Coffin breaks a barrier at Hereford in state meet

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Maria Coffin of Annapolis broke the Maryland state meet course record at Hereford -- widely regarded as the Toughest 3 miles in cross country -- and ran 17:49.4 and defeated Abbey Green of Walter Johnson by five seconds. The duo became the first two girls to break 18 minutes on the course.

Coffin, a Providence recruit, won the MPSSAA Class 4A title for the second year in a row and improved by 36 seconds over her 2015 state meet time. Green, a junior, was the runner-up for the second straight year and shed a minute from 2015. RESULTS

Green led her team to the state title, however. Walter Johnson scored 59 points and put all of its scorers in the top 22.

On the boys side, Dulaney beat Severna Park 97-98 for the state championship.

Virginia recruit Rohann Asfaw of Richard Montgomery won the 4A boys race in 16:04.2.

River Hill's boys put three in the top seven of the Class 3A boys championsihp race and scored 42 points to get the victory. Ryan Lockett, a junior from Poolesville Senior, won the race in 16:00.7. On the girls side, freshman Haley Cummins from C. Milton Wright was the winner in 18:41.6. Runner-up Molly Barrick from Northern led the charge for her team as the Patriots scored 72 points to secure the win.

Hayley Jackson from Patuxent won her third Class 2A championship and ran 18:19.5 for a 23-second victory. Kelly Wesolowski from Hereford, the runner-up, led her team to the title as the Bulls scored 52 points.

The Liberty boys put three in the top six on the way to the 2A boys title with 42 points. Taylor Baranoski of Eastern Tech ran 16:03.9 to earn individual honors.

Will Merritt of Smithsburg won the Class 1A boys title by running 15:54.6. It was his second state title and he ran nearly a minute faster than 2015 to get it. Declan Horner of Southern Garrett County ran 16:19.9 for second place. Bohemia Manor edged out Southern Garrett County 52-58 for the team win.

Sophomore Ana Rhoten won the 1A girls race in 20:10.0. Boonsboro went 2-5-7 on the way way to a team championship with 37 points.