Class 3a

Howard County had a day to remember at Saturday's cold and chilly state cross country meet at Hereford. River Hill swept the Class 2A state crowns; Glenelg took the Class 1A boys; and Howard captured the Class 3A girls title. Wilde Lake finished second - just one point behind Bethesda-Chevy Chase - in the Class 3A boys, and Joey Thompson (Howard) and Kyle Andrews (Oakland Mills) won individual titles on the hilly course. "It's kind of a special thing to be able to do this," said River Hill coach Earl Lauer.

River Hill made no secret of its goals for this cross country season. The Hawks wanted to sweep the Class 2A boys and girls state championships. Howard County schools dominated the state meet yesterday at Hereford. Glenelg's boys won the Class 1A title while the Howard girls took the Class 2A crown. Kyle Andrews of Oakland Mills won the Class 2A race in 16 minutes and 33 seconds. But the biggest moments came in the afternoon when the No. 3 River Hill boys and the No. 6 girls pulled off the sweep they so badly wanted.

LANDOVER -- The fourth-ranked North Carroll girls made school history last night. Katie Hursey won the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs and played a large role in the Panthers winning the Class 3A-2A state championship at the Prince George's Sports & Learning Complex. This was the school's first indoor track state title. North Carroll won the state title after capturing the Carroll County, Monocacy Valley Athletic League Chesapeake Conference and the Class 3A-2A West regional crowns. The Panthers got Hursey's two victories plus Jess Huber's win in the pole vault and a relay victory to help compile 50 points, beating Annapolis and Largo, which were tied for second with 34. North Carroll coach Jim MacDonald said his team had a good mix of first-place efforts and points from other events.

Mount Hebron's Liz McCarter and Katie Hursey of North Carroll waged another battle in a state championship race yesterday. The teammates-to-be at Syracuse met in the Class 3A 3,200-meter final, and McCarter pulled away for an impressive victory at Morgan State. McCarter had beaten Hursey in a mild upset in the Class 3A state championship cross country race last fall, using a kick that the North Carroll senior couldn't answer. Hursey then topped McCarter in this past winter's Class 3A-2A 1,600 state title run. The two were close throughout the first half of yesterday's race before McCarter made her move on the fifth of the eight laps.

BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR Dino Gregory Mount St. Joseph Gregory averaged 14.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots in leading the second-ranked Gaels (25-8) to second place finishes behind No. 1 Towson Catholic in both the Baltimore Catholic League and the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference. The 6-foot-8 senior post player, who had committed to Maryland before his junior season, was a guiding force for a young Gaels backcourt, whose inexperience put added pressure on him offensively.

The Wilde Lake girls soccer team could not have given Dave Procida any more effort in his final game as its coach. The No. 5 Wildecats came back and came back until they could come back no more in last night's state Class 3A championship. After battling Urbana to a 2-2 tie through two overtimes, the Wildecats finally fell, 4-2, in a penalty-kick shootout at Broadneck. In regulation, the Wildecats (15-4) rallied from 1-0 down to take a 2-1 lead in the 77th minute. In the shootout, they came from 3-0 down to pull within 3-2 before Urbana's fifth shooter, Kelly Mohns, scored the game-winner.

FREDERICK -- Wilde Lake forward Faryn Watts was the smallest player in front of the Catonsville goal before a corner kick in the second half of yesterday's Class 3A state semifinal game. That the 5-foot-1 senior headed in the free kick sent toward the near post by Caitlin Duff couldn't have come as a surprise to the No. 9 Wildecats, who have overcome a tough early schedule and key injuries. Watts scored with 28:59 left in the second half, and the Wildecats' defense handled the rest to come away with a 2-1 win over the No. 10 Comets in steady rain at Tuscarora.

For the second consecutive year, the John Carroll girls soccer team found trouble in the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference semifinals. St. Vincent Pallotti knocked off top-seeded John Carroll, 1-0, on Nov. 1. The Patriots fell to Archbishop Spalding in last year's semifinals. Spalding and Pallotti went on to win the championships. The double-overtime loss to Pallotti left the Patriots with a season-ending mark of 17-5. John Carroll had beaten Pallotti, 2-1, in the regular season, but the Laurel school scored the game-winning goal off of a corner kick in the second overtime.

BOYS // FIRST TEAM Erik Adami North Carroll The senior showed what a versatile track and field athlete could do for a team. Adami captured first place in the pole vault, high jump and discus to help the Panthers to their first Carroll County title. He also finished third in the shot put at the meet. Adami won the high jump and pole vault at both the Class 3A North regional and the state meet. Zach Brown Wilde Lake A standout in three sports, Brown closed out his high school career with another fine season this spring.

For most, the grooming started years ago in recreation leagues on Baltimore County's west side where neighborhood coaches taught spindly legged boys how to play the seams and snap a pigskin.Years later, a handful of peewee players turned brawny young men, members of rival football teams at Randallstown High School and Milford Mill Academy, will meet tonight to decide bragging rights big enough to last them a lifetime.Both teams -- the Milford Millers and Randallstown Rams -- are drooling at a chance to become this year's Class 3A state champion.

