Introduction
The end of the 2019 cross country season marks ten years since MoCorunning.com published the 2000's All-Decade Teams (Boys, Girls) which celebrated the best XC athletes who participated in Montgomery County, Maryland between 2000 and 2009. After completing those articles in 2009, Mocorunning decided that it would be a more manageable project if there was a halfway checkpoint. Hence, Mocorunning named the "Half-Decade Teams" in 2014. Today we celebrate the best cross country athletes who competed in Montgomery County between 2015 and 2019, and yes, there will be a Montgomery County All-Decade Team for 2010 to 2019 coming soon.
Selection Process
MoCorunning editor, reporter, photographer, keeper-of-statistics, and cross country fan Kevin Milsted researched and nominated 20 boys and 20 girls for consideration for this Half-Decade Team. Montgomery County coaches with more than 5 years of experience in Montgomery County were asked to review MoCorunning's nominees and rank all twenty boys and twenty girls in order, based on whatever criteria was most important to him or her. The 10 male and female athletes with the highest scores based on the coaches' votes are now shown here as members of the MoCorunning Half-Decade Team. Coaches were asked to write in additional boys and girls who were not already nominated by MoCorunning. The athletes with the most write-in votes were added to the honorable mention list along with the other nominees.
The following coaches contributed to this Half-Decade Team. Without their thoughtful consideration of each athlete, this project would not have been possible.
Angelique Bosse - Montgomery Blair
Bryant Adams - Gaithersburg
Chad Young - Bethesda Chevy Chase
Dan Reeks - Sherwood
Dave Warren - Richard Montgomery
Dessalyn Dillard - Paint Branch
Elrid Cason - Damascus
Eric Da Silva - Albert Einstein
Giovanni Reumante - Northwood
Herb Tolbert - Gaithersburg
Kellie Redmond - Thomas S. Wootton
Mark Anderson - Paint Branch
Michael Trumbull - Clarksburg
Mike Davila - St. Andrew's Episcopal
Paul Jacobson - Winston Churchill
Peter Rook - Stone Ridge
Prasad Gerard - Poolesville
Rob Burke - Clarksburg
Scott Silverstein - Winston Churchill
Seann Pelkey - Quince Orchard
Stan Pawlowski - Magruder
Steve Hays - Walt Whitman
Thomas Martin - Walter Johnson
Tom Arnold - Good Counsel
Half-Decade Team Athletes
Athlete of the Half-Decade: Abigail Green, Walter Johnson 2018
High School Personal Bests: 17:14 3 Mile (DCXC), 17:44.45 5k (4A West at Gaithersburg)
Title Count: 3 County, 4 Region, 1 State, 1 All-American
Notes: Two time Footlocker Nationals qualifier and one time Footlocker All-American (12th). State champion, three time county champion, and four time 4A West Region champion. Four time top five finisher at the Manhattan Invitational unseeded sections. Ranks #2, #4, and #5 on the Bohrer Park County Championship Meet course. 17:54.40 3 mile is second fastest Montgomery County performance recorded at the Hereford state championship course according to the MPSSAA record book.
High School Personal Bests: 18:08.1 5k (NXR Southeast)
Title Count: 1 Consortia, 1 Region
Notes: 14th at NXR Southeast Regional (18:08.1). Winner of the 4A North Regional and Barnhart Invitational. Consortia Championship Meet course record holder (19:26). Three time top ten finisher at the 4A North Regional.
High School Personal Bests: 17:42.7 5k (Great American)
Title Count: 1 County, 1 Region
Notes: Montgomery County champion and two time 4A state runner-up. 17:42.7 5k at Great American XC Fest is third fastest of the decade by a Montgomery County runner. 17:51 ranks #3 on the Bohrer Park County Championship Meet course.
Notes: WCAC champion and two time winner of the Chancellor Invitational. 3rd at the DC-MD Private Schools State Championship Meet and 4th at the Oatlands Invitational. Runner-up at the Paul Short Run and Howard County Invitational.
High School Personal Bests: 18:45.1 5k (Great American)
Notes: 3rd at the Montgomery County Championship Meet and the Manhattan Invitational. Two time top ten finisher at the Montgomery County Championship Meet. Winner of the DCXC Invitational junior race and three time top ten finisher at the DCXC Invitational.
Notes: Runner-up at the Montgomery County Championship Meet and 4A West Regional. Three time top ten finisher at the state championship meet and the 4A West Region Meet. 18:12.5 ranks #8 on the Bohrer Park County Championship Meet course.
High School Personal Bests: 17:50.47 3 Mile (State), 17:28.0 (County)
Title Count: 1 County, 1 Region, 1 State
Notes: Owns Montgomery County Championship Meet 5k course record and fastest 5k by a Montgomery County girl since 1994, 17:28. Winner of unseeded races at Great American and Manhattan in addition to county, region, and state meets.
High School Personal Bests: 18:15 3 Mile (DCXC), 18:39 5k (Paul Short)
Notes: 4A West Regional runner-up and 3rd at the 4A State Championship Meet. Four time top fifteen finisher at the state championship meet. Four time top ten finisher at the 4A West Regional.
High School Personal Bests: 18:09.0 3 Mile (Frank Keyser), 18:21.7 5k (Third Battle)
Title Count: 3 Region
Notes: Three time regional champion and two time state championship runner-up. Three time top ten finisher at the Montgomery County Championship Meet. Four time top 3 finisher at the DCXC Invitational including junior year champion.
Notes: Montgomery County Championship Meet runner-up, 4A North Regional champion and two time top 10 finisher at the 4A State Championship Meet. Three time top ten finisher at the 4A North Regional. Finished 27th at NXR Southeast Regional. Ranks #2 all-time on the Consortia Championship course (19:33).
Seems like a lot of preference given to fastest 5k time without consideration of course. Also seems to be heavy emphasis on region finish regardless of region and the consortia championships which is a kinda funny. What I think is also overvalued is a top 5 state finish once. Is that all half decade? Or someone who finished top 10 3 times. , really should have been more emphasis put on real cross, Hereford, high point, van courtland, oatlands. IMO eastern states is most prestigious race a Marylander can run in a season unless they make nationals
