Cecil Runners compete at State Cross Country Championships

By Amanda Callaghan and Katie Callaghan

Saturday, November 12th was a big day for Cecil County Cross Country. It was the MPSSAA State Championships, held at Herford High’s notorious Bull Run course also known as “The Toughest Three Miles in Cross Country.” Bull Run has been listed as the third hardest cross-country course in America. Runners from across the state tackled “The Dip,” a steep ravine that the runners tackled not once, but twice throughout the race.

In the 2A Girls' race, Sophomore Leanna Rogers represented North East. She ran an impressive and aggressive race finishing in 9th place, the highest finish of anyone from Cecil County, with a time of 21:30.43. From Rising Sun, their team of Katie Callaghan, Emily

Wishart, Kaitlin Perry, Savannah Lacey, Bella Chavis, Amanda Callaghan, and Isabelle Griffith finished 11th overall. Sophomore Katie Callaghan led the Tigers, running a 22:52.85 in 24th place. Senior Emily Wishart was next, with a 23:41.14 in 38th place, with senior Kaitlin Perry following her in 60th place (25:01.82).

Next was the Boys’ 2A race, with Rising Sun’s Boy’s team of John Ferry, Nik Haraldsson, Matt McKay, Landen Milloway, David Greenplate, Eli Weston, and Jake Edwards finishing 12th. The Tigers were led by senior John Ferry, finishing in 16th place with a time of 17:56.98. Nik Haraldsson was next in 85th (20:38.69) closely followed by Matt McKay in 89th (20:44.78).

North East was represented by Aidan McCullough and Daniel Katz, who both ran strong races. Senior

Aidan McCullough finished in 55th place with a time of 19:35.16, followed by junior Daniel Katz finishing in 69th with a time of 19:58.92.

In the Girls’ 1A race, Kathryn Scott from Bo Manor finished in 10th place with a time of 22:25.89, followed by her teammate Skylar Pizzulli who ran a time of 25:03.69. Both girls qualified individually for the race during the MPSSAA Regional championships hosted at Cambridge South Dorchester last Thursday.

Following the Girls’ 1A race was the last race of the day, the Boys' 1A race. During the race, Bo Manor’s team of Evan Wakefield, John Conley, Ethan Dell, Leighton Dell, Jason Wolfenden, Mason Darsney, and Robert Heinzelman finished 7th overall. The Eagles were led by junior Evan Wakefield placing in 14th with a time of 18:40.8.

Junior John Conley was next for the Eagles with a time of 19:35.78 placing 33rd overall, followed by junior teammate Ethan Dell in 39th place, who ran a time of 19:51.39. Michael Young, who qualified individually from the MPSSAA Regional Championship, ran a 19:19.36, earning 29th place for Perryville. As this was the last meet of the cross country season, we’d like to recognize Cecil County’s cross country seniors. Finishing their high school careers at the state championship were Rising Sun’s Emily Wishart, Kaitlin Perry, Savannah Lacey, Amanda Callaghan, John Ferry, David Greenplate, and Eli Weston. Also finishing their careers at Bull Run were North East’s Aidan McCullough, Bo Manor's Mason Darsney, Bo Manors Leighton Dell, and Perryville’s Mi- chael Young. Other seniors we’d like to congratulate are Brendan Singer, Luke Gerhard, Isaiah Daly, and Mattson Gaskill from Elkton, Connor Kwiatkowski and Richard Snyder from North East, Taylor Young, Brianna Barrett, Mike Pham, and Max Hagar from Perryville, Eli Mackie from Rising Sun, and Kathryn Scott, Abigail Holloway, Owen Fabian, and Manuel Espinosa from Bo Manor. Congrats to all Cecil County runners who ran at the MPSSAA State Cross Country Championships!

We could not be more proud of the Cecil County Cross Country teams and runners who ran at the MPSSAA Cross Country State Meet. Their hard work and dedication brought them to this meet and ended the season with a huge success. We’d like to give a huge thanks to the amazing coaches who led them here, including Coach Stephen Pizzulli from Bo Manor, Coach Ben Krasnoff from Elkton, Coach Jessica Sprout from North East, Coach Raissa Moore from Perryville, and Coach Jill Mckay from Rising Sun.