All-anne Arundel County Varsity

football

COACH OF THE YEAR

Russ Meyers

Southern

Meyers led the Bulldogs (8-5) to their first state semifinal since 1993. The 11th-year head coach of the county's only 2A school - which plays 3A and 4A schools in nine of its 10 games - transformed a 3-7 team into a playoff team. The Bulldogs were 6-2 on the road, including a pair of victories on the Eastern Shore over previously unbeaten teams to win the Class 2A East regional. Southern knocked off Queen Anne's (20-12) and Wicomico (20-19) to advance to the state semifinals. In the team's fourth playoff appearance in five years, the Bulldogs were defeated 28-13 by No. 3 Edmondson (13-1) in the 2A state semifinals.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER

Jake Trantin

Archbishop Spalding

Trantin, a force on both sides of the football at running back and linebacker, rushed for 1,094 yards and 12 touchdowns on 118 carries (9.3 average). He also had two other scores for county-leading totals of 14 touchdowns and 84 points to lead the Cavaliers (11-0) to a repeat Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference title. Only the third private school player to win the Rhodes Trophy given for 48 years to the county's best all-around player, Trantin, 6 feet 2 and 220 pounds, had the power to run over people and the speed (4.6 seconds in the 40-yard dash) to outrun defensive backs. On defense, Trantin led the Cavaliers in tackles (117).

DEFENSIVE PLAYER

Eric Foote

Southern

Foote, 6 feet 3 and 250 pounds, had 90 tackles and six sacks despite teams running away from him. A two-way player, his defensive presence was a major factor in the Bulldogs' run to the Class 2A state semifinals and its 6-4 record against larger 4A and 3A schools in the county league. Offered scholarships to James Madison and Towson University, Foote used his power and 4.58 speed in the 40-yard dash to gain 1,104 yards rushing with 17 touchdowns.

boys cross country

RUNNER OF THE YEAR

Matthew Centrowitz

Broadneck

The senior capped his career by again sweeping the county, regional and state titles. It's the third consecutive year he has done that, and nobody came close to him. He missed some races this fall due to recruiting visits, but the Oregon-bound senior wasn't affected.

Centrowitz capped everything by winning easily in the Class 4A state title race, running away from everyone fairly early, and then finishing fifth in a Northeast regional to qualify for the Foot Locker national title race in San Diego.

COACH OF THE YEAR

Patrick Kiley

South River

The Seahawks tightened the local competition this year, putting more pressure on Broadneck. Kiley had some good runners back but also had some underclassmen who helped the Seahawks take second in the county, third in the region and ninth in Class 4A

South River also ran well all season at tough meets, and improved during the season. The Seahawks finished second at the Meade Classic, fourth at the Knights Invite and seventh at the Spiked Shoe.

The team

Name School Class

John Brungot South River Junior

Jeremy Buyer Broadneck Junior

Matthew Centrowitz Broadneck Senior

Matt Gelety Chesapeake Senior

Chris Moody South River Senior

Trevor Keen Arch. Spalding Junior

J.P. Reddinger Severna Park Junior

Zach Sullivan Arch. Spalding Sophomore

Rob Wetzel Arch. Spalding Senior

Malik Zafar Meade Senior

Note -- Team selected by Jeff Seidel after consultation with The Sun staff and area coaches.

Girls cross country

RUNNER OF THE YEAR

Liya Kasimova

Severna Park

The junior had a big year and helped lead the Falcons to another state title. She has been one of the county's best runners since her freshman year and was consistent in the big races.

Kasimova won the county, finished third in the regional meet and ended up fifth in the Class 3A run at the state meet. She'll be one of the state's top runners next year.

COACH OF THE YEAR

Ed Purpura

Severna Park

He has a bigger talent pool than competitors, but Purpura also knows what to do with it. That was especially evident this year, as Severna Park had many younger runners.

He could use two squads at times and gave Severna Park's runners needed experience. It all paid off, as the Falcons swept the county, regional and state titles for the second straight year.

The team

Name School Class

Sadie Dempsey Severna Park Freshman

Kendall Farnham Severn Freshman

Mary Fromme South River Sophomore

Miranda Heater South River Sophomore

Kelsey Hill Severna Park Sophomore

Liya Kasimova Severna Park Junior

Kelsey Kenealy Severna Park Sophomore

Hillary Lee South River Freshman

Colleen Randolph St. Mary's Freshman

Tait Woodward Broadneck Senior

Note -- Team selected by Jeff Seidel after consultation with The Sun staff and area coaches.

Field Hockey

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Amanda Himmelheber

Severna Park

It would be difficult to find a player more skilled than the Falcons' senior midfielder. Rarely flashy and always businesslike, Himmelheber didn't always get the goal in the end, but she did a lot of the transition work to spark the offense.