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Coming just shy of a state title
Northern's O'Connor places fourth at 3A cross country meet
Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009
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PARKTON — Northern junior Ryan O' Connor put the heat on Chopticon senior Tyler Ostrowski as the two ran the muddy course at Hereford High School for the Class 3A state cross country meet on Saturday.
O'Connor, with glasses and a white headband on and wearing No. 731, was in second place at the one-mile mark with his pace of 5 minutes 49 seconds.
But when it came to finishing, Ostrowski passed him in the final 300 meters to win in 17:12, while O'Connor came home 16 seconds later to take fourth.
O'Connor helped the Northern boys claim 14th overall, first in SMAC, with 353 points. Montgomery County's Damascus took the crown with 117 points.
"The course was really muddy and I really didn't like it," O'Connor said. "Every time I took a turn, I started slipping. It was a pretty horrible race. Noah [Hutton], the senior from North Harford and Tyler Ostrowski were great competitors."
"I took it up the hill way too hard and I just died 300 meters from the finish line and they came and past me," O'Connor said.
Also in the 3A boys race was Huntingtown senior Will Allen, who placed 63rd overall with a time of 19:12 to help the Hurricanes finish 20th overall as a team with 505 points.
"There were a lot of people in front of me," Allen said. "It's really muddy out there. Northern was tough competition with Ryan O'Connor."
The Patuxent boys represented the 2A class at the state meet with senior Matt Hallenbeck leading the way.
The Panthers finished seventh overall out of 19 teams with 190 points. Carroll County's Winters Mill won with 68 points.
Senior Matt Hallenbeck finished 23rd overall with a time of 18:30. After the race, he was frustrated because he added 30 seconds to his time from last year.
"It was a lot worse than what I was aiming for," Hallenbeck said. "I kind of wish I could do it all over again because it's the last cross country race as a senior. I was hoping to leave a better impression and leave this school with a good race."
Senior Tommy Scott finished 43rd in19:08.
"I was very happy with how my kids ran," Patuxent head coach Blaine Mably said. "They did excellent considering the conditions. Our seventh place finish is the best since I started coaching, and we had some runners really step up and have a great race."
In the 3A girls competition, Huntingtown junior Hannah Weis placed 39th, first in county, with a time of 23:07.
The Hurricanes placed 16th overall, one point behind Northern, with 417 points.
"It was interesting. You slip and slide everywhere," Weis said. "It was fun though. I think we all gave it our best with it being our last race."
Northern's Megan Ogden finished second in the county for 3A girls with her 45th-place time of 23:27.
Sophomore Cindy Yeatman (32nd, 23:17) was the top finisher for the Cavaliers (13th) and freshman Brandi Wightman was 74th in 25:13.
Caroline Parris, the team's top runner, made a decision with head coach John Major to discontinue the race due to her ongoing hamstring pull.
"It was the best race my first five ran all year considering the conditions," Calvert head coach John Major said. "I pulled Caroline out at the one-mile mark even though she wanted to continue. I didn't want to risk her indoor season on the hilly and muddy course as she is still recovering from her hamstring injury. I think she would have gutted it out and run around 22 minuties if I would have let her.
"Cindy Yeatman showed she is going to be a force for the next two years."
Results
3A boys
14. Northern 353
4. O'Connor 17:28, 62. Spann 19:10, 83. Wieroniey 19:31, 104. Williamsz 19:52, 115. Fagan 20:11, 122. Agnolutto 20:26, 128. Bean 20:38
20. Huntingtown 505
63. Allen 19:12, 97. Dawes 19:46, 109. Race 19:57, 124. Jiroun 20:26, 133. J. Chandlee 20:51, 135. Jacobsen 20:53, 150. A. Chandlee 21:16
3A girls
15. Northern 416
45. Ogden 23:27, 69. Patterson 24:21, 103. Emerson 25:36, 113. Ramsey 25:55, 114. Colgan 25:56, 115. B. Kovacs 25:59, 132. T. Kovacs 27:12
16. Huntingtown 417
39. Weis 23:07, 90. Jacobsen 25:08, 96. Morton 25:21, 101. Kenney 25:33, 123. Aley 26:12, 126. Kenney 26:24, 129. Wisniewski 27:00
2A boys
7. Patuxent 190
23. Hallenbeck 18:30, 43. Scott 19:08, 45. Cucina 19:11, 49. Crim 19:17, 51. Barton 19:19, 72. Hayden 19:43, 93. Whitesell 20:17
2A girls
13. Calvert 357
32. Cin. Yeatman 23:17, 74. Wightman 25:13, 90. Yates 26:15, 100. Armiger 27:23, 101. S. Yeatman 27:31, 107. K. Yeatman 29:02
