Old Mill co-coach Leon Walters said before yesterday's final day of the state track and field championships at Westminster High School that he would be quite pleased with a top-five finish.
Walters got his wish.
The Patriots girls' team took fourth place in Class 4A, scoring 39 points to finish behind only Eleanor Roosevelt (106), Largo (46) and Frederick (41).
"Before the meet, I thought if we got 34 points we would get fifth," said Walters. "I'm very happy with what we did."
Among Old Mill's successes were Jamie Smith's win in the discus, a second-place for Renita Collins in the shot put, a third for Jackie Allen in the pole vault, a fifth for Helana Fort in the triple jump and a fifth for the 3200 relay team.
The Patriots, winners of 17 straight county and 12 straight region titles, last won a state crown in 1989.
Arundel finished 11th in Class 4A as distance runner Jennifer Ng captured a championship in the 1600 in 5: 12.56.
On the boys' side, Meade led county teams with a seventh-place finish in 4A. The Mustangs' Rico Walker took second in the shot put and third in the discus, and Malcolm Vaughn got second in the 110 hurdles and fourth in the high jump.
Arundel's Joshua Rollins won the triple jump, and Kiki Ellis of North County was second in the 100 and fourth in the 200.
Among other local teams, Mervo captured its third straight Class 4A boys title, scoring 71 points to Suitland's 66 and High Point's 62. In Class 2A, Atholton won its second straight state title, scoring 81 points to defeat Middletown's (61) and Wilde Lake's (58).
For the Raiders, this year's competition was made somewhat easier by rival Oakland Mills' lack of depth.
"This was our goal coming in," said Atholton first-year coach Chris Rohde. "We knew Middletown had some great athletes but everything came together for us. We worked really hard all season to get to this point."
When asked if Oakland Mills' rebuilding made the job easier, the Raiders' coach simply nodded.
"Yeah, it does," he said. "Sam Singleton is a great coach, but they just don't have the depth this year."
Oakland Mills, the four-time defending Class 2A state champions, finished 10th.
Leading the way for Atholton were sprinter Cian Oatts, who won state championships in the 100 and 200, Andrew Long, who posted wins in the discus and shot put, and champions Mike Eshoo (pole vault) and Keith Jefferson (triple jump and the 400 relay team.
"We set our goals early in the season, so I expected us to do this," Oatts said. "I'm real pleased with my performance today."
Third-place Wilde Lake also had plenty of reason to be pleased.
The Wildecats scored big points with wins by Dain Lewis (400) and the 800 and 1600 relay teams.
It was also a prosperous day for a couple of area girls teams. Howard took second in Class 2A while newcomer Long Reach took third in Class 1A. Howard was paced by Colleen Parker, winner of the 800 and triple jump.
Long Reach had multiple winners in Thema Napier (100 hurdles and 300 hurdles) and freshman Teyarnte Carter (100, 200 and 400).
Amber Day of Oakland Mills helped her team to a sixth-place finish by placing second in both the 100 and 200 and taking third in the 400. Though coming home with lots of medals, she said she would have preferred a win.
Other state championship teams were, in the boys competition, Frances Scott Key in 1A and Richard Montgomery in 3A. On the girls side, Smithsburg won 1A, Central 2A, and Douglass of Prince Georges County 3A.
Pub Date: 5/25/97
