Area athletes win 9 titles at Class 1A state track and field meet; Alco girls place 2nd

LANDOVER — Carter Hess and Brandi Gochenauer completed their three-peat runs, MaeLeigh Plummer won two state titles, Lydia Nelson won one and Avery Miller completed a historic three-year run at the state track and field championships. Maryland Class 1A air this week in Landover.

The Camper girls team placed second overall, their best finish in school history.

“Placing second at state is a true accomplishment and a testament to what these young women are made of,” said Allegany girls track and field coach Katie Rice. “They show up to practice every day ready to work hard and continue to build on their successes.

“No one is complacent and satisfied with their current situation. They dig deep and find that little extra it takes to be champions. We are fortunate as coaches to have these young women in our athletics program and the future is bright.

Allegany’s Miller, who won four individual events last year, became the first girl in the 52-year history of the Maryland Outdoor Track and Field Championships to win the maximum four events twice.

She won the 100m (12.03), 200m (24.65), 400m (55.30) and long jump (18′ 10.5″), setting personal bests in all three running events with a dominant average margin of victory of 1.59 seconds. She also won the long jump by more than two feet.

“I went into the races knowing I was the top seed, so I was confident,” Miller said. “We worked so hard to prepare ourselves physically. I knew I just had to run my race like I always do.

“When I won the long jump for my fourth victory, I was relieved. It was harder mentally this year but easier physically. Coach (George) Brown and Coach Rice prepared us really well. I felt strong.

Miller finishes his junior season with 10 individual outdoor track and field titles. Only Hammond’s Kisha Jett and Walter Johnson’s Sally Glynn sit above Miller in the all-time rankings for career state titles. She will have a chance to surpass them as a senior. Jett and Glynn became collegiate All-Americans at Florida and Stanford, respectively.

Fort Hill’s Hess was no less dominant in the discus. His winning throw of 189′ 3″ is the second best in boys’ competition history, regardless of class, and the farthest ever recorded in Class 1A.

Only Vikas Gowda’s 200′ 2″ heave for Frederick in 2001 was longer in Maryland history. It was also a personal best for Hess of 17 feet.

“This discus state championship definitely feels a little more special than my previous two,” Hess said. “Getting second all-time at Maryland wasn’t my initial goal coming into the season, but I saw an opportunity to improve my throwing and I peaked at the perfect time.

“It was an honor to be able to compete all four years of high school and I am beyond grateful for the support I received from everyone throughout the season. Especially my coach for letting me practice whenever I could, propelling me to another gold medal.

The future Fordham football player completed an incredible senior season in which he also won state titles in football and wrestling.

The Sentinels’ Plummer also won two state titles. She won the triple jump with a mark of 36′ 10.75″ and the high jump at 5′ 2″. She also picked up points by finishing fifth in the long jump (15′ 8.75″).

“The first day I was really determined to finish third after second. I was in second place for a while until my last jump in the final,” Plummer said of the triple jump event. “I was so excited because I thought I had ruined everything myself with the way I landed.

“The second day was a little more difficult, but I gave it my all for the high jump. I had incredible competition that didn’t make things easy. I’m really happy that I was able to win gold for my county and represent well.

Gochenauer, a Towson commit, threw 36′ 2.5″ to win her third straight state title in the shot put. She also finished second in the discus (114′ 8″).

“I thought my win was a great way to end my senior season and it was an honor to win my third state championship in the shot put,” Gochenauer said. “Even though I finished second in the discus, I am happy that I was able to break my school record in my last competition as a high school student.”

Northern’s Nelson, a University of Maryland, Baltimore County signee, won gold in the 1,600 (5:11.77). She finished second in the 800m (2:19.37) and fourth in the 3,200m (12:01.43). She teamed with Kaylee Bowser, Emma Hostetler and McKenzie Upole to take third place in the 4×800 relay (9:55.22).

Athletes earn points for their team by finishing in the top eight in an event, and Allegany girls’ 79 points put them second behind Smithsburg, which scored 112.

Sierra Campbell added to the Campers’ total by finishing second in the long jump, third in the triple jump and sixth in the high jump. Myia Miller earned a sixth-place finish in the pole vault and the 4×800 team of Morgan Trautwein, Morgan Ruggles, Ellena Nelson and Sophia Valois finished seventh.

“Obviously their main story is always about Avery Miller, and rightfully so,” Coach Rice said. “However, there are so many talented student-athletes on the women’s team. … We’re hoping to do some recruiting from schools next season, because I’m sure there are some girls that can help us round out our program even more.

The following area athletes also earned points for their teams:

Boys

• Andrew Highland, Allegany, shot put (3rd), discus (3rd)

• Ackerly Mulcaster, Mountain Ridge, 1,600m (4th), 3,200m (8th)

• Dae Dae Smith, Allegany, triple jump (4th), long jump (8th)

• Mountain Ridge 4×800 Relay by Landon Sweitzer, Austin Simpson, Mulcaster, Owen Pratt (4th)

• Andrew Ketterman, Mountain Ridge, discus (5th), pole vault (8th)

• Zach Haberlein, Mountain Ridge, long jump (5th)

• Mountain Ridge 4×100 Relay by Noah Blank, Eli Cooper, Ethan DeRiso, Haberlein (6th)

• Allegany 4×100 Relay by Smith, Macello Kitchen, Brody Williams, Jacob Salonish (7th)

• Fort Hill 4×400 Relay by Landon Sensabaugh, Nick Willison, Hamilton, Chase Lamb (7th)

• Liam Hamilton, Fort Hill, 300m hurdles (8th)

• Mountain Ridge 4×200 Relay by Cooper, DeRiso, Haberlein, Will Patterson (8th)

Girls

• Mountain Ridge 4×400 Relay of Emma Michael, Rizzo, Sydney Snyder, Kealana Pua’ali (2nd)

• Ella Bennett, Fort Hill, high jump (3rd)

• Sophia Brill, Mountain Ridge, 1,600 m (4th), 3,200 m (8th)

• Mountain Ridge 4×800 Relay by Snyder, Brylee Gray, Fiona Ruddell, Brill (4th)

• Mountain Ridge 4×100 Relay by Reese Rizzo, Annabeth Hughes, Allie Knieriem, Layla Miller (5th)

• Carolyn Hughes, Mountain Ridge, 100 hurdles (6th), 300 hurdles (6th)

• Reghan Sivic, Mountain Ridge, pole vault (6th), triple jump (8th)

• Brenly Hershberger, Fort Hill, drive (7th)

• Kaylee Bowser, North, long jump (8th)

• Abby Butina, South, 400 m (8th)

• Abbi Beeman, Southerner, discus (8th)

Note: If any area athletes who earned points were not included above, email [email protected]