Hereford Takes Fifth Place at Boys' State Track Meet

Hereford High School senior Charlie Ryan's winning shot put toss of 53 feet, 1.75 inches paced the Bulls' boys track team to a fifth place finish at last weekend's Class 3A state track meet.

Ryan's effort beat a throw of 48 feet, 7.75 inches by Franklin High School's John Randall. The win came eight days after Ryan was a runner-up to Randall at the previous weekend's Class 3A North Regionals.

At regionals, Randall registered 46 feet, 8.25 inches to claim the win, compared to Ryan's 46 feet, 8 inches for second place. 

Junior Kevin Payne and senior Brendan Martello finished second and third respectively in the pole vault for the Bulls, with Payne clearing 12 feet, and Martello, 11 feet, six inches. 

The Bulls' 3200-meter relay team finished third with a time of 8 minutes, 5.59 seconds.

Two weekends prior, the Bulls' boys and girls teams had swept the Baltimore County championships for the second straight year, with the girls' squad earning its fourth consecutive crown.

A week ago, at the Class 3A North Regionals, the girls won their sixth crown, counting an initial one in 2004. The Bulls' boys won their first regional crown since 2008.


Hereford Girls' Track Places Seventh at State Track Meet

Hereford junior Emily VandeWater ran the race of her life for a 1600-meter run time of 5 minutes, 9.24 seconds. 

But River Hill senior Anna Demaree was a tad faster at 5:07.48, giving her the Class 3A state title. This relegated VandeWater to a very close second place, and pacing the Bulls to seventh overall. 

"VandeWater’s time is the second fastest in school history, and faster than the personal best of former Hereford state champion Jenna Cimino, who is now competing at Stevenson," coach Bradley Duvall said. 

"I told Emily that if she ran sub 5:10 in the 1600 then she would have a great shot to win. But Anna Demaree from River Hill ran and executed a perfect race to beat her," Duvall said. "They thinned out the field in the first 250 meters and it was clearly a two-horse race at that point. I think that with 20 more meters, Emily would have had her. She was closing hard, but just ran out of real estate."

VandeWater also anchored the Bulls' third-place 3200-meter relay team, which finished in 9 minutes, 42.98 seconds.

"If you would have told me that Emily was going to run sub 5:10 by the state meet and take 11 seconds off of her sophomore year personal record, I would have been very excited," said Duvall. 

Freshman Sara Carter was also a runner-up in the 3200-meter run, clocking in at 11 minutes, 38.73 seconds.

"Sara will be a tough competitor for the next three years in both the 3200 meters and the 1600 meters," Duvall said. "She is becoming a smarter racer, and with the combination of a little more strength, she will dominate in the coming seasons."