In terms of the girls individual champion, the MCPS Consortia Championships traditionally haven't provided much drama. In the first six
years of the race the average margin of victory for the female champion was 39 seconds, and only once was the race decided by less than
twenty seconds.
The 2015 race, however, was historical in more ways than one.
Paint Branch's Bethlehem Taye entered the race as the favorite, carrying an 18:40 personal best. However, most people figured that
defending champion Ciciely Davy would not go down without a fight. And fight she did.
The two girls ran side by side for the opening mile. The spectators were left on the athletic fields as the runners disappeared into
the woods for the middle portion of the race. At two miles, the girls were still close, but Davy had begun to pull away in hopes of
breaking away completely at the top of the hill.
Davy was the first to emerge from the woods with 600 meters to go, greeted loudly by a large crowd of enthusiastic Einstein supporters.
Taye arrived about ten seconds later with a sizable deficit and not much time to make it up.
As many of the onlookers remained near the entrance of the woods, Taye quietly began to close the gap. By the time she reached the
final dip she had cut the deficit in half. Both girls disappeared from view for an excruciating fifteen seconds, but when they
reappeared at the top, Taye was in front.
She hit the track and did not look back, winning the race handily. The final margin of twelve seconds is misleading, however, as this
was easily the most dramatic race (boys or girls) in the history of the meet. Both Taye and Davy shattered the previous course record,
with the new record now sitting at 19:26. Fans, coaches, and athletes alike were abuzz after the race, marveling both at Taye's finish
and Davy's courage to pull ahead in the middle part of the race. Both girls made their cases for contention at Saturday's county
championships.
OTHER NOTES:
- Northwood's Michael Abebe won the Consortia Championships on the boys side in 16:35, pulling away from Alejandro Arias (2nd) and
James Newport (3rd) after the two mile mark and cruising to the finish. He narrowly missed Lorenzo Neil's high school course record
(16:27). However, the all-comers course record was re-set by Blake coach Andrew Brodeur who clocked 15:47 in the open race.
- The Einstein boys and Blair girls restored the tradition established in the early years of this meet by winning the team titles. The
Einstein boys put three runners in the top seven en route to the victory, with the Blake boys finishing second. The Blair girls had a
much tougher time, scoring a narrow victory over the upstart Paint Branch girls. Ultimately, the Blair girls had a bit more depth which
ensured their victory, but both teams have established themselves as teams to watch in the upcoming county championships.
Blair Girls, Einstein Boys Hoist Consortia Cups
Photo by Mark
Shonkwiler
Photo by Shana
Grossman
- The Winston Churchill boys secured the division 1 title with a narrow victory over Walter Johnson on Tuesday. They join B-CC,
Wootton, and Northwest as teams that have a realistic shot at a county championship on Saturday.
- The El-Masry family put on a show of their own at the Coyote Run on Thursday. Senior Sophie won the race handily, backing her case as
a county championship contender. Her sister, sophomore Nefret, finished eighth in the race, helping the Rockets finish second in the
team scores. But it was sophomore Joachim with perhaps the best performance, finishing third overall in the boys race by shaving 28
seconds off his PR.
- The Northwest boys, led once again by Branson Oduor, finished second at the Frank Keyser Invite. Any lingering doubts that the
Northwest team isn't for real have since been erased and Saturday's performance only confirms their status as a contender for the boys
title at the upcoming county championships.
- The Walter Johnson girls dominated the seeded race at the Georgetown Prep Classic. Senior Katriane Kirsch looks to be returning to
form. However, a gap between their 4 and 5 runners means that the Bethesda-Chevy Chase girls will probably still be favorites heading
into the county championships.
- The Landon boys: this team is pretty good. An average time of 17:32 at their meet on Friday slots them in as the second best boys
private team in Moco behind Good Counsel. It will be interesting to see how they fare in the championship races.
WHAT'S NEXT:
It's CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON! Most (if not all) teams will not race during the week in preparation for one of the two Saturday meets: the
Montgomery County Championships in Gaithersburg and the WCAC Championships in Virginia. The Montgomery County championship pre-meet
poll results and race preview article will come later this week. Here's to a thrilling week of action in Montgomery County!
Name
Comments
Runner
Monday, October 19, 2015 05:38:14 PM
The County meet is now on though.......
Runner
Monday, October 19, 2015 05:38:38 PM
*Monday
Anon
Monday, October 19, 2015 06:37:09 PM
How do you not comment on Wootton dominating Coyote?
