LANDOVER — It was the most exciting race Severna Park boys indoor track and field had ever been a part of. And the Falcons didn’t even have anybody running in it.

Severna Park held a 9.5-point lead over Montgomery Blair in the Class 4A team standings at Wednesday’s Maryland Public Secondary School Athletic Association state indoor track and field meet with one event left.

Montgomery Blair was running the 4x400 meter relay finals; Severna Park was on the sidelines. If Blair finished anywhere but first, Severna Park would win the state title.

“I don’t think we’ve ever cheered for anybody else that much, it was wild,” Severna Park’s Chris Nunn said.

Blair’s anchor runner took the baton in fourth place. He moved up to second in the final lap. But with a strong finish, DuVal held off Blair and Severna Park repeated as state champions.

The Falcons finished with 46.5 points, beating out Blair’s 45. Northwest (35), Wise (30) and Seneca Valley (28) rounded out the top five.

“We had no idea we were even close to having a shot at states,” Nunn said of an early-season mindset. “This shows if you put in the hard work, good things are going happen.”

In a race that close, every point was critical. Alex Lecouras didn’t have the most graceful ending to the 4A 800. A close three-way battle at the finish saw Dulaney’s Tyler Dailey come out of nowhere to outkick everyone in 1 minute, 58.47 seconds. Lecouras stumbled to the ground, but crossed the line second in 1:58.66, one-hundredth of a second ahead of a Blair runner. One-hundredth of a second decided the state championship.Turn to State, Page 3

Lecouras did get a gold medal Wednesday, anchoring the 4x800 team to a win in 8:09.99. Brooks Steppe, Liam Hagerty and Cody Smith joined him.

Severna Park also posted a 1-2 finish in the 3,200 with Haggerty (9:35.7) edging Nunn (9:35.98) for gold.

Dailey double

Dailey has had a stellar running career with the Lions. On Wednesday, the Eastern Michigan commit closed out his high school indoor career with two golds.

Beating out Lecouras in the 800 was his second gold, but one of the hardest he’s had to work for. He was behind the lead pack most of the race, but outkicked everyone down the home stretch.

“I was running a little scared there, not going to lie,” Dailey said. “I didn’t think it would go out like that. They took it out and I had some work to do. I’ve been working on the mentality part of it all season. Once I smell blood in the water, I was ready to go.”

Earlier in the day, Dailey won the 1,600 (4:27.51), powering away from the pack over the final two laps.

Mervo finishes second in 3A

Mervo fell one-and-a-half points short of taking home the boys 3A state title, but did earn runner-up honors. Northern-Calvert took first with 39 points, with Mervo close behind with 37.5. Thomas Johnson (34), Towson (25) and Milford Mill (24) rounded out the top five.

Mervo won gold in the 4x200, as Brandon Alston, Justin DeVaughn, Shelton Todd and Challenger Valentine won the race in 1:31.45.

Valentine ran the anchor leg. When he took the baton, the crowd let him know he was in a tight race. So he knew what to do.

“I got out, I heard the little, ‘Woo, woo, woo,’ ” Valentine said. “I heard him on my back. But that was it, I wasn’t going to let him catch me. ... I refuse to lose.”

Area girls teams finish strong

Several area girls teams pushed into title contention but none could come away with the top prize. In Class 3A, Northern-Calvert concluded a sweep of the class, winning with 60 points. It was followed by Mt. Hebron (49), River Hill (42), Westminster (38) and Howard (29).

In 4A, Urbana ran away with the title with 65 points. Blake (38), Old Mill (35), Severna Park (31) and C.H. Flowers (29) rounded out the top five.

Old Mill’s best event was the 55, where Jasmine Cook won the state title in 7.16 seconds.

“It was mainly for me to focus on driving out, getting a good foundation at the start so I can finish well,” Cook said.

Anne Arundel County strikes gold

In 4A, Arundel’s Noel Evans was a two-time gold medalist. She won individually in the 500 (1:17.96) and teamed with Grace Hickman, Audrey Owens and Bryce Hatcher to win the 4x400 in 4:03.80.

“I was [the] No. 1 time going into it,” Evans said of her 500 win. “I knew I had to keep it up.”

Brodneck’s Carson Boteler won the pole vault, clearing 10 feet, while Severna Park’s Lexi Ensor won the 800 (2:19.53).

“It was pretty rough. I ran the 4x8 earlier, [earned a personal record] by four seconds in that,” Ensor said. “So, I was really nervous about this one. But that kick at the end helped me pull through.”

In the 4A boys side, Old Mill’s Joseph DeRosier won the 55 hurdles in 7.47 seconds.

Howard County performs well in 3A

Mt. Hebron junior Arayana Ladson made the most of her four events, earning medals in each, including a pair of golds in the 55-meter dash and 4x200 relay. After placing third in both the 55-meter hurdles and the 300, Ladson made sure to get her top spot on the podium in the 55, finishing in 7.14 seconds. She also set the tone in the Vikings’ 4x200 relay, running the opening leg and along with Sameena Mathew, Hannah Belk and Ava Pierre.

River Hill won the 4x800 relay as the team of freshmen sisters Marella and Lauren Virmani and Gabrielle Demuren and Cora Cheer finished in 10:04.04, improving on their second-place qualifying time by nearly 40 seconds.

However, that was just one of several events for both Virmani sisters in their first state championships. Lauren earned her first individual state gold medal in the 3,200 (11:29.9), making a late charge to defeat North Hagerstown’s Lauren Stine.

Hawks senior Larasia Buckner also captured a gold medal in the 55-meter hurdles, finishing in 8.53 seconds to defeat a pair of Howard County opponents in Ladson and Wilde Lake’s Shanise Staats.

“It was surprising,” Buckner said of her gold medal. “I knew I had the capability to do so. I was really nervous at first, coming out in first was really surprising, but made me happy.”

Wilde Lake’s boys only had three participants in the state championships but made the most of those events. Senior Tele Abe won the 55-meter hurdles, finishing in 7.71 seconds, while junior Henry Hopper, a cross country state champion in the fall, won the 3,200 in 9:37:87.

“I have the fitness, I just don’t have the experience, so I’ve just got to do exactly what my coach said,” Hopper said of his pre-race mentality. “That’s what I did and it went really well.”

Centennial senior Antonio Camacho-Bucks, the 2021 Baltimore All-Metro cross country Runner of the Year, had never won an indoor state title — until Wednesday. Camacho-Bucks picked up the pace on the final lap of his 1,600, furiously picking up speed after the turn and ensuring the top spot finishing in 4:19:82, the final piece in an accomplished indoor career.

“The whole race is staying relaxed patient and comfortable,” he said. “Whenever I felt that it was time, just to go for it and that’s what I did. I’m excited and happy with my first indoor state title.”

Howard senior Ruth Smith continued her success in the high jump clearing 5-2 to secure the gold medal, the Lions’ only winner of the evening.

Westminster’s Toth runs away from pack

Athletes from Westminster and Manchester Valley walked away a few gold medals in 3A, crowning some first-time indoor track state champions in the process.

For the Owls, senior Hannah Toth won the 800 and 1,600. Opponents marveled as she narrowly missed the state record by less than three seconds in the 1,600, a race she dominated from start to finish.

“I never had a chance,” one of Toth’s opponents said, exhausted and impressed after the unofficial times were displayed on the scoreboard.

In the boys pole vault, another Owl made their debut atop the podium when junior Lukas Michael won his first indoor state championship.

There was also a moment of celebration for the small section of Manchester Valley fans decked out in navy as the boys’ 4x400 relay team of Kai Chwang, Christian Childs, Quinn Favorite and Logan Haines took home the state title for the Mavericks.

“We come into practice and work hard every day,” Childs said. “It’s about consistency and encouraging each other every practice.”

Other 3A winners

The metro region brought back several gold medals in 3A.

Milford Mill’s Daysen Shell won the 55 in 6.38 seconds, a track gold medal to go with the one he got as part of the Millers’ football team.

“I was very happy with it, I got a PR that I wanted, got that 6.3,” Shell said. “My second one, I got one during football season, so I’ll add it to the collection.”

Digital Harbor’s Alpha Blade won the 300 (34.95), beating out Atholton’s Darian Tarver by three-hundredths of a second.

Meanwhile, Bel Air’s Jack Hynes surged down the home stretch to win the 500 in 1:06.61.

Franklin’s Myles Taylor won the high jump, clearing 6-4, and Woodlawn’s Nikiyah Williams won the girls 300 in 40.6.