Willis wins sprint triple to lead Bowie

State Meet Highlights

 
The Maryland (MPSSAA) state championships include four classifications and are held at Morgan State in Baltimore. 

Top Performances:

 
- Darryl Haraway, expected to be one of the top sprinters in the country, didn't race in May because of a nagging injury (DeMatha Catholic isn't part of the MPSSAA) and it opened the door for junior Maxwell Willis of Bowie to get a lot of attention in Maryland and ride that momentum all the way to the U.S. World Youth team. Willis of Bowie won the 4A 100 meters in 10.69, the 200 meters in 21.27 and the 400 meters in 48.18. Willis was the first to pull off that triple in Maryland in 18 years. He was also on Bowie’s runner-up 4x200 relay, part of an overall winning team effort.

- Evan Woods from Walt Whitman won the 4A 1,600 (4:18.01) and the 3,200 (9:18.52) and he was also third in the 800 meters.

- Brandon Johnson from Kenwood won the 4A long jump by a half inch, with 23-0.75.

- Martha Sam of J.H. Blake won the 4A 100 meters in 12.04, beating defending champ Stephanie Davis of Magruder. The places were reversed in the 200. Sam also led JH Blake to victories in the 4x200 and 4x400.

 
- Clare Severe of Walt Whitman won a very competitive 1,600 meters, winning the 4A title in 4:58.48 and beating talented sophomore Maria Coffin and senior defending champ Nora McUmber. Severe was also the runner-up in the 800.

 
- Junior Alexus Pyles of Clarksburg won the 4A 100 hurdles (14.49) and the 300 hurdles (44.32). A third victory came in the triple jump, where she flew 39-3.75.

- Sophomore Stephanie Davis of Magruder retained her 4A 200 meters title with 24.41 and placed second to Martha Sam in the 100, with 12.10. She was also on winning 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams.

- Nora McUmber didn’t have the same individual success as 2014, but she was third in the 1,600 and fourth in the 3,200. But she did lead Bethesda-Chevy Chase to a victory in the 4x800 relay.

- Jordan Leon of Milford Mill won the 3A 800 meters in 1:53.40, won the 1,600 in 4:16.05 and also won the 3,200 in 9:29.24. Those three titles, plus his leg on the winning 4x400 relay, earned him the Baltimore Sun’s All-Metro Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

- Robert Miller, a junior at City College, won 3A titles in the 110 hurdles (14.25) and the 300 hurdles (38.15). He also anchored the winning 4x200 relay.

- Sophomore Will Moten of Westlake won the 3A 100 meters in 10.92 (-1.7) and also took second in the 200 with 21.96. He also anchored the winning 4x100 relay.

- Sophomore Darnell Pratt of Mt. Hebron won the 3A 200 in 21.86 and also won the 400 in 48.53. He was on the runner-up 4x400 relay squad.

- Kiara Parker of Westlake was sensational in the 3A meet, winning the 100 meters (11.97) and breaking the meet record in the 200 (24.21). In both finals, she was pressed by runner-up Jamila Brown of Wilde Lake (12.06/24.41). Parker also anchored Westlake to the 4x100 title and was part of a runner-up finish in the 4x200. Wilde Lake, with Brown, was second in the 4x100.

- Field hockey star Jen Bleakney of Atholton proved she is a two-sport star with her 3A victories in the 800 meters (2:14.21) and the 1,600 (4:58.29). She also anchored Atholton’s winning 4x800 relay.

- Yinka Alabi of Milford Mill won two 3A events by running 14.49 in the 100 hurdles and 44.04 in the 300 hurdles. She also anchored her team to the 4x200 and 4x400 relay titles.

- Harleigh White from Huntington, a sophomore, won the 3A triple jump with 38-4.25 and also placed second in the long jump.

- Jamal Cody from Hereford won the 2A titles in the 110 hurdles (14.58) and the 300 hurdles (37.93).

- Nick Neral cleared 15-0 to win the 2A pole vault and help Century win the team title.

- Rico Gomez from Douglass-PG was a triple winner in 2A. He won the 100 (11.01), the 200 (21.85) and the 400 (48.29). He also anchored his team’s winning 4x100 relay.

- Jackie McNulty of Oakdale broke the 2A meet record in the pole vault with a clearance at 12-4. She was also won the long jump and triple jump and was on her team’s winning 4x400 relay.

- Micah Meekins of Marriotts Ridge dominated the 2A girls sprints and won the 100 (12.43), the 200 (24.95) as well as the 400 (57.24).

- Martaz Boone from Northwestern won the 1A 100 (10.94) and the 200 (22.28) and also was part of winning 4x100 and 4x200 relays.

- Ty Franks of Bohemia Manor swept the 1A distance races, winning the 800 (1:58.17), the 1,600 (4:26.14) and the 3,200 (9:37.12).

- Katie Leisher of Manchester Valley tripled in the 1A distances, taking the 800 (2:19.27), the 1,600 (5:09.30) and the 3,200 (11:19.24).

Top Teams:

Clarksburg, third a year earlier, had no problem in 2015 and won the 4A girls title with 78 points. Bowie, led by breakout star Maxwell Willis, won the boys title with 77 points.

In Class 3A, Westlake won the boys title with 62.5 points with a big push coming from sophomore sprinter Will Moten. Milford Mill Academy won the girls team crown with 62 points, with Yinka Alabi leading the way.

In Class 2A, the Oakdale girls, on the strength of McNulty’s four wins, repeated as team champions with 105 points. Century won the boys title with 85.5 points. In Class 1A, the team champions were Smithsburg (girls) and Fort Hill (boys).

Top Competition: The 2Agirls distance races saw reigning champion Meggan Grams of Boonsboro repeatedly challenged by sophomore Hayley Jackson of Patuxent. Jackson dethroned Grams in the 1,600 (4:55.14 to 4:56.10) and also in the 3,200, where both of them went under the meet record – 10:37.32 for Jackson and 10:42.54 for Grams. Fortunately for Grams, she did manage to win the 800 meters in 2:15.03. Jackson was third in that race, with 2:18.56.