Severna Park Girls, Boys Win County Track And Field Championships

The Severna Park track and field teams accomplished a feat not achieved in Anne Arundel County since 2010 by winning county championships on both the boys and girls sides at the two-day county championship meet that culminated on Thursday night at North County High School.

The Falcon boys finished with 114.5 points to beat out South River (105), Arundel (94), Meade (89) and the rest of the county field, picking up points across a wide range of events to come out on top. Severna Park’s girls racked up 120 points to defeat South River (102.5), Old Mill (90) and the rest of Anne Arundel County to claim the title.

Not since Meade swept the spring track and field titles in back-to-back seasons from 2009 to 2010 has a team won both the girls and boys Anne Arundel County crowns.

The boys title is Severna Park’s second in a row and second overall since 2000, and the girls’ crown is the third overall for the Falcons (2005, 2013).

The dual championships also come in the final county meet for longtime Severna Park assistant track and field coach Elmer McPhail, who is retiring at the end of the season after 12 years at Severna Park and over 30 years in coaching. Falcon coaches and athletes celebrated with plaques and medals on the Knights’ turf on Thursday, dedicating the victory to McPhail, who was emotional and proud in the moments following the meet.

“It’s a long time we’ve been dreaming about trying to win the boys and girls,” said McPhail. “We’ve had success, but never both. It’s sweet to go out on top and win both.”

He said this year’s squad worked diligently to bring its goals into reality.

“I told these kids at the beginning of the season if we worked hard, we had a chance at winning both, and they proved me right. Incredible bunch of kids, and I couldn’t be more proud of them and what they did today. It was a fight, and you know what, they didn’t give up, all the way down to the last race of the night. I applaud them.”

PHOTO GALLERY: Anne Arundel County track and field championships, 5.10.18

The Falcons produced strong performances from throughout the roster. Jonah Lane claimed titles in both the 800 and 1600, Garrison Clark won the 3200 and Max Boettinger was county champion of the 300 hurdles. Boettinger was fifth in the 110 hurdles, banking four points. Hugh O’Connor was second to Clark in the 3200, and Matthew Bateman was sixth. Jack Finnerin was third and Clark was fourth in the 1600 behind Lane. Ben Dearing was seventh in the 400. Finnerin and William Reed were fifth and sixth, respectively, behind Lane in the 800. Hunter Simon and Kyle Jefferds tied for sixth in high jump at 5’6”, banking four total points. Dearing was fourth in pole vault, clearing 11’6”. Aaron Kent notched a point by taking eighth in triple jump. Joe Jennings took two points by placing seventh in discus and eight points by taking second in shot put behind Broadneck’s Elian Ahmar, who won both shot put and discus.

The boys 4x800 team of Finnerin, Alexander Chaisson, Reed and Lane placed second to South River in the 4x800, with both squads setting new county records with times of 7:52.64 for South River and 7:55.30 by Severna Park. The 4x400 team [names unavailable] placed second. The 4x200 team of Alex Prigge, Boettinger, Kyle Jefferds and Joseph Kelliher placed sixth for three points. The boys 4x100 team of Prigge, Andrew Weinstein, Dmitri Penn and Trevor Dearborn placed eighth.

On the girls side, Emily Knight won the 800, and the Lady Falcons team of Knight, Izzy Kintzley, Katie Soverns and Olivia Hubbard won the 4x400. Kintzley earned eight big points by taking second in the 200, and teammate Janice Chukwu was seventh to earn two points. Kintzley was also second in the 400 to Glen Burnie’s Rhoda Alaban-tafon, Knight took third in the event, and Soverns took fifth. Soverns was fourth in the 800 behind Knight, and Bella Dowdell picked up a point by placing eighth. Sarah Adams picked up two points by placing seventh in 100 hurdles and six points by placing third in 300 hurdles, and she also scored eight more points by placing second in pole vault by clearing 10’6” to surpass her seed height of 10’. Kaitlynn Lilly banked eight big points by placing second in discus and another six points by placing third in shot put. In the 3200, Sophia Zell was third, Catie Cambon was fourth and Kelsie O’Neill was sixth as the Falcons racked up 14 points in the event won by Broadneck’s Olivia Janke, who finished ahead of teammate and runner-up Madison Palmer. Kamryn Eveleth, Cambon and Zell finished six-seven-eight in the 1600 for a total of six team points. Claire Kintzley notched a point by taking eighth in triple jump. The Severna Park girls 4x200 team of Hannah Drilling, Kintzley, Chukwu and Rose Singleton placed third. The girls 4x100 team of Drilling, Chukwu, Singleton and Adams took a point by placing eighth.

PHOTO GALLERY: Anne Arundel County track and field championships, 5.10.18