Central Region

Runner of the YearBeth Santilli, River Hill, Jr.: She won her first county (19: 55) championship and also won the Class 1A Central region (20: 32) championship before finishing third (21: 05) at the state meet, 41 seconds behind the winner. Her state time was the fastest among all Howard County runners.Other Santilli victories included invitationals at Pallotti and William and Mary. She finished second at the Harford Invitational and third at the Howard County Striders Invitational. She won the county meet just six days after suffering an enlarged windpipe and hyperventilating at the Georgetown Invitational, where she was sixth.

The Maryland Department of the Environment on Tuesday extended a drought watch to western Maryland and parts of central Maryland. A drought watch was already in effect for the Eastern Shore since April 13. The drought watch includes all of Harford and Carroll counties and parts of Baltimore and Howard counties, as well as Frederick County and points west. It doesn't include areas that get water service through Baltimore city. MDE issues a drought watch when at least two indicators show developing drought conditions.

If coach Sam Singleton's favored Oakland Mills boys indoor track and field team successfully defends its state title today, the trophy presentation will be bittersweet for Scorpions fans. Singleton, who has coached five indoor state champions at the Columbia school, yesterday was named football and track coach at Reservoir High, which opens in southern Howard County in August. "It's a great opportunity that I'm excited about," said Singleton, an assistant football coach at Oakland Mills from 1988-2000 and track coach since 1992.

Beverly Walenga is serving as interim chief executive officer for the Central Maryland Regional Transit Corporation, the corporation announced last week. Walenga has been at CMRT for 15 years and is currently the director of Finance and Administration. The former CEO, John W. Powell Jr., is the new Howard County administrator for the Office of Transportation. According to a statement released by CMRT, the transit company has a $15 million annual budget and carries close to 2 million riders on 17 routes in the city of Laurel and portions of Anne Arundel, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George's counties.

Lt. Larry Faries, commander of the state police barracks in Westminster, will move up but not out today when he attains the rank of captain."It was my career goal to make captain," Faries said yesterday. "It's kind of been lurking in the background for a while. It's a real grin. I couldn't be happier."In his new role and rank, he will serve out of Westminster and in uniform as the assistant to the commander for the central region, which includes Carroll, Howard, Prince George's and Montgomery counties.

BOYS PERFORMER OF THE YEAR Julius Coleman Mervo, junior Few athletes made a bigger splash on the track scene than Coleman. A cross country runner during the fall, Coleman's versatility ranged from the 500 to the 1,600. Proficient enough to win the 1,600 at the Baltimore City (4 minutes, 45.3 seconds) and Class 3A-2A Central Region (4:38.8) championships, Coleman's primary event was the 800. He proved that in January when he won the 800 at the Montgomery Invitational in a school-record 1:55.

Home values nationwide increased by 5.7 percent in the first quarter of 1998, according to the Conventional Mortgage Home-Price Index released by Freddie Mac.The index also showed that home-price appreciation increased 5.5 percent from the first quarter of 1997 to the first quarter of this year.Regionally, the South Atlantic Division, which includes Maryland, had an annualized growth rate of 7.6 percent for the quarter, and home values increased 6.2 percent for the last 12 months.For the last five years, the region has had an increase of 19.9 percent.

The Maryland Department of the Environment on Tuesday extended a drought watch to western Maryland and parts of central Maryland. A drought watch was already in effect for the Eastern Shore since April 13. The drought watch includes all of Harford and Carroll counties and parts of Baltimore and Howard counties, as well as Frederick County and points west. It doesn't include areas that get water service through Baltimore city. MDE issues a drought watch when at least two indicators show developing drought conditions.

BOYS PERFORMER OF THE YEAR Charles Devaud Archbishop Curley, senior Devaud's contributions were as wide and varied as the events in which he competed. Regarded as the No. 4 Friars' best athlete, Devaud participated in six events this winter. For the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association championship meet, he concentrated on four - the 55-meter hurdles, pole vault, triple jump and 800 relay. Devaud walked away with MIAA crowns in two of those events, winning the hurdles in 7.6 seconds and the pole vault with a mark of 13 feet.

A band of seven children is taking over the world. Youths from Clemens Crossing Elementary School in Columbia are attacking continents, oceans, asteroid caves - even a space station. Although it sounds as if they are playing a computer game, their task is far more complex. They recently performed a game of their design at the Maryland Destination ImagiNation Festival of Creativity. Destination ImagiNation (DI), an international competition, promotes creative problem solving. The nonprofit group creates five new "challenges" each September.

Kiesha Haughton Smoots has taught dozens of low-income women in Baltimore how to write a business plan and get their ventures off the ground. She has bid on federal contracts for a woman-owned information technology company and run her own small-business consulting firm. In Prince George's County, she helped entrepreneurs get loans, land government contracts, increase sales and create jobs. But these days, banks are less willing to lend, consumers are cutting back and many small businesses are struggling from week to week to stay afloat.

BOYS PERFORMER OF THE YEAR Julius Coleman Mervo, junior Few athletes made a bigger splash on the track scene than Coleman. A cross country runner during the fall, Coleman's versatility ranged from the 500 to the 1,600. Proficient enough to win the 1,600 at the Baltimore City (4 minutes, 45.3 seconds) and Class 3A-2A Central Region (4:38.8) championships, Coleman's primary event was the 800. He proved that in January when he won the 800 at the Montgomery Invitational in a school-record 1:55.

BOYS PERFORMER OF THE YEAR Charles Devaud Archbishop Curley, senior Devaud's contributions were as wide and varied as the events in which he competed. Regarded as the No. 4 Friars' best athlete, Devaud participated in six events this winter. For the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association championship meet, he concentrated on four - the 55-meter hurdles, pole vault, triple jump and 800 relay. Devaud walked away with MIAA crowns in two of those events, winning the hurdles in 7.6 seconds and the pole vault with a mark of 13 feet.

A band of seven children is taking over the world. Youths from Clemens Crossing Elementary School in Columbia are attacking continents, oceans, asteroid caves - even a space station. Although it sounds as if they are playing a computer game, their task is far more complex. They recently performed a game of their design at the Maryland Destination ImagiNation Festival of Creativity. Destination ImagiNation (DI), an international competition, promotes creative problem solving. The nonprofit group creates five new "challenges" each September.

If coach Sam Singleton's favored Oakland Mills boys indoor track and field team successfully defends its state title today, the trophy presentation will be bittersweet for Scorpions fans. Singleton, who has coached five indoor state champions at the Columbia school, yesterday was named football and track coach at Reservoir High, which opens in southern Howard County in August. "It's a great opportunity that I'm excited about," said Singleton, an assistant football coach at Oakland Mills from 1988-2000 and track coach since 1992.

Uh-oh, don't look now, girls, but there's a new kid on the block. C. Milton Wright, its indoor track program measured in weeks, not in years or decades, busted onto the scene at the girls portion of the 4A-3A Central Region meet at the 5th Regiment Armory last night by beating the best the city and Anne Arundel and Carroll Counties had to offer. Its margin of victory? A 76-75.5 win over Westminster, with perennial city champ Western third (64.75) and Broadneck fourth (55.75.) "Vagabonds, that's what we are, coming in here and stealing off with a victory," CMW co-coach Murray Davis said.

Linganore's Joe Seetoo was honored as the 1994 Scholar-Athlete of the Year last night at Martin's West, and no one had to ask why.Especially anybody around Carroll County who watched Seetoo run for seemingly endless yards in his spectacular Central Maryland Conference football career.The lasting memory of Seetoo this past season came after a tough victory over South Carroll, during which the talented running back broke loose in the second half for some long runs that carried Frederick County's Linganore to a 14-10 victory.

It becomes relatively easy to win a multi-team track meet when you have the likes of Joel Brown and Clevon Johnson on your squad as Woodlawn High does.In the Central Region 3A-2A qualifying meet for next week's state championships yesterday at the 5th Regiment Armory, Brown and Johnson piled up five victories (50 points), which was nearly enough to win the meet.Brown tripled in the hurdles (7.5 seconds), the 55 dash (6.5) and the 300 (38-flat) while Johnson ruled the mile (4: 45.5) and half mile (2: 06.6)

About 300 boys and girls, representing 16 high schools from Baltimore City and Anne Arundel County, vied at the 5th Regiment Armory last night in the Class 4A/3A Central Regionals for berths in the state championships in a couple of weeks.As hard and as well as they competed, they ended up serving as a chorus line for a half-dozen of their teammates who put on spectacular performances.How spectacular?Take Victor Thillet, a wisp of a lad from Old Mill, for instance.The junior distance man, who has been running track for just two years, won the mile in 4: 38, the two-mile in 10: 14.5 and the 800 meters in 2: 05.4.