Last Weekend the MPSSAA 3A State Championships took place. What was supposed to be a two-day championship meet was squeezed into one very long 14 hour day! Despite the challenging conditions, our athletes stepped up and competed with the best of the best in Maryland!
The Lady Gators finished 5th overall in the 3A State Classification and was the second Howard County Team.
In the 100m Dash, Jamie Adams and Sophie Davidson, both qualified to the finals running 12.11 and 12.56 respectively! In the finals, Sophie finished 7th with a time of 12.58s (her PR is 12.44s) and Jamie won the 3A State meet with an amazing time of 11.91s (School record). Jamie’s gold medal-winning time of 11.91 in the 100 meters final is the third-best time ever recorded by a Howard county runner in the state championships.
“Adams set the Gators program mark in the 100 meters with her championship heat performance. Only Long Reach’s Funmi Alabi ran faster times in the 100 in the championship, running a 11.83 in ‘07 (finished 2nd), and a 11.81 in ‘09.” (HoCo HS Sports Almanac ~ Willie Sean Coughlan)
In the 200m Dash, Jamie was also the headliner for not only the Gators, but for the State Championships. Her strength and speed were a deadly combination. She ran 25.07 in the prelims to qualify to the finals. Later in the day, she came back to run 24.22s (School Record). Jamie’s time in the 200m dash was the fastest time a county runner has ever run in the State championships.
“Adams time in the championship heat was the fourth fastest time ever run by a county runner in the 200 meters, trailing only Hammond great Kisha Jett’s regional championship and state semifinal times in her senior year in ‘94, at 23.60 and 24.14, and Wilde Lake’s Jamila Brown’s 24.21 in the ‘14 county championship.” (HoCo HS Sports Almanac ~ Willie Sean Coughlan)
In the 300m Hurdles, Kani’a Dozier had a great day as well! She PR’s by a full second to crack the 50s barrier. She ran 49.93 to finish 10th overall at her very first state championships. Currently she is the 11th fastest Gator in history! Next year, I expect that she will move up the rankings quite a bit!
In the High Jump, Shelby Foulks jumped 4-10. Her PR is 5-0 which she has achieved twice this season. She has gained confidence and is an amazing leader for the Gators! With her jump of 4-10 she finished 11th, but expect amazing things out of this young lady!
In the Long Jump, the Gators were represented by Mecca Jackson and Margot Laughner. If you asked either of them how things went, you may not get much out of them. They are both very hard on themselves and work extremely hard. Margot jumped 15ft 11in which is only 5.5in off of her personal best. She finished 12th. Mecca jumped 15ft 8.75in. She has an amazing personal best of 17ft 4.25in so look for her to fly through the air next year! Mecca finished 14th.
In the triple jump, Kiersten Jewell jumped 34ft 0.75in. Her personal best jump of 34-6 was right there, she was so close to popping a big jump at states! She has improved almost 2ft in just a year in the triple jump! Kiersten finished 10th.
The girls 4x400m Relay was composed of three underclassmen and one senior distance runner. Leilah Clark (Senior) and then Cambel Howard, Bella Pereira and Kani’a Dozier ran a great time of 4:23.18. They finished 15th, and they represented very well and fought hard for the Gators at the end of a very long day!
The girls 4 x 200m Relay of Kani’a Dozier, Sophie Davidson, Jamie Adams, and Mecca Jackson rolled to the teams second best time of the season, 1:42.11, for second place at the State Championships. Their time was the second fastest time in School History. The best part is that the same foursome smashed the school record at Regionals with a time of 1:41.44, which is also the fastest time in Maryland.
The Girls 4 x 100m Relay of Mecca Jackson, Sophie Davidson, Shelby Foulks, and Jamie Adams ran not only a school record in the 4x100m relay of 48.44, but also won the State Championships! This is the third fastest time in Maryland this season!
