Isaiah Thaxton
Staff Reporter
6 March 2020
Atholton competed at the Howard County Indoor Track Championships on Tuesday, January 14th, at the 3A East Regional Championships on February 4th, and at the 3A state meet on Tuesday, February 18th. At Counties, the girls’ team placed 4th, the boys’ team placed 9th overall, and Madison Garrigus breaks county pole vaulting record. That solid performance was followed up by a girls’ 6th place finish and a boys 12th place finish at the Regional meet.
At counties, the girls’ team was led by senior Madison Garrigus, junior Morgan Nasir, junior Katie Morris, and junior Aanchal Kasargod. Together they earned a team score of 72. Garrigus scored 20 points by winning both the high jump (4-11) and pole vault (10-00). Nasir scored 22 points for her 5th place finish in the 55m dash, 2nd place finish in the long jump, and her surprising upset victory in the 300m dash (40.99) over Mount Hebron’s Sierra Matthews, current No.1 300m dash runner in the state. “I was just shocked,” said Nasir, continuing, “I wanted to run under 41 and when I saw the 40.99 I was just, in shock.”
The meet kicked off with the girls 55m dash and 55m Hurdles prelims. Nasir and Sophomore Thalia Shoemaker qualified for finals in the 55m dash, and Freshman Raqayah Bell qualified for the 55m Hurdle Finals. The next event was the 4×800 relay. The team of Isha Santosh (senior), Caroline Perret (sophomore), Sara Carlisle (senior), and Michelle Kavka (sophomore), finished 5th overall with a time of 10:32.95 making them in 5th place to start the meet.
Madison Garrigus won two events to score 20 points for the team. She won both the women’s high jump and pole vault. Her performances in both events helped lead Atholton to their high finish.
The girls’ team had other top-eight finishes in the 3200m run (Aanchal Kasargod), shot put (Jordan Dorsey), and in the girls 4x200m and 4x400m relays.
The boys’ team finished 9th overall and had outstanding performances in individual events. Senior Bryce Jamison and Junior Jamel Mins collectively scored 6.5 points for their fourth and seventh place finishes in the high jump. Junior Justin Werner finished 8th overall in the boys 800m run, scoring one point for the team. Junior Mark Anthony Rosas also finished 8th in the 3200m run to score one point. Although the boys’ team score wasn’t very high the boys’ team is looking forward to regionals.
“I did well in my event, I placed eighth overall, and I’m happy about that,” Werner said. He said going into regionals he’s “excited,” and “looking forward to a new PR and to qualify for states,” in his respected events.
Atholton competes in the 3A East region, which many coaches across the country describe as “the toughest region in the state.” Being in the toughest region means there is fierce competition and fast times.
Regionals took place on February 4th. The girls’ team placed 6th, while the boys’ team placed 12th. The girls’ team performances were headlined by Kasargod’s second-place finish in the 3200m run and Garrigus’ new county record in the Women’s Pole Vault (11-0).
The boys’ team finished 13th and had standout performances in the 4×800 (Junior Justin Werner, Senior Shane O’Brien, Senior Sean Powell, Senior Matt Macdonald) relay and by Junior Miguel Moran in the boys shot put and by Junior Alec Zaller in the pole vault.
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