a little bit better, so it’s great for this group to do it. It’s pretty exciting.”
Towson totaled 66 points, beating out Dundalk (62) and Dulaney (53).
“It was basically our distance guys against their sprinters and field events guys,” Stange said. “Our guys came through. Our distance runners had a full slate today.”
Meanwhile, the Hereford girls continued their dynasty, winning the county championship with 97.5 points, while New Town (49) edged Overlea (45) for second.
“It never gets old. It’s fun to watch kids do well,” Hereford girls coach Brad Duvall said. “I think this is 16 in a row for us. It’s crazy.”
Towson’s boys were powered by a 1-2-3 finish in the 3,200. Max Abubucker won the race in 10 minutes, 32.98 seconds and teammates Kieran Mischke and John Fields followed him across the line. Abubucker, Fields, Parsons and Grandsire won the 4x800 (8:58.35).
Dundalk got wins from Isiah Tancemore in the 55 hurdles (7.88), Qaiyon Prioleau in the pole vault (11 feet. 6 inches) and the 4x200 team of Prioleau, Jerome Patterson, Andre Wilson and Keon Braxton (1:37.58). They won the race by .38 seconds over New Town.
Milford Mill’s Daysen Shell and Dulaney’s Tyler Dailey each won two events, as Shell took the 55 dash (6.65) and 300 (37.87), and Dailey won the 800 (2:05.35) and 1,600 (4:32.61). Wheeler won the 500 (1:11), Franklin’s Miles Taylor won the high jump (5-10) and Carver A&T’s Jesus Flores took home gold the shot put (44-8).
Hereford’s team of Grant Gobell, Jake Weakland, Jack Nicholson and Ben Wheeler won the 4x400.
In the girls meet, Hereford got wins from Scarlett Seitz in the high jump (4-8), Savannah Tamberino in the pole vault (9-0) and the 4x800 team of Lily Moore, Ridley Lentz, Isabella DeSantis and Seitz (10:54.72).
“We’re running really well in the distance events right now and getting better in the other areas,” Duvall said. “Rebekka Hillier really stepped up to another level for us. Our high jumpers really stepped up.
“We had a freshman [Caroline Daily] clear 4-8 today; she’s really getting better. [Seitz] is a second-season high jumper. She just
started doing it in the spring and has had very little training. It’s cool to see some of our kids developing . ... Those field events are where we can supplement what we can do on the track distance-wise.”
Overlea’s Temi Ariyo won two events, taking titles in the 1,600 (5:23.93) and 3,200
(11:43.74). Overlea also picked up a win from Mariam Sanni in the 800 (2:31.06). New Town won the 4x200 and 4x400 relays. The 4x200 team of Lourdes Perry, Kam’Ryn Fontaine, Kaylyn Johnson and Kayla Turner won in 1:52.09. Alyssia Quick, Perry, Johnson and Jamira Bonner won the 4x400 in 4:24.18.
Other winners were Catonville’s Makayla Hunt in the 55 (7.61), Woodlawn’s Nikiyah Williams in the 300 (43.77), Carver A&T’s Nadira Cantey in the 500 (1:23.22), Western Tech’s Oluwatunmishe Olunuga in the 55 hurdles (9.47) and Patapsco’s Sadatu Cole in the shot put (30-9).