Indoor Track

Alexis Franklin tried to carry Old Mill to an Anne Arundel County championship by herself, but she couldn't quite do it. The Ohio State-bound senior won four events - setting meet records in three - but Ashley Hayes and Michelle Nelson helped the No. 8 Severna Park girls capture their first team title Tuesday night at the Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex. Still, Old Mill had a good night as the girls finished fourth, and its boys easily repeated as county champions.

The junior long sprinter won two races in record time and anchored the 1,600-meter relay victory in leading Western Tech to a second-place finish in the Class 1A state girls indoor track championships. Dorsey's times in the 500 meters (1 minute, 16.16 seconds) and the 800 meters (2:20.18) were Class 1A records and both were the fastest times run in any classification in last week's state finals. In addition, she joined Tori Taylor, Alexandria Willridge and Jayla Gaines to finish in 10:05.74 in the relay.

During the winter of her freshman year, Liberty's Brittany Arndt looked for a way to stay in shape until lacrosse started in the spring. She just couldn't decide on the right path. A few of Arndt's friends surprised her with the suggestion that she should try indoor track. She didn't know a whole lot about the sport, but it seemed like a good idea. Arndt would be able to do plenty of running that would prepare her for lacrosse season. The decision proved to be a smart one. Arndt quickly realized indoor track helped her in many ways, and she really liked it. Now a senior in her fourth year running during the winter, Arndt is glad she took up the sport.

The senior won four individual events and set three meet records last week at the Anne Arundel County Indoor Track Championships at the Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex. Franklin set meet records in the 55-meter hurdles (8.19 seconds), 300 meters (40.24) and 500 meters (1:17.66). She also won the 55-meter dash, a race she had never before run at the county meet. An All-Metro runner indoors and out, Franklin won state titles last year in the 55-meter hurdles indoors and the 300 and 500 meters outdoors.

The senior continued his run of fine performances by winning four events - the 55 hurdles (7.82 seconds), the long jump (20 feet, 6 inches), the 300 meter dash (35.62) and the 800-meter relay - at last weekend's MIAA League meet. Miles' performance helped the Gaels to a share the regular season championship with Gilman. Coach Jack Peach said Miles, who has a 3.3 GPA, is a natural athlete. "You could probably put him in any event and he would win," Peach said. Miles is considering a number of colleges, including Morgan State.

BOYS PERFORMER OF THE YEAR Tristram Thomas McDonogh With two All-Metro Runner of the Year honors in cross country on his resume, Thomas clinched his first Performer of the Year award in indoor track with his dominance in distance runs in the metro area. The senior did not lose a single event to a Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association rival this winter, capping his untainted campaign by collecting MIAA crowns in the 800 (2 minutes, 4.52 seconds), 1,600 (4:28.39) and 3,200 (10:01.

The Western girls and Digital Harbor boys both had little trouble in repeating as champions in Tuesday night's Baltimore City indoor track championship meet at the Fifth Regiment Armory. Western captured its third consecutive title, finishing with 107 points to beat out Northwestern (80). The Doves now have won 21 of the last 22 city championship meets. For the boys, Digital Harbor (100.25 points) easily beat out Poly (67) for a second straight title. Genae Butler played a big role for Western, winning the 800 meters and running on the Doves' victorious 1,600 and 3,200 relay teams.

The Dons' standout continued his strong junior season with another dominating performance in Friday's 12-team Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association group meet at Prince George's County Sports and Learning Complex, capturing two individual events and taking part in a winning relay. Cunningham, in his first season indoors after competing in outdoor track and field for the first time last spring, won the long jump and triple jump Friday, was a member of the 800-meter relay team and also took fourth place in the 55-meter dash.

The Hereford girls have won six straight Baltimore County indoor track and field championships and regional titles three of the past four winters. But the Bulls had never captured a state title. The No. 3 Bulls ended that drought Tuesday night when they outlasted Milford Mill to win the first indoor state title in school history. The Bulls scored 65 points to beat the Millers (54) and win the Class 3A championship at the Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex. "This has been our goal all season," Hereford coach Brad Duvall said.