Football fans know him as the starting quarterback at Gaithersburg High School. Now track fans are learning about Zach Fetters. He is tall, fast, and he just won his first ever high jump competition with a leap of 6-feet and 4-inches. Though the junior just joined the team a few weeks ago, Gaithersburg coaches say he can jump, sprint, hurdle, and has even picked up the shot put. He plays baseball in the spring and while he is considering running outdoor track, he says it will be an extremely difficult decision for him.

Fetters led Gaithersburg to a 1-2-3 sweep in the event as Alimamy Kallay cleared 6-0 and Simba Gwashavanhu cleared 5-08. Kallay also placed second in the hurdles with a time of 7.9 after his teammate Trevon Carroll powered down the track for a time of 7.7. Gaithersburg has shown once again that they do not rebuild. They reload.

While Fetters was the surprise performer of the day, the most outstanding performance goes to Walter Johnson's Martin Dally for his dominating victory in the 500-meter dash. Dally led from start to finish making it look easy. He clocked a time of 1:06.3, unofficially a new school record for Walter Johnson. Richard Montgomery sophomore David Hamilton was the only challenger and finished two seconds back in a great PR of 1:08.1.

Dally returned in the open 800 for another relaxed race. He had a commanding lead on the first lap, but the field worked back up to him and challenged him through 600 meters. On the final 200 meters he took off and won by about 4 seconds in 2:05.6.

Grace Corbett of Wootton ran the same double as Dally and came away with two wins of her own. In both races, it was fellow sophomore, Udeme Akpaete of Springbrook, challenging her from behind. Corbett opened up a big gap over Akpaete on the second lap and came home in 1:20.9 while Akpaete made a late move but finished second in 1:22.7.

The 800 unfolded in a similar way as Akpaete trailed Corbett by a slim margin early on. Corbett opened up a big gap on the final lap. Akpaete again made a late move and nearly caught Corbett, but again it was too late. Corbett clocked about 2:30 with Akpaete in about 2:30.5. Ava Farrell of B-CC also came from behind to finish 3rd in 2:31.

The girls sprints belonged to Olivia Ekpone of Northwest. She looked particularly strong in the 55-meter dash, clocking about a 6.9. Jasmine Jones of Paint Branch trailed by nearly four-tenths of a second.

In the 300, Casey Dowling of Wootton made her work for it, but Ekpone pulled away for the win in 40.3 while Dowling clocked 41.6.

Typically the first heat is the fastest in each event, but somehow the third heat of the boys 55-meter dash became the loaded heat. Bisi Ezekoye of Kennedy and Hassan Dixon of Northwest lined up side by side with Pernell Brantley of QO in lane 8. Dixon and Ezekoye ran stride for stride down the track and it appeared that Ezekoye outleaned Dixon at the line. Both were clocked in 6.3. Brantley was just a stride behind in 6.4.

Dixon came back for the 300 and looked very relaxed for the first 100 meters. From 100 to 200 meters he blasted into first place, and then appeared to back off a little bit in the final few meters. He clocked a time of 36.2. In the next heat, Brandon Addison of Watkins Mill clocked about a 36.1.

The girls hurdles was a close fight between Laura Dally of Walter Johnson and Leah Lang of Quince Orchard. Both girls clocked about 9.0 and it appeared that Dally may have leaned for the win.

In the 1600, Alyssa Henshaw ran alone for most of the race and won in 5:18. Abby Daley of Clarksburg was 2nd in 5:31.

The girls 3200 was a riveting match up between Paige Donnelly of B-CC, Christine DiNardo of Northwest and Zoe Maslen of Churchill. Donnelly controlled the pace for most of the race, but DiNardo and Maslen stuck to her like glue for 14 laps. With just 400 meters to go, Maslen started to fall off the back while DiNardo took over the lead for the first time. DiNardo put in a monster kick on the final lap to take the win in 12:05. Donnelly was second in 12:11 and Maslen was third in 12:16

There was a lot of mixing going on in the boys 1600 as Olivier Poulain from Northwest, Hayder Cherinet of Paint Branch, and Jatin Narang from Clarksburg pushed the pace early on. After they came through the 800 in 2:24, Sami Aougab of Churchill moved into the picture. He ran a lap in third place and then moved into the lead. Looking strong, he pushed forward and ultimately opened up about 5 seconds on the rest of the field. He won in 4:46, while Narang took 2nd in 4:50 and Poulain took third in 4:51.

In the boys 3200 Sam Martin of Richard Montgomery ran with Jackson Reams of Sherwood for a 1600 time of 5:04. Martin began to fall off the pace after that and the second mile was like a time trial for Reams as he dodged and weaved through lapped runners for 16 laps. He finished in 10:10 while Martin was second in 10:31.

In the girls 4x2, Wootton loaded up a team but unfortunately dropped their baton mid-race leaving them out of it. Casey Dowling of Wootton and Rachel Watkins of Magruder came through the first leg close together in about 25.7. Kennedy's second leg charged forward to move their team into the race, and their third leg opened up a gap on the field. Their anchor closed in about 25 seconds for an overall time of 1:49.8. Churchill was second in 1:52.6.

The 4x4 and 4x8 belonged to Northwest. Achankeng Acha-Morfaw opened up the 4x4 with a 66 split and Alyssa Henshaw moved the team up with a 62. Olivia Ekpone ran about a 58 second split and India Knight brought it home with a 61 for a time of 4:07.7. Paint Branch took second place in 4:21.

Britt Eckerstrom led off in the 4x800 with a 2:20 split, putting her about 8 seconds ahead of the next competitor. Achankeng Acha-Morfaw and India Knight ran 2:30 and 2:32 respectively in the middle of the relay and Alyssa Henshaw brought it home in 2:20 for an overall time of 9:42. B-CC was second in 10:11.

Watkins Mill won the boys 4x200 at the HoCo MoCo Challenge last Saturday in 1:36 and again came away with the fastest time of the day today. Clarksburg showed that they still have some speed despite graduating many of their star sprinters from the last few years. Clarksburg led for the first two laps before Watkins Mill's third leg took over the lead to the sound of whoops in the field house. Watkins Mill won in 1:34 with Clarksburg second in 1:35.

The boys 4x4 was a tight four-way race between Magruder, Richard Montgomery, Northwest, and B-CC. RM led early but B-CC was first to hand off with a 54.5 split. B-CC then took the lead on the next leg with about a 54 split with Magruder right behind them. Northwest moved up into the race and into the lead on the 3rd leg, but Magruder regained the lead before the handoff with a split of about 55 seconds. Northwest again challenged for the lead but Magruder took it back and made a big move with 200 meters to go. RM's David Hamilton, coming off his second place finish in the 500, used a huge kick to chase down Magruder for a very tight finish. There were no FAT cameras, but I was standing right at the finish and it looked like RM got the win in 3:40.9. Magruder was second and B-CC was third in 3:41.5. The great finish reinforces why you should never leave early!

In the boys 4x800, Poolesville brought out all their big guns for the first time this season and easily won in 8:34. David Wilson ran the first leg with a 2:08 split. Ken Shimomoto maintained their position with a 2:13 split, but Whitman moved into first place just before the exchange. Eric Holmstead quickly regained the lead and distanced himself from everyone else. He split 2:08, by far the strongest 3rd leg. Sam Widmayer brought it home with a 2:04 split. Whitman was second in 8:55 and Magruder won the second section in 8:48.

Some field event results

Boys LJ
Bodog Springbrook 19'2"

Boys Shot
Matt Gordon Wooton 43'6"
Kevin Mattingly Damascus 43'7.75"
Edwin Johnson G'burg 40'9.5"
Chuck Banks B-CC 40'3.75"
Onlay Martin Northwood 41'1.25"

Girls HJ
Rachael Osnos Whitman 5'0"
Thea LaFond Kennedy 5'0"
Annie Munro Wooton 5'0"

Boys HJ
Fetters G'burg 6'4"
Kallay G'burg 6'0"
Gwashava G'burg 5'8"

Girls Shot
Natalia Morrison Clarksburg 29'11"
Virginia Owusu-Mainoo Seneca Valley 29'5.25"
Rachel Porzel Blake 28'6"