The poll Compiled by sports staff after consulting with coaches 1. Centennial: Coach: Larry Schofield. Last season: 20-0, ranked No. 1. Postseason: Class 3A state champion. Outlook: After going wire-to-wire as the top-ranked team last year and winning the Class 3A state title, Centennial returns most of its lineup as it tries to win a 15th state title. The Eagles graduated four starters from last year but have more than enough talent to replace them. 2. Broadneck: Coach: Scott Graf.

Players to watch Samantha Brostrom: Centennial, hitter, junior Brostrom, a first-team All-Metro player, controlled the net while leading the Eagles to the Class 3A state championship as a sophomore. Her leadership will be instrumental if Centennial is to repeat. Liz Brown: Centennial, hitter, junior The other half of Centennial's twin towers with Brostrom, Brown was a major reason the Eagles lost only three games last year. Her soft hands and defensive skills are critical to Centennial's success.

3 Metro-area schools that won state titles last year (Broadneck, Class 4A; Centennial, Class 3A; Liberty, Class 2A). 5 State titles won by both No. 2 Broadneck and No. 1 Centennial this decade, more than any other school in Maryland. 6 Howard County schools in the preseason poll.

PERFORMER OF THE YEAR Katie Harman River Hill Despite being one of the state's top distance runners in cross country and indoor track, Harman wasn't as dominating outdoors last spring. She was often finishing second to younger teammate Anna Demaree and others. But what many didn't know was that 2008 was her first season of outdoor track, as Harman had played lacrosse her first two springs at River Hill. Coach Earl Lauer said the change to outdoor last year started her transformation into an elite outdoor runner.

PERFORMER OF THE YEAR Graham Bazell Atholton There was no question that Bazell was the top distance runner in the area after he won the Class 3A state title in cross country and followed with a strong indoor season. But everything started to fall apart for the senior early in the spring season. The Stanford-bound Bazell began to get pain in his legs, and also had to battle fatigue. It took a while, but doctors finally figured out that he had a low potassium level and told him to eat about three bananas daily to get back to normal.

The No. 3 Meade boys and No. 5 Western girls needed just a few events to turn everything around late in Saturday's state track and field meet at Morgan State and come away with championships. Meade rallied from a 12-point deficit with four events left to repeat as the Class 3A state champion. Western got 20 points in one event to break open a four-team battle and run away with its Class 3A crown at Morgan State. Western was dueling No. 3 Hereford, No. 4 Catonsville and Paint Branch for the top spot in Class 3A when Brinae Robinson won the 800 meters in 2 minutes, 17.61 seconds.

Atholton track standout Graham Bazell battled a mysterious illness for part of the spring season that caused him to experience pain in his legs and suffer from fatigue. He was told by doctors that he had a low level of potassium. The solution? Eat bananas. He began eating three a day and found himself getting better. Rounding back into form, Bazell didn't slip on any banana peels at the state track and field championships Friday night at Morgan State. He ran away from the field to win the 3,200 meters in a Class 3A-record time of 9 minutes, 13.27 seconds.

Ashley Bruns scored six goals during No. 4 Mount Hebron's 22-4 victory over visiting Reservoir on Wednesday to surpass Cathy Reese's school record for goals in a single girls lacrosse season. Bruns, who has 95 goals this year, also notched five assists for Mount Hebron. Jess Giles, Julianne Giles and Kerianne Allen each added four goals for the Vikings, who will face Annapolis in the Class 3A-2A state semifinals. NO. 6 ANNAPOLIS 7, STEPHEN DECATUR 5:: Jody Cumberpatch scored three goals and added an assist to carry the visiting Panthers over the Seahawks in the Class 3A-2A East regional final.

Stephanie Speierman threw a no-hitter, broke a state record and helped the No. 7 Hammond girls softball team advance to the Class 2A South regional semifinals by beating visiting Patuxent, 3-1, on Monday. Speierman (15-2) gave up one run and two walks, and struck out 15, which pushed her career total to 1,351 to best previous record-holder Megan Elliott of Calvert with 1,345. No. 3 Chesapeake-AA 7, Leonardtown 0: : Lauren Gibson (11-2) pitched seven innings, gave up five hits and struck out 10 to lift the Cougars (16-2)

COLLEGE PARK -Back in mid-November, there was an impressive collection of talented basketball players who came together at Lake Clifton, both new and old to the program. It took no time for the individuals to effectively merge into a team, playing as one from the very beginning of the season. And now - after 28 consecutive wins and the program's second state title under 12-year coach Herman "Tree" Harried - the No. 1 Lakers can call themselves special in a history-making way. With its 75-50 win over Friendly in yesterday's Class 3A state championship game at Comcast Center, Lake Clifton became the third Baltimore team to complete an undefeated season since the city schools began competing in the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association in the 1992-93 season.