May 28—URBANA — For four years running, Ella Auderset has more or less been the wandering nomad for the Urbana girls track team.
Capable of winning just about every event on the track, she goes wherever her team needs her to score points. She said that has been the one consistency of her high school career. There is no consistency.
At Thursday’s Frederick County Public Schools track and field championships, the first large-scale meet for county track teams since the state indoor championships in February 2020, that meant Auderset was running the 100- and 200-meter dashes, events she does not typically run in big meets, along with her more familiar events, the 400 and the 800, which she has either won or placed very highly on the state level.
“Just the way things are shaking out in our county and even regions and states, we’ll see where it goes,” Urbana girls coach C.J. Ecalono said. “I don’t know if I am going to do this again with her.”
That conversation is for another day. But, in typical fashion whenever something is asked of her, Auderset delivered Thursday with a flourish.
She won the 100 with the fastest time for Class 4A girls this season (12.64 seconds) and took the 200 (26.07) and the 400 (56.66) as well. On tired legs right after she won the 200, she placed second in the 800 to Linganore’s state indoor champion in the event, Mikayla Moxley, who crossed the finish line in 2 minutes, 21.10 seconds. Auderset’s time was 2:22.59.
“The energy is different,” Auderset, a senior, said of being able to compete in a big meet again. “I missed seeing people that I know.”
Auderset’s outstanding meet, as well as three victories from senior teammate Brooke Alban (triple jump, long jump, 100 hurdles) helped lift the Urbana girls to another county team championship in dominant fashion. The Hawks rang up 201.5 points, while Linganore and Tuscarora tied for second with 81.
Meanwhile, the boys meet came down to the final event, the triple jump, with three teams, Thomas Johnson, Linganore and Oakdale vying for the championship.
The victory in the triple jump by TJ’s Sylvester Olofio (39-5 1/4) lifted the Patriots to the team championship with 119.5 points. Oakdale was second with 113.5, and Linganore was third with 111.5.
Alex Lombardo won three events for TJ. He won the 400 in 51.5. seconds, the 800 in 2:00.07 and the 1,600 in 4:38.12.
For Linganore, senior Oral-Anthony Coleman has found his stride this season. He won his first county titles in the 100 dash (11.04 seconds) and the 200 (22.65) and finished second to Brunswick’s Jackson Tuomey in the long jump.
Tuomey, who will compete in college on the Division I level at St. Francis (Pennsylvania), won the long jump with a leap of 21 feet, 3/4 inches as well as the pole vault with a height of 15 feet, 6 inches.
When asked why things have clicked for him this season, Coleman said, “To be completely honest, I don’t know. Maybe my body has finally adapted, I would say. I have definitely gotten stronger.”
Ordinarily, Thursday would have marked the first day of the state track and field meet at Morgan State University in Baltimore
There will be a state meet this season. But it won’t happen until June 17-19 at the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex in Landover.
Even though the county meet fell on a later date than it normally would, everyone was just glad to to have it. With a big crowd on at Urbana High School, it sort of felt like normal, even though most of the athletes wore masks when they weren’t competing.
“Driving up to the school, it looked like the good ole days,” said Kevin Kendro, the FCPS supervisor of athletics and extracurricular activities. “I can’t tell you how happy I was to have trouble finding a parking spot.”
The other county champions in the girls meet were: Urbana’s Ivy Coldren in the 3,200 (11:45.57), Fiona Agyekum in the shot put (38-4) and the 4×800 relay team (10:02.76) and 4×400 relay team (4:11.11), Oakdale’s Hayley Ross in the 1,600 (5:17.34), Ellen