As Blair gained ground, the bench quieted. Finally, the Blazers crossed the finish line second, Severna Park erupted in a mix of celebration and respect for just how close things became with their rivals at the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex. The final tally had the Falcons winning with 46.5 points, and Blair the runner-up with 45.
“Coming into this, obviously you want it, and we knew it was going to be an all-out situation,” Severna Park senior Liam Hagerty said. “We’ve been getting doubted for the past three seasons, and we wanted to prove them wrong.”
The difference needed came earlier in the day, when Hagerty won the 3,200 meters in 9 minutes, 35.70 seconds ahead of teammate Christopher Nunn in second. That race rocketed the Falcons from the middle of the pack to first. And thanks to another first-place finish in the 4×800, it was enough to defend their boys’ 4A title.
The girls’ side became a race for second as Blake, Old Mill and Severna Park pushed ahead behind a dominant Urbana. Led by junior Brooke Cochran’s win in the 300 (39.85), plus some strong relay performances, Blake won the battle, finishing with 38 points and taking home the second-place trophy behind Urbana (65).
The battle for the 3A title was no less stressful. Northern’s girls took the lead early by taking the top two spots in the shot put from senior Annie Campbell with 38 feet, 3 inches, and a second-place throw from Gabby Cope with 36 feet, 9 inches.
“We overanalyzed the crap out of our opponents,” Campbell said. “We were checking their stats all the time and we’re like, ‘Oh, we can throw this person off just by being good.’”
Securing 18 of a total 60 points in that event alone, the Patriots held off a final push from Mount Hebron to secure the girls’ 3A title.
Northern’s boys, heading in the narrow favorite, had their work cut out for them after star runner Jordan Tuck had a less than ideal sixth-place finish in the 300. Tuck said that early result took a hit on his mental focus, but thanks to a deep squad that earned points in nearly every event, the Northern boys stayed ahead in a tight battle with Mergenthaler.
But when the 4×400 squad lost its lead after dropping the baton in their final race, the win seemed in jeopardy. But with a powerful final sprint from anchor Camden Glaubitz, the Patriots finished fifth, enough to take the 3A crown by just 1.5 points with a score of 39.
“I just told myself, ‘This is the last race. This is going to determine whether you’re the state champion or not,’” said Tuck, who ran the first leg of that relay. “And so I told myself, ‘This is do or die.’”