PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
Lindsay Grigoriev
Atholton
From age 8 to 11, Grigoriev, who is part Russian, dreamed of being a star gymnast and maybe competing in the Olympics. Those dreams vanished when she grew too big for that sport. As she watched her older sister compete in track, she replaced those dreams with different ones. "My sister's team wasn't too good, and I always said I could help them. Watching her is how I got into track."
It was a fortuitous conversion, and her dreams of someday making the Olympics now appear closer to reality.
Not many high school athletes ever set a national record at the prestigious Penn Relays. Grigoriev did. She won the discus with a toss of 151 feet, 10 inches, her personal best and one that earned her a No. 14 national ranking.
"The discus is the most fun," she said. "It's effortless, but exhilarating."
And not many athletes win three gold medals and set two state records at the state meet. Grigoriev did. Her Class 2A record-breaking discus toss sailed 146-3. Her 2A record-setting shot put was heaved 41-6 1/4 , a personal best. Her performances in those events topped all classifications by far at the state meet.
If that wasn't enough, the junior won the 100-meter hurdles in 15.27 seconds, and ran on a third-place 1,600 relay team to lift the Raiders into a fourth-place state finish.
At regionals, she led her team to third place by winning the discus, shot, 100 hurdles, and running in the winning 1,600 relay.
Another record fell at the Howard County meet with a shot put of 40-3. She also won the discus and earned bronze medals in the 100 hurdles and 1,600 relay. Her best hurdles time was 14.8 at Walkersville.
Grigoriev has a 3.43 grade-point average, and although it's too soon to pick a college, she likes North Carolina and Florida State.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Jerry Molyneaux
Western
A native of the British Virgin Islands, Molyneaux represented them in the 1984 Olympic Games in the 800 meters after graduating from Morgan State.
With that background, the physical education teacher built a successful track program at Western since taking that coaching job in 1988.
During his tenure, the Doves had won 13 straight city titles but not a state title. Until this year.
In dramatic fashion, Western defeated Largo in the final event, the 1,600 relay, to outlast the Prince George's County team for the Class 4A state championship by five points. It almost didn't happen that way, because Doves sprinter Alicia Williams nearly lost her shoe at the start of the second leg, but she and the Doves recovered and caught Largo along the final stretch.
"This team had a vision that it would win states," he said. "It had chemistry and was good in a lot of areas. Almost every girl did exactly what they were supposed to do at states."
Western also won the state 3,200 relay, breaking a school record with a time of 9:16.74, second best in state history to Eleanor Roosevelt's 9:15.64.
FIRST TEAM
Alana Black
Wilde Lake
The senior ran the fastest 1,600 meters (5 minutes, 2.90 seconds) among all Baltimore-area runners at the state meet, but still lost for the first time this spring in that event. Black finished second in Class 3A, losing to Susan Hendrick of Patuxent (Calvert County) by 0.60 of a second. She won the 1,600 (5:06.8) and 800 (2:20.9) at the Howard County championships and repeated as champion in both events at regionals.
Black had a breakout indoor season, winning the county, region and state 1,600 titles. She'll attend Elon (N.C.) College on an academic/athletic scholarship.
Novia Brown
Milford Mill
NCAA Division I programs are beginning to take notice of this junior sprinter, who had a breakout season during the indoor track season when she led her team to the Class 3A-2A title and was selected The Sun's Performer of the Year.
In her second season of outdoor track, she went undefeated in the 400 meters, winning the 3A state title by running her fastest time (a school-record 55.46 seconds) and leading her team to a fifth-place finish. It was the second-fastest 400 time at the state meet. She missed a Baltimore County 400 record by .01 of a second.
Late in the season, the junior began running the 200 and won the region and finished second in the state. She anchored the 1,600 relay that won county and region titles and was second in the state.
Lauren Centrowitz
Broadneck
One of two sophomores to make first-team All-Metro, the Anne Arundel County Performer of the Year will have a lot to remember as she relaxes for the summer. She was also Performer of the Year in indoor track and cross country, producing a rare hat trick.
A dominant 1,600-meter runner, she won that event at the county, region and Class 4A state meet, and posted the second-fastest time (5 minutes, 3.2 seconds) among Baltimore-area runners behind Wilde Lake's Alana Black (5:02.90). Centrowitz won county and regional titles in the 800 as well, but finished fifth in the state in that event.
Jeanette Curtis
Mount Hebron
