Centennial’s Riley Herdson was expecting a good Saturday arriving at Hereford High for Saturday’s Class 2A state cross country meet. She was expecting to run a good time on a tough course. She was expecting her team to go for a long-sought after state championship.

What she did not expect was overtaking Hereford’s Sylvia Snider on the last hill covering the final 200 meters. She did not expect to break the finish line tape first.

But she did.

“I honestly don’t know. I surprised myself,” she said when asked about her championship-winning kick. “I heard my coach say, ‘It’s the last leg of the 400, you have the baton, just go.’ I just kicked.”

Herdson finished in 19 minutes, 12.54 seconds, a 4-second victory over Snider. It was the highlight of an amazing day for Centennial, who aside from Herdson’s individual win claimed both the boys and girls team titles.

Saturday’s team win erases the sting of a year ago, when Centennial finished as state runner-up by just two points.

Centennial finished with 39 points, beating out Hereford (67) and Century (85). North Harford (144) and Glenelg (145) rounded out the team top five.

But such a dominant win needed more than just Herdson’s effort. Centennial had five top-20 runners, including third place Kaylee Beal (19:36.56).

Also scoring for the Eagles were Cailtin Fritz (10th, 20:29.65), Allison Crumley (13th, 20:48.49) and Sarah Mahaney (17th, 21:05.83).

Meanwhile in the boys race, Centennial earned its second straight state crown with David Herzberger leading the way. The senior finished fifth in 16:37.56.

Centennial’s boys totaled 70 points. Poolesville was the closest competition with 96. Rounding out the top five were Wilde Lake (112), Century (162) and La Plata (180). For the Eagles, backing Herzberger were Jason Oberly (13th, 17:05.41), Harper Koeing (17th, 17:11.64), John Arrington (22nd, 17:14.93) and Ian Doll (26th, 17:23.88).

Southern-AA’s Eric Penkala repeats as boys champion: The 2A boys race was penciled in to be the most competitive by many before the day began. Returning state champion Eric Penkala of Southern headlined a strong field that also included Queen Anne’s Ben Marks and Century’s Ryan Hartranft, among others.

Through the first half of the race, those three distanced themselves from the rest of the field. But by the time they came back for the final stretch, it was Penkala and no one else.

The Southern star won the race in 15:37.37, the best time among all races Saturday.

“Me, Ben, Ryan, since last year, we’ve all been together. It was anyone’s game,” Penkala said. “I just had a plan to stick with Ben, then at the start you see people going out [fast] and I was like, ‘What is happening?’ And then Ben wasn’t going out. I was confused. I got in the front and coming down, I heard Ryan behind me and then Ben was there. Game on.”

Marks finished second in 15:52.8 with Hartranft third in 15:58.45.

Other top finishers: In the 2A boys race, Howard County champion Colin McGuiness of Wilde Lake continued his strong postseason with a fourth-place finish (16:36.06). Hartranft’s Century teammate Thomas Sewell finished seventh (16:44.94), Winters Mill’s Kayden Hovermale took eighth (16:53.75) and Hereford’s Zach Reeves was 10th (16:57.47).

Other area top-20 runners were Hammond’s Trevor Miyagishima (11th, 17:01.11) and Southern’s Carter Thompson (16th, 17:08.58).

On the girls side, last year’s state champion Taylor Colson took fifth (19:41.57) and her Century teammate Emily Mitroka was seventh (20:20.0). Hereford’s Ridley Lentz finished 10th on her home course (20:26.97).

Others in the top 20 were Century freshman Ella Lusting (12th, 20:45.56), North Harford’s Kendall Chandler (14th, 20:55.12), Glenelg’s Alexa Hester (15th, 20:57.13), Hereford’s Katie Gobell (16th, 21:01.93) and Century’s Elizabeth Mitroka (20th, 21:14.97).

Class 1A

Harford Tech senior Isabel DeVos was last seen by the bulk of the crowd at Hereford High School for the Class 1A girls state championship race, running neck-and-neck with Smithsburg’s Cora Gentzel as they took on the treacherous back hill known as “The Dip.” But by the time she reemerged, DeVos was all by herself finishing off her state championship run.

“I just went in super excited. My senior year, I said, ‘No matter what happens, I’m here with my team and I’m going to have a good time no matter what,’” DeVos said. “I’m just so happy I was able to do it. I could feel it going up ‘The Dip,’ that’s where I lost it last year, but this year, I felt good going up ‘The Dip’ and I knew today was my day.”

DeVos finished in 19 minutes, 32.29 seconds, good for a nearly 20-second margin of victory over Gentzel.

Not only did DeVos take first, her effort headlined a banner day for Harford Tech in which the boys and girls teams each won team state championships. For the girls, it was the culmination of a year’s worth of work after finishing second last season.

Harford Tech totaled 77 points. Smithsburg (90) edged out Patterson Mill (95) for second. Northern Garrett (102) and Liberty (127) rounded out the top five. Behind DeVos for the Cobras were four other top-35 runners: Caroline Bates was 11th (21:45.41), Christina Vanegas (22:26.89) and Seaborn (22:26.92) were 22nd and 23rd, respectively, and Skylar Byrne was 35th (23:33.42).

The Harford Tech boys didn’t have a first-place runner. They didn’t have a top-10 runner. But what they did have was a deep and balanced team that no one could match.

Kevin Roeder was the first Cobra across the line in 12th place (17:24.97), but right on his heels were teammates Alex Wockenfuss (15th, 17:34.26), Michael Besser (16th, 17:36.97) and Tanner Carson (18th, 17:40.77). Anthony Manzo put the final touches on a true team championship effort, finishing 31st (18:04.45).

