Records Fall at 2014 Maryland Indoor State Track Championships
Jackie McNulty of Oakdale High School setting a new all-time MD state record pole vault at 12’7″ – 2/17/14 in Landover, MD – picture credit: Wayne Lee Dutrow
(Note – This article will focus on the 2A girls. Another will follow soon covering the 2A boys and the 1A boys and girls.)
The winter season state championships for the MPSSAA got underway Monday with the 1A and 2A indoor track meet at the PG Sports Complex in Landover, MD. And records fell like the snow – everywhere you looked!
The girls 2A team title was claimed by Western Tech over Largo 64-61, in a meet that came down to the final 1600-meter relay. The Lady Lions of Largo won the race in 4:05.35 … just off their 2A state record (2012) of 4:05.00. But immediately behind was the Western Tech team in 4:06.38, preventing a larger points swing and thus securing the team victory.
Leading the way for Tech girls from Catonsville were seniors Sharon Dorsey and Rebeka Holt, who accounted for 46 points together. Dorsey was 1st in the 300 and the 500, and she placed 4th in the 800. Holt was 3rd in the 300, 4th in the 500, 2nd in the 800, and anchored the 2nd-place 4×400. Dorsey will be taking her talents to George Mason University, while Holt will run for the University of Memphis.
Sarah Rinehart leads Hayley Wright (7) and Meggan Grams (4) in the Maryland 2A 1600-meter run. Photo by author
One of the most anticipated races of the meet was the 1600-meter run. The qualifying times from the Western Regional were very fast, and the girls did not disappoint. Meggan Grams of Boonsboro took the lead in the third lap, with teammate Haley Wright and top-seeded regional champ Sarah Rinehart of Liberty on her heels. They went through 800 in 2:33 and 1200 in 3:51. Rinehart made a strong move on the backstretch of the final lap and gained the lead around the last turn, sprinting in to a new 2A state record of 5:04.53 – breaking the three-year-old record of Hannah Oneda, the current NCAA All-American in cross country at Johns Hopkins University. Wright took second in 5:06.46 and Meggan Grams third in 5:07.45. We can look forward to a repeat next year, as Rinehart and Grams are juniors, while Wright is a sophomore. Liberty coach Bobby Ward said, “Sarah has been improving each year. She ran a 5:23 her freshman year, and then brought it down to 5:09 in outdoor last year.”
A new all-time state record was set by Jackie McNulty of Oakdale High School of Frederick County. She vaulted 12’7” to better her teammate’s (Emma King) record set just last year at 12’6” (the picture at the top is of the state-record vault). And Isabella Laurel of South Carroll HS tied a 2A state record with a high jump of 5’8” – which is just an inch off the all-time MD record of 5’9”.
The Poolesville girls 3200-meter relay team opened the meet with a near miss at a new 2A record, posting a time of 9:46.17 … just .47 off the 10-year-old record of a great relay team from Glenelg. Hereford and Oakdale were close behind in 9:48.19 and 9:48.29 – again, showing the depth and quality of track and field in Maryland 2A.
Molly Offstein of Mountain Ridge on her way to the MD 2A 3200-meter state championship. Photo Credit: Wayne Lee Dutrow
The Offstein girls of Mountain Ridge High School in Frostburg, Maryland took home gold medals in the 3200 and the 800. Winning first in the meet was sophomore Molly Offstein in 11:03.70, while Madison (a senior) took the 800 gold in 2:18.02. In the strong 3200 field, Haley Wright of Boonsboro took the lead pack through the first 1600 in 5:33. But Offstein ran a steady pace with a negative split that helped her pull away at the end. “I was supposed to kick with 800 to go, then with 400 to go, but, oh well, but I really just wanted it,” she said. When asked about how she trains for distance in the polar climate of Frostburg, the first-year runner said, “I go to the gym a lot and do a lot of treadmill running. And I also do the Insanity workouts and stairs in the school; and then I run outside when I can.”
Maggie Sullivan of Boonsboro won the 55-meter hurdles in 8.47 for her third consecutive indoor gold medal in the event. The senior won the same race in the 1A division in 10th and 11th grades.
Here are the final team scores and the winners of the 13 events …
1. Western Tech – 64; 2. Largo – 61; 3. Liberty – 59; 4. Oakdale – 44; 5. Middletown – 43; 6. Boonsboro – 42; 7. Hereford – 33; 8. Mountain Ridge – 25; 9. Poolesville – 16; 10. Harford Tech – 13.
55-meter hurdles – Maggie Sullivan, Boonsboro – 8.47
55-meter dash – Kara Patrice, Liberty – 7.24
300-meter dash – Sharon Dorsey, Western Tech – 40.96
500-meter run – Sharon Dorsey, Western Tech – 1:17.17
800-meter run – Madison Offstein, Mountain Ridge – 2:18.02
1600-meter run – Sarah Rinehart, Liberty – 5:04.53
3200-meter run – Molly Offstein, Mountain Ridge – 11:03.7
800-meter relay – Largo – 1:46.77
1600-meter relay – Largo – 4:05.35
3200-meter relay – Poolesville – 9:46.17
Shot Put – Favour Ihekwene, Largo – 39-01.25
High Jump – Isabella Laurel, South Carroll – 5-8
Pole Vault – Jackie McNulty – 12-7