The Boys represented Reservoir very well! The boys finished tied for 7th. Our guys knew we had more in the tank to give. Dylan Bradford, one of our standout Senior Sprinters, tweaked is his hamstring in the 4x100m relay at Regionals and could not participate despite having a ROCKSTAR Regional Championships. Dylan was missed, but his guys took care of business with quite a few stepping up!
Despite Jalen Booth-Mitchell dealing with a very sore and at time painful hip flexor issue, in the 100m Dash, Jalen Booth-Mitchell, cruised to a 10.78s qualifying time to earn a spot in the finals. He ran 10.74s in the finals for 2nd place! Jalen has run 10.44s which is Maryland’s second best time for the 2022 Outdoor season.
“Despite not winning, senior Booth-Mitchell’s 10.74 time was the fourth fastest time posted by any county runner in the 100 meters state championship, within one-tenth of a second from former Wilde Lake star Zach Brown’s 10.67 record time in the ‘06 state championships. Long Reach’s Tosin Ayewole’s 10.68 in ‘14, and Oakland Mills Cameron Vareen’s 10.73 at the ‘18 state championships, are the only other faster times recorded by a county runner in the championship heat.” (HoCo HS Sports Almanac ~ Willie Sean Coughlan)
In the 200m dash, Jalen rolled to a 21.70 qualifying time to the finals and finished 2nd in the finals with a time of 21.72. His season best of 21.46 is the Maryand’s 5th fastest time.
“Booth-Mitchell’s time in the 200 meters finals was the seventh fastest time by a county runner in the championship heat in 40 years. Again, despite not winning.” (HoCo HS Sports Almanac ~ Willie Sean Coughlan)
In the 3200m run, Kidus Zeleke has had better days! He is a phenomenal runner with PRs of 4:34 in the 1600m and 9:49 in the 3200m. He was looking good for the first mile or so of his 3200m effort, but a stomach issue prevented him from having his best race. No Worries Kidus, we know you got more in the tank!
In the Discus throw, Ryan Betts, matched his personal best throw of 122ft to finish 10th. Ryan, a first year thrower, only starting throwing due a groin injury earlier this season. However, he quickly rose through the ranks and finished ranked 6th in the county. With 3 of the top 6 graduating, Ryan will be chasing the top spot!
In the Long Jump, Michael Payne, jumped 19ft 1in to finish 13th. His personal best of 20ft 9in had him ranked as the 9th best jumper in Howard County this season.
The boys 4 x 200m relay of Sam Akinrebiyo, Jalen Booth-Mitchell, Jonathan Kukuruku and Xavier Maple ran 1:29.69 to finished 2nd overall at the State Championships. Their season best of 1:27.68, which they ran with Dylan Bradford, at Regional is a new school record!
The boys 4 x 100m may have been the biggest surprise of the day! When Dylan pulled up due to his hamstring at Regionals, the team almost didn’t qualify, but Dylan fought to the line and earned the boys a chance to run at the State Championships. The boys, from the slow heat, put up a Season’s best time of 43.39 and just missed a State Championship by 0.02s. Myles Harrington, Jalen Booth—Mitchell, Xavier Maningault and Xavier Maple ran great!
I also want to take a moment to thank a few folks:
Bobby Gessler: my right hand man! Thank you for all that you do for the team and how you support the kids. No one does it better!
Eric Schuler, Rhys Ziemer and Laura Guenin: Thank you for all your help with the distance kids and providing support to the team!
Meghan Smith: I know you got thrown in last minute, but thank you for stepping up and helping with the Hurdlers and coaching with me. As one of my former athletes, it was great to have you helping out!
Matt Cox: Thanks for helping out for a few days! The kids loved you and hopefully we can get out out more often!
Tyrone Hickson: You have been by my side and for more than a decade now! You constantly show the throwers that they are capable of so much! You always do a great job! Thank you for all that you do for the team!
Mekhi Landon: Words can not even describe what your support and involvement has meant to me and the team. Thank you for stepping up at a moment’s notice to help and support the team. You were once one of my athletes and it was great working along side you!