“This is the best team Tech has had in years,” Roeder said. “We’ve consistently packed up. We came through with the region win and we were hoping the momentum carried is, and it’s paid off.”

Their efforts culminated in 81 team points, beating out Smithsburg (100), Liberty (124), Patterson Mill (133) and Brunswick (144).

Liberty’ Schellberg repeats as individual champion: Not too long into the boys race, the question shifted from whether Liberty’s Greg Schellberg could repeat as individual state champ to how much would he win by?

Schellberg’s four-second lead after 1 mile ballooned to 21 after the second. Though Smithsburg’s Michael Wynkoop battled back on the final mile to get within 10 seconds, there was no denying Schellberg a second straight state championship as he finished in 16:19.21.

Liberty returned as defending 1A state champions but couldn’t put off the repeat in that regard. The Lions still had strong efforts with Neal Sanchez (17:18.41) and Jesse Gresh (17:21.38) taking 10th and 11th, respectively.

Other top finishers: Four other area boys finished in the top 25 — two from Patterson Mill and two from South Carroll. The Huskies had strong showings from Chris Novak (ninth, 17:16.63) and Noah Jahnigen (17th, 17:38.44). South Carroll had Benson Sommerfeldt (17:43.39) and Dario Lavelle (17:43.6) finish 22nd and 23rd, respectively.

In the girls’ race, Patterson Mill’s Abby Horsmon took fourth in 20:17.67. Liberty’s Avery Neilsen was 10th (21:43.34), Havre de Grace’s Chloe Eisner was 13th (21:57.29) and Carver A&T’s Anna Bibo was 14th (21:57.57).

Also in the top 25 were Patterson Mill’s Hannahbelle Wang (16th, 22:03.68), Liberty’s Giada Marrichi (18th, 22:06.29), Patterson Mill’s Stefani Burns (20th, 22:12.52) and Liberty’s Asha Preuss (24th, 22:32.66).

Class 3A

Old Mill’s Tsedeke Jakovics took off fast from the start and worked himself a sizable gap before a third of the three-mile 3A state cross country race at Hereford High School was completed. Jakovics’ pace cooled down among the hilly course, but he still crossed the finish line in 15 minutes, 52.4 seconds, nearly 12 seconds ahead of North Hagerstown’s Walker Mason.

“I wasn’t expecting anything today, I went into this today pretty sick,” Jakovics said. “I knew I’d have to get out fast because this was going to be mostly a solo race, so I had to be smart in that sense. I think I sorta lost a lot of energy going down that hill. I don’t think I controlled it as much. … I had to really just sort of shut it down and go into a, ‘Let’s just win this thing.’”

The victory not only gives Jakovics a seasonal triple crown, winning county, regional and state titles, but it’s also a sport triple crown. His newest gold medal joins the others he’s won in indoor and outdoor track and field.

While Jakovics posted a dominant individual performance, Severna Park used its depth to rack up team accolades, none greater than the Falcons girls winning the 3A team state title.

“Honestly, I’m so happy, I think there’s no other word to describe it,” Severna Park’s Josephine Kamas said. “I am so proud of our team, too.”

Kamas headlined the victory, finishing third individually (19:02.84). Lexi Fitzsimmons joined her teammate in the top 10, finishing seventh (19:23.03).

Two other Falcons finished just outside the top 10. Kathryn Murphy (19:39.63) and Jocelyn DiAngelo (19:41.12) finished 11th and 12th, respectively. Sydney Davis rounded out Severna Park’s scorers, finishing 24th (20:26.95). Severna Park totaled 48 points, well ahead of second-place Towson (101). Thomas Wootton (142), Dulaney (174) and South River (188) rounded out the team top five.

Towson’s runner-up finish was powered by Cecilia Van Lierop in 10th (19:37.79) and Alexandra Lohse in 15th (19:46.29). Also scoring for the Generals were Caroline Richard (21st, 20:20.47), Lilyann Richard (28th, 20:36.65) and Catherine Van Lierop (21:31.7).

Individually, Howard’s Claire Sivitz was state runner-up in 18:47.18, behind only North Hagerstown’s Lauren Stine (18:23.46).

Other area runners in the top 20 were River Hill’s Alyssa Mattes (fourth, 19:03.43), South River’s Charlotte Bunting (19:43.12), Dulaney’s Catherine Campbell (17th, 20:02.1), Old Mill’s Isabel Meadows-Soto (18th, 20:03.5) and Catonsville’s Olivia Virago (19th, 20:15.74).

In the boys’ race, Wootton won the team title by beating Severna Park, 75-95. North Hagerstown (160), Sherwood (182) and Dulaney (231) rounded out the top five.

Dulaney was led by Oliver Katz, who took third overall in 16:08.07.

Theodore Brown of Towson was right behind Katz in fourth (16:09.35). Other top area finishers were Severna Park’s Caden Lazzor (sixth, 16:16.72), Howard’s Rayyan Dheini (ninth, 16:25.27), South River’s Owen Infante (10th, 16:27.34), Severna Park’s Cooper Alahverdian (14th, 16:32.24), Old Mill’s Colin Prato (15th, 16:34.49), Manchester Valley’s Logan Amis (16th, 16:37.42), Severn Run’s Frankie Kelly (18th, 16:43.73) and Severna Park’s Stephen Nunn (19th, 16:43.73).

Have a news tip? Contact Anthony Maluso at amaluso @baltsun.com, 567-230-6024, x.com/TonySunSports and instagram.com/TonySunSports.