South Lake Athletes Win Liberty District Indoor Championship

LANDOVER, MD -- Members of the South Lakes High School girls and boys track teams put in dominating performances Friday, Jan. 31 and Saturday, Feb. 1, at the Liberty District Championship, according to a release, sweeping several events. This is the ninth straight championship for the SLHS girls and the 12th for the boys team.

The two-day event at the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex in Landover, Maryland, featured sweeps in the 300 meters, pole vault, shot put and a brother-sister winning combo in the 500 meters.

In the girls 300 meters race, senior Hannah Waller won with a meet record 40.04. Coming in second, sophomore Jillian Howard came posted a time of 40.67. She was followed by junior Juviannadean Mullings (40.80, third) and senior Mary Gregory (41.08, fourth). In winning the event, Waller broke the district record set in 2009 by former Seahawk Lachelle Wallace. Howard and Mullings' times also bested Wallace's record of 40.99.

Waller, who had a great performance at the meet, also won the 55 meters (7.10) and triple jump (37-10.50).

In the boys 300 meters, sophomore Joshua Gregory posted a winning time of 35.93. He was followed by sophomore Tyler Benett (37.23, second) and senior Jackson Cooley (37.46, third). In addition, Cooley won the long jump (22-00.00), triple jump (42-05.50) and came in second in the 55 meters (6.55). Meanwhile, Benett finished third in the long jump (20-09.25) and second in the triple jump (42-01.50).

Siblings Joshua and Mary Gregory dominated the 500 meters. Joshua Gregory won his race in 1:07.90, while his teammate senior David Ramirez finished fourth (1.10.3). Mary Gregory won the girls 500 meters with a time of 1:17.15. She was followed by fellow Seahawks Mullings (1:18.74, third) and senior Emily Lannen (1:20.14, fourth). Mary Gregory also finished fifth in the pole vault (7-00.00).

On day one of the meet, SLHS swept the boys pole vault. Junior Tommy Allison won the event (12-00.00), followed by senior Gabe Simmons (10-00.00, second) and sophomore Matthew Ryan (9-06.00, third). On Day 2, SLHS swept the boys shot put. Defending his district title, senior Caleb Miller came in first (49-02.50), followed by sophomores Jeremy Semelfort (39-04.50, second) and Adam Hvitfeldt-Matthews (38-03.25, third). On the girls' side, senior Sarah Jane Brown won her second Liberty District shot put championship (33-01.15). She was followed by junior Molly Shapiro (27-11.50, second), who came in fourth in the pole vault (7-06.00).

Senior Mira Cuthill won the girls high jump with a personal best jump of 5-04.00. Her previous best jump was 5-00.00.

The two-day event got off strong for the Seahawks, as they won the first race of the championships. Lannen, senior Caitlyn Morris, sophomore Annika Yu and freshman Annalise Williams posted a 9:48.92 time to win the girls 4x800 meter relay. There were also strong showings in the 1,600 meters from Morris (5:20.80, second) and Williams (5:22.89, fourth). The same can be said for Lannen (3:07.47, third) and Yu (3:11.70, fourth) in the 1,000 meters.

SLHS placed in either the girls, boys and/or both divisions in every event:

• Long jump: Girls - Waller (fourth, 16-09.50). Boys - Miller (fifth, 19-08.00)
• Pole vault: Girls - sophomore Amelia DiBiase (third, 9-06.00)
• Triple jump: Girls - sophomore Briana Reveron (sixth, 33-09.35)
• Shot put: Girls - senior Sydney Anderson (fifth, 26-06.50)
• 55 meter hurdles: Boys - sophomore William Watson (second, 8.22)
• 55 meters: Girls - Howard (second, 7.34)
• 1000 meters: Boys - Ramirez (second, 2:41.00), sophomore Curtis Boykin Jr (fifth, 2:45.48)
• 3200 meters: Girls - seniors Marissa Banga (fourth, 12:00.47) and Emma Grossback (fifth, 12:04.50)
• 4x200 meter relay: Girls - Howard, DiBiase, sophomore Megan Luczko, freshman Julianna Byrd (third, 1:49.86). Boys - Benett, junior Malcolm Coker, seniors Branden Tirona and Alex Harbour (third, 1:36.69)
• 4x400 meter relay: Boys - Gregory, Cooley, Benett and sophomore Marcus Williams (third, 3:36.19)
• 4x800 meter relay: Boys - Ramirez, Boykin, seniors Vincent Prudhomme and Stephen Esse (third, 8:30.04).

Some SLHS track and field athletes will be taking part in the Feb. 8 Millrose Games in New York City. After that, they'll be competing in the 6A Northern Region Championships Feb. 10 and 12, at Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex