Since the MCPS Meet #2 was not rescheduled, the team focused on their next meet, MCPS Meet #3, which was on Dec. 26. They competed against the same 24 teams from the first MCPS meet.
This meet was scheduled in the middle of winter break so many athletes were unable to attend. This allowed other athletes, who may not have been able to participate in any other meets, to compete and test their abilities.
The mens’ team showed improvements from the first meet and performed well. In the mens’ varsity 4×400 relay, the team consisting of senior Ambrose Devine and juniors Julien Bastin, Keith Cartwright, and Shayne Brooks finished third, with a time of 3:42.81. In the mens’ 4×800 relay, the team consisting of Brooks, Bastin, and seniors Ronald Wong and Amir Van Gieson finished fifth with a time of 8:50.53.
In the mens’ varsity long jump, Cartwright finished third, jumping 19 feet 6 inches, which was his season best. Freshman Sean Kim finished 18th, jumping 16 feet 3 inches. Kim also performed well in the triple jump, finishing 12th after jumping 34 feet 3 inches, which was his personal best. Sophomore Blake Behrens finished right behind him in 13th place, jumping 32 feet 6 inches, which was also his personal best.
In the mens’ 55 meter dash, Cartwright finished 19th with a time of 7.03 seconds. Senior Sam Yi finished 25th with a time of 7.19 seconds and sophomore Osagie Aimiuwu finished 48th with a time of 7.41 seconds.
“I thought that we did well in this meet and we will continue to improve throughout the rest of the season,” Yi said.
In the mens’ 300 meter race, Devine finished 14th with a time of 38.42 seconds. Yi finished 27th with a time of 39.34 seconds and Aimiuwu finished 56th with a time of 40.77 seconds. In the mens’ 500 meter race, Brooks led the way, finishing sixth with a time of 1:10.67, which was a new personal record for him. Wong finished 22nd with a time of 1:16.33 and Bastin finished 31st with a time of 1:18.48.
In the mens’ 3200 meter race, Van Gieson finished 15th with a time of 10:48.99 and junior Jaiden Shah finished 21st with a time of 11:13.74. In the 1600 meter race, junior Zachary Blackman finished 32nd with a time of 5:12.27 and junior Brendan Bock finished 41st with a time of 5:18.06.
In the women’s 300 meter race, sophomore Grace Osman finished 15th with a time of 45.04 seconds and junior Angela Porter finished 27th with a time of 46.25 seconds. In the womens’ 55 meter dash, Porter finished 21st with a time of 7.98 seconds and Osman finished 34th with a time of 8.28 seconds.
In the womens’ 500 meter race, sophomore Pamela Elubiaozor finished 29th with a time of 1:36.21 and sophomore Nicole Parent finished 42nd with a time of 1:42.78. “Since the race was in the middle of winter break, many athletes were unable to attend. Taking that into account, I thought we all ran hard and showed some improvement,” freshman Lauren Ullman said.
With the preliminary meets out of the way, the team will now shift their focus to their next meet, the Montgomery Invitational, which is on Jan. 13, too late to be covered in this issue. Their next meet is the MCPS Championships on Jan. 17.
Ryan Ullman
Senior Sports Editor