Howard sophomore Claire Sivitz and senior Rayyan Dheini each dealt with their own bouts of adversity this season. Dheini battled shin pain throughout the summer, ultimately deciding to rehab and take a break from running. Sivitz missed over a week early in the season with pneumonia.

Both runners rose above those challenges, performing their best in some of the season’s biggest races. Sivitz won the girls Howard County championship for a second straight season (18 minutes, 39.69 seconds), while Dheini was the boys runner-up (15:49.72). The runners swapped placements at Class 3A South Regionals as Dheini won the regional race (16:36.41) and Sivitz finished as the runner-up (19:31.12).

Each concluded their high school seasons with strong performances at the state meet as Sivitz placed second (18:47.18) and Dheini finished ninth (16:25.27) in 3A, leading the way for their respective teams. Sivitz and Dheini are the 2024 Howard County Times cross country girls and boys Runners of the Year.

“I’m really proud of them for putting in all the miles,” Howard coach Tammy Liu said. “I know it wasn’t always easy being sick or injured, but I’m glad they were patient and listened to their coaches as we came up with a plan for coming back from injury or illness. I’m just very proud of how they handled themselves. Once you win a race there’s additional pressure and I think they handled it really well.”

Both runners were thrust into a different role this season. Dheini stepped up as the top boys runner after several seniors graduated, including 2023 boys Runner of the Year Joey Ensor. Ensor was the tone setter for the group in season’s past, but Dheini assumed that role this season.

He quickly established himself and set the tone from the season’s opening meet at South River in the Seahawk Invitational. The senior finished seventh in the Varsity A division among a stacked field of private and public-school runners with a personal-best time (15:34.39).

“Going into it, we’d only done workouts. So, I didn’t know where I was really at in a race scenario,” Dheini said. “It showed me where I am in comparison to other people and where I can be training. It gave me bigger goals to shoot for.”

Sivitz also took on new responsibility this season. As several seniors, including Kiley Mann, departed the program, Sivitz stepped into a bigger leadership role, guiding the freshmen and other young runners on the team despite only being a sophomore.

But with Mann’s graduation, Sivitz lost a training partner who ran a similar pace.

Therefore, she began training with some of the boys on the varsity team, rotating back and forth between the two groups.

She never lost her stride, also beginning the season with a personal best time and runner-up finish at the Seahawk Invitational (17:55.38). While she got sick shortly after, Sivitz maintained a positive mindset in preparation to return.

“I was definitely trying to be more positive,” Sivitz said. “I took on last year that if I’m positive before my race instead of scared or nervous and telling myself, ‘I got this, I can do this’, then I definitely run a lot better. It really gets me into the race, focused and that helps me run my best.”

Throughout the season, Howard’s coaches also preached the value of mental toughness and race strategy. That mental fortitude proved pivotal as the races became higher stakes and the competition widened. Their respective times at states were the fastest for male and female Howard County runners across all four classifications.

They continued to represent Howard County and the Lions at the NXR Southeast Regional Championships, excelling against student-athletes from throughout the country.

“I like having teammates up there with me,” Sivitz said. “We practice with each other. He pushes me to do my best and I love that we’re both runner of the year right now. It’s really fun to have that both last year and this year.”

Dheini added: “It was fun to see Claire and Joey last year. I was hoping, ‘Maybe it will be me next year’. Being at every meet, watching Claire get called up for the medals and then me also being up there, it felt like we’re representing Howard really well.”

Boys All-County first team

John Arrington, Centennial, junior: Arrington placed sixth at the county championships with a time of 16:40.32 and was one of three Eagles to finish in the top six. He also placed in the top 20 at 2A West regionals and top 25 at states.

Samuel Funk, Glenelg, senior: Funk placed fourth at the county championships with a personal record time (16:33.14). He was the Gladiators boys’ top runner throughout the season, also with a top 25 finish in 2A.

David Herzberger, Centennial, senior: Herzberger paced the Eagles boys throughout the season with top three finishes at both counties (16:27.44) and regionals (16:52.66). The veteran concluded his career with a top five finish at states, the second highest male finisher from Howard County in 2A, leading a group that won county, regional and state team titles.

Trevor Miyagishima, Hammond, sophomore: Miyagishima emerged a sophomore standout for the Golden Bears, including a personal record time at counties (16:48.09). The young runner extended his success, placing 11th at both 2A West Regionals and states.

Colin McGuinness, Wilde Lake, senior: McGuinness made a statement in winning a gold medal at counties with a personal-best time (15:30.45). He built on that success with fourth place finishes at both regionals and states, the highest placing male Howard County runner in 2A.

Jason Oberly, Centennial, junior: Oberly was one of three Eagles boys runners to place in the top six at counties, highlighted by a personal record time (16:37.30). He finished 10th at regionals and 13th at states, one of two Eagles to place in the top 15 on a challenging course.

Wesley Zaron, Wilde Lake, freshman: Zaron burst onto the scene as a freshman as one of Wilde Lake’s top runners. He placed seventh at counties, 13th at regionals and 23rd at states. The young runner was the only freshman to finish in the top 10 at counties, top 15 at regionals and top 25 at states.

Girls All-County first team

Kaylee Beal, Centennial, sophomore: Beal finished fourth at the Howard County championships with a personal best time (19:07.20). The sophomore placed third at both 2A West Regionals (20:05.72) and states (19:36.56), as just one of two sophomores in her classification to finish in the top 10 at states.

Allison Crumley, Centennial, senior: Crumley also set a personal-best time at counties (20:12.52), building momentum into 2A West regionals and states. She finished in the top 25 at regionals and top 15 at states, helping the Eagles capture county, regional and state team titles.

Caitlin Fritz, Centennial, senior: Fritz placed in the top 10 at the county championships, 2A West regionals and states. Those strong performances were highlighted by a fifth-place finish at regionals, where the Eagles claimed three of the top five spots.

Riley Herdson, Centennial, senior: Herdson capped off her career in a big way, finishing as the runner-up at the county championships with a personal-best time (18:51.34). The senior also placed second at 2A west regionals. She saved her best for her final state championship race, winning the gold medal (19:12.54), also leading the Eagles to the team state title.

Alyssa Mattes, River Hill, junior: Mattes finished third at the county championships and built on that performance with a gold medal at 3A South Regionals (19:05.47). The junior capped off a stellar junior season with a fourth-place finish at states, as the second-highest finisher in 3A from Howard County.

Ela Muniz, Reservoir, junior: Muniz was Reservoir’s top finisher at the county championships, 3A South Regionals and states. She finished fifth at counties (19:47.69), fourth at regionals (20:23.68) and concluded her season with a top 30 placement at states.

Gabrielle Shord, Atholton, senior: Shord led the Raiders as a senior, placing sixth at counties and third at 3A South Regionals (20:19.54). She ended the season with a top 25 finish at states, the third-highest placer from Howard County in the 3A classification.

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