Putman, Sawadogo lead 4A North track qualifiers

Sawadogo matched the county’s best 400-meter dash time of the season, winning the event in 49.60 seconds. He also took second in the 800 run to qualify for states in that event, as well. Other boys event winners from the county were Blake’s Kyle Gaffney (3,200), Springbrook’s Joffrey Alcidor (long jump) and Uchenna Ahaghotu (shot put), and the Sherwood 4x800 relay team.

Ahaghotu took fourth in the discus throw to qualify for states in a second event. Sherwood’s Chris Barnard took second in the 3,200 and third in the 1,600 to qualify in both events. On the girls’ side, Warrior teammate Arleigh Rose will compete at states in both the shot and discus, and three girls relay teams qualified.

The field at the 4A North Region meet mostly consisted of teams from the Baltimore area. Blake, Sherwood and Springbrook were the three county teams to compete. In the team standings, Sherwood led the county contingent for both girls (fourth) and boys (third).

Cham’s the man in 3A West track

Einstein’s Salifu Cham followed up his dominating performance in the 100-meter dash at the Montgomery County Championships by adding the Class 3A West Region title last weekend at Urbana. Cham added the regional long jump title, and the Titans boys qualified for states with a win in the 4x100-meter relay and a runner-up finish in the 4x200.

Meanwhile, the Bethesda-Chevy Chase duo of Elias Tousley and Chris Bowie owned the distance events, finishing first and second, respectively, in both the 1,600 and 3,200. Tousley also finished second in the 800 to qualify for states. Also on the boys side, Seneca Valley’s Jamal Lynn was second in the 100 and first in the 200, while Paint Branch’s Quadell Spratley took first in the 400 and third in the 200. Paint Branch won the 4x400 relay, and B-CC the 4x800. The Barons took second in the team rankings, 16 points back of champion Linganore.

Einstein’s Shakira Raheem and Paint Branch’s Arielle Statham were the county’s only individual winners on the girls side, and each posted two victories. Raheem won both hurdle events, the 100 and 300 (where the Titans went 1-3-4), while Statham won the 400 dash and the long jump. Statham also helped the Panthers win the 4x400 relay. Kennedy was the county’s best team finisher, tying host Urbana for third with 59 points. Tuscarora (106) won the title.

Clarksburg track sends horde to 2A states

The Clarksburg track and field program will have plenty of state-championship experience coming back next season, as its bevy of underclassmen had a very successful Class 2A West Region meet this weekend.

The Coyotes will send a total of six relay teams out of a possible eight, boys and girls, to Morgan State for this weekend’s state meet. They qualified in the 4x200-, 4x400- and 4x800-meter relays, boys and girls.

Sophomore Avery Graham, a surprise second-place finisher in the boys shot put at the Montgomery County Championships, was the only Clarksburg athlete to qualify in two individual events. In addition to the shot put, he will also compete in the high jump this weekend.

The other Clarksburg boys individual qualifiers were Petros Bein (110-meter hurdles), Michael Leaman (300 hurdles), Myles Daughtry (400), Estefan Beltran (long jump) and Tony Woo (triple jump). Going to states for the girls will be Courtney Clark (200), Jenna Smith (1,600), Paige Harris (long jump) and Turquoia Johnson (shot put).

Poolesville girls narrowly second in 1A South meet

The Poolesville girls track and field team came up a handful of points shy of the Class 1A South Region track and field title last weekend in Baltimore City, but came away with plenty of state qualifiers.

The Falcons earned 112 team points to finished second behind Digital Harbor (130). They won regional titles in the 4x400- and 4x800-meter relays, and took second in the 4x200. Individually, they will send five different athletes in eight events. Holly Defnet qualified for three — the triple jump, shot put and discus. Emily Furr won the triple jump and finished second to teammate Olivia Durr in the 300-meter hurdles. Durr also took second in the 100 hurdles. Ashleigh Nesselt won the discus throw and Sara Armstrong qualified with a fourth-place finish in the 400-meter dash.

The Poolesville boys finished fifth in the team standings, with a total of 39 points. Austin Keech and Jason Stinner each qualified for states in two events, and freshman David Wilson will join them after finishing third, just behind Keech, in the 3,200.

The meet, held at Merganthaler Vocational in Baltimore, was comprised mainly of Baltimore-area schools. Northwood, technically a Class 2A school, also competed in the meet due to a special MPSSAA alignment, but did not score.