Arundel's Jacob Molina kicked off his 2018 season with a win in the 800 at the Seahawk Invitational. However, his encore this past week might have been even better. (Photo by Craig Amoss)
Who was the top boys performer around the state in the final week of March? The weather has yet to warm up and athletes are still shaking off the rest from the indoor/outdoor break, but that doesn't mean that there weren't some outstanding performances before the season gets heavy in April and May. Vote for your favorite below - the poll closes on Sunday at midnight!
Joe Elias, Urbana: Last year's 3A state champion has performed better in the discus than the shot put, and he must have been pretty excited to get back in the cage this March. Through three meets he is undefeated in the event, and on Saturday he set a new personal best of 164'9 at the Patriot Invitational. Elias currently leads the state in the event by over 20 feet, and his performance would have been the third-best in the state last season.
Jacob Molina, Arundel: The Arundel junior had quite a day at the Anne Arundel County All-Comers meet on Thursday, winning both the 1600 and 3200. He dropped a personal best in the 1600 (4:31.72) but the big effort came in the 3200, in which he dropped his personal best by over a minute to 9:46.30. At the time it was the second-fastest performance in the state (he was passed by Michael Belmaggio and Zach Fenton at the Patriot Invitational on Sunday) and fully establishes him as one of the top distance runners in Anne Arundel County.
Destin Richardson, Parkside: Richardson breezed to a win in the 110 hurdles at the Cambridge Classic on Friday, and now has three races under his belt faster than he ran in 2017. It also gave him his first FAT time of the season (15.16, compared to a 15.04 hand time last week) and makes him eligible for the Maryland leaderboard. Only four athletes have run faster times in the 110 hurdles so far this spring.
Jacob Schultz, James M. Bennett: Schultz' best performance of the week came at Bennett's home meet on Wednesday, when he cleared a season-best height of 6'3 in the high jump. Only three athletes have cleared 6'4 or better this spring, and only one (South Hagerstown's Nathaniel Moore) in the same 3A classification as Schultz. In the same meet, he also set a new personal best in the long jump at 19'2.50.
Cameron Vereen, Oakland Mills: The talented sprinter wasted little time in rising to the top of the state leaderboards, turning in a full day's work at the Howard Six-Team league meet on Thursday. His best race (relative to the state leaderboard) was the 200, where his 22.34 effort places him second in the state. Vereen also won the 100 in 10.94, good for third place on the Maryland leaderboard. Vereen didn't stop there, either, running a personal-best 51.73 in the 400 meters.