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Editor's note: Mocorunning conducted a poll before the release of the meet entries and inevitably missed the mark on a few of the "best guess" options. Here is who received the most votes among athletes actually entered in the event.
100m - Stephanie Davis, Magruder
200m - Stephanie Davis, Magruder
400m - Tie - Tiffany Woods and Lauren Woods, Sherwood
800m - Clare Severe, Whitman
1600m - Kiernan Keller, Walter Johnson
3200m - Bethlehem Taye, Paint Branch
100m Hurdles - Alexus Pyles, Clarksburg
300m Hurdles - Alexus Pyles, Clarksburg
4x100 - Paint Branch
4x200 - Paint Branch
4x400 - Blake
4x800 - Walter Johnson
High Jump - Naja McAdam, Clarksburg
Long Jump - Leondra Correia, Northwest
Triple Jump - Alexus Pyles, Clarksburg
Shot Put - Justina Ababio, Clarksburg
Discus - Aissa Toure, Clarksburg
Pole Vault - Paige Evans, Clarksburg
Below you will read the poll results compiled and written before the release of the meet entries.
Between April 30 and May 4, MoCoRunning.com conducted an online poll to find out the county championship fan favorites. Participants were instructed to select their favorites in each event and rank the top teams for the outdoor county championship meet. 80 valid submissions were received, but voters were not required to vote for every category.
Below you will find the results. The county champion favorites are listed with the percentage of votes received.
| Event |
|
Name, School |
|
% |
| 100m |
|
Stephanie Davis, Magruder |
|
47 |
| 200m |
|
Martha Sam, Blake |
|
38 |
| 400m |
|
Martha Sam, Blake |
|
69 |
| 800m |
|
Clare Severe, Whitman |
|
49 |
| 1600m |
|
Kiernan Keller, Walter Johnson |
|
39 |
| 3200m |
|
Nora McUmber, B-CC |
|
49 |
| 110/100m Hurdles |
|
Alexus Pyles, Clarksburg |
|
69 |
| 300m Hurdles |
|
Alexus Pyles, Clarksburg |
|
75 |
| 4x100 |
|
Paint Branch |
|
44 |
| 4x200 |
|
Paint Branch |
|
36 |
| 4x400 |
|
Blake |
|
51 |
| 4x800 |
|
Walter Johnson |
|
36 |
| High Jump |
|
Naja McAdam, Clarksburg |
|
36 |
| Long Jump |
|
Leondra Correia, Northwest |
|
36 |
| Triple Jump |
|
Alexus Pyles, Clarksburg |
|
43 |
| Shot Put |
|
Justina Ababio, Clarksburg |
|
47 |
| Discus |
|
Aissa Toure, Clarksburg |
|
47 |
| Pole Vault |
|
Paige Evans, Clarksburg |
|
44 |
|
|
|
|
Avg Answer |
| Tie Breakers |
|
Winning Girls 4x400 Time |
|
3:58.22 |
| Tie Breaker |
|
How many individual records (boys and girls) will be tied or broken? |
|
3.9 |
| Rk |
Girls School |
Poll Points |
| 1 |
Clarksburg |
162 |
2 |
Northwest |
117 |
| 3 |
Paint Branch |
93 |
| 4 |
Walter Johnson |
54 |
| 5 |
Blake |
52 |
|
|
|
|
Avg Answer |
| Tie Breakers |
|
Winning Girls Team Score |
|
89.3 |
Analysis
The girl's 100 meter dash will be a race to watch. Magruder's Stephanie Davis, last year's 100 and 200 meters state champion, won the fan vote but will have stiff competition in Paint Branch's Adassa Phillips, this past indoor season's 55 meters state champion, and Kennedy's Rachel Laryea. Blake's Martha Sam, whom fans voted to win the 200 and 400 meter dashes, will be a threat to win in every race she runs in.
The Blake girls have an outside shot to go 1-2-3 in the 400 if all three girls run the event. Sam, Sarah Moore, and Kaela Jones have the three fastest times in the county so far. They will likely face the Woods sisters, Tiffany and Lauren, from Sherwood, and Seneca Valley's Omolola Sanusi.
An interesting note on Whitman's Clare Severe: she has won the last four state 800 meter championships, yet during that time has only one county championship. She garnered the fan's vote and will likely be challenged by Churchill's Lucy Srour and Watkins Mill's Waderlise Franco-De-La-Rosa.
The girl's 1600 is as much of a toss-up as any race in the county. Severe and Srour, as well as Walter Johnson's Kiernan Keller and BCC's Nora McUmber all have a realistic shot at taking the title. As with all distance races, however, it just depends on who runs what. McUmber was the top vote-getter in the 3200 after back-to-back state championships, but Paint Branch's Bethlehem Taye - who ranks fifth in MocoRunning's "Since 2006" leaderboard - should make it a very fast race.
Much like the boys side, Clarksburg's Alexus Pyles won the fan vote handily for both the 100 and 300 meter hurdles. She is the favorite for either of the races she runs, and only her younger sister Cierra has a remotely close time in the 100 hurdles entering the meet. In the 300 hurdles she should have competition from BCC's Sisan Dorsu and Seneca Valley's HelnSarah Penda.
Clarksburg's Naja McAdam has by the far the highest mark in the high jump this year, earning her the top spot in the pre-county poll. And while Northwest's Leondra Correia, who received the most votes in the long jump, also has the best mark in the county, she will be challenged by Sherwood's Alyssa Moran and Churchill's Julia McDermott, among others. Alexus Pyles set a personal best in the triple jump at the Penn Relays but should be considered the favorite if she is in the event. If not, McDermott and Seneca Valley's Tyatianna Johnson should be the frontrunners.
The throws could be dominated by Clarksburg on the girl's side. Justina Ababio (the top vote-getter), Aissa Toure, and Alexus Pyles currently sit 1-2-3 in the county, and while it's not likely that Pyles throws on Wednesday, a 1-2 combo for the Coyotes is definitely a possibility. Toure and her other teammate, Xanthi Limber, are also 1-2 in the discus. Other notables in the throws include Poolesville's Anna DeSoto and Einstein's Dalina Julien.
And at this point, Clarksburg's Paige Evans has already won the pole vault. We couldn't get this article up before the Monday afternoon competition, so congratulations Paige.
With their strength in the hurdles and field events, Clarksburg enters as the fan favorite with an all-around Northwest team not too far behind. Rounding out the top five in the fan vote were Paint Branch, Walter Johnson and Blake respectively, although Seneca Valley and Sherwood could also be in the mix.
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