Hereford High School's boys' and girls' track teams swept last weekend's Baltimore County championships for the second straight year, with the girls' squad earning its fourth consecutive crown.
Junior Emily VandeWater won the 800 and the 1600 meter runs in 2 minutes, 19.56 seconds and 5 minutes, 13.88 seconds, respectively. Each of VandeWater's times were milestones, according to coach Brad Duvall.
"Emily VandeWater led the team in scoring," said Duvall, whose Bulls have won five straight indoor championships. "Emily looks to be the favorite in the Class 3A state meet in both the 800 meters and the 1,600 meters."
VandeWater also ran the third leg of the Bulls' third place, 1,600-meter relay squad, whose clocking of 4 minutes, 11.56 seconds was .03 seconds off of school record.
Other members of the Bulls' 1600-meter relay team were senior Rosemary Hall, freshman Morgan Oakley and junior Bailey Wilhelm, who ran first, second and fourth, respectively.
Oakley and Wilhelm also ran the third and fourth legs of the Bulls' triumphant 3,200-meter relay team, with sophomore Shannon Martello and senior Rachel Abbott being the first and second legs.
The 3,200-meter relay's time of 9 minutes, 59.15 seconds was a new best for the group.
"The 4x8 relay team broke the 10-minute barrier for the second time this season," said Duvall, whose Bulls will compete in this weekend's Class 3A North Regionals.
"They are one of only three teams in Class 3A to go under 10 minutes this season," Duvall said. "And they did it without the anchor and fastest leg, Emily VandeWater, in the race."
Hall was third in both the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, and freshman Sara Carter was third in the 3,200 meters.
Junior Julia McLaughlin and senior Jessica Gee were first and second in the high jump, with McLaughlin clearing 5 feet.
Gee was also third in both the long and triple jump events, and junior Abigail Wenck was a runner-up in the pole vault.
On the boys side, senior Ben Bemis, senior Mason Rivera and sophomore Matthew Lehnert took first, second and third, respectively, in the 1,600-meter run, which Bemis completed in 4 minutes, 30.66 seconds.
Junior Evan Anderson won the 800-meter run in 2 minutes, 2.14 seconds, and also anchored the winning 3,200-meter relay squad that included Lehnert, sophomore Jon Luckin and senior Sam Cornwell.
"Jon Luckin led off with a 2:06, then Matt Lehnert ran a 2:03," said boys coach Jason Bowman. "Sam Cornwell then followed with a 2:11, and Evan Anderson closed with a 2:06."
Luckin also contributed a runner-up finish in the 3,200-meter run.
In the field events, senior Ben Martello, sophomore Kevin Payne and sophomore Drew Schneider finished first, second and third respectively, with Martello and Payne each clearing 11 feet, 6 inches.
Senior Charles Ryan and junior Luke Kurtz were first and second in the discus, with Ryan tossing it 136 feet, 3 inches. Ryan also won the shot put with a throw of 49 feet, 4.5 inches.
The junior varsity squads also won their respective championships, with the boys doing so for the third time in four years.
Sophomore Kevin Collins won the 3,200-meter run and was a runner-up in the 1,600, and sophomore Graham Hensley won the discus and was second in the shot put.
Among the freshmen, Prince Eze and Tyler Gee were first and third in the 110-meter hurdles, and Tim Vandewater was second in the 800-meter run.
On the junior varsity girls side, "Great performances were turned in by sophomores Jenna Schulze and Sydney Fox, and freshman Marilyn Gerovasilis, Alaina McCleary and Rebecca Schmidt," Duvall said.
Hereford Softball Defeats Aberdeen
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Junior Becca Smith pitched seven innings, striking out four batters and yielding four in both hits and runs against nine walks, and also contributed a second-inning triple as Hereford's softball team defeated Aberdeen High School, 7-4, in Monday's Class 3A North Regional quarterfinal.
Junior shortstop Hannah Thomas doubled in the second inning and had two RBIs, and senior Kelly Brown went 1-for-2 with two RBIs for the Bulls, who will play North Harford High School in Wednesday's semifinal.
Coach Laura Blama said junior Rachael Shaeffer "played extremely well at catcher, throwing out one runner and prevented two runs from scoring at the plate in the third and the fifth innings."
