Passing on your left

The boys' and girls' track teams ended the regular season among the county's top schools with high hopes for postseason competition. The girls finished with a perfect record of 5-0, and the boys ended at 4-1, combining for an outstanding spring season.

Senior co-captain Ashley Moorefield said that both the boys and the girls shocked some opponents this season. "As a whole, both teams did better than expected," she said. "I think we surprised a lot of people."

The girls took first place in their division again this year, and the boys came within close reach of the title. Both accomplishments indicated the team's incredible success this season, according to Coach James Short. "The boys only missed winning by six points," Short said. "Our senior girls have had three championships out of four years. We had a great season."

Blazers from both the boys' and the girls' teams placed at Regionals at Magruder High School on May 15 and 16. A finish of fourth or higher was necessary to qualify for the state meet at the University of Maryland Baltimore County on Friday, May 24.

Several girls qualified for States in a variety of events. Senior Rebecca duRivage-Jacobs will compete in the long jump and the triple jump. Moorefield will run the 400-meter dash, senior Kim Schaerdel will run the 800-meter dash and sophomore Jamie Kovach will compete in the long jump.

Moorefield, duRivage-Jacobs, Kovach and senior Julia Elliott will also run in the 4x1 and the 4x2 relays at States.

A few boys placed at Regionals, but none will advance to States.

As for next year, Short and graduating runners are optimistic. There are some talented underclassmen that must improve to counter the losses of key seniors. "It's going to be a drop-off because those girls have been with the team for four years," Short said. "But they built a program and we will be very competitive next year."

Additional reporting by Amina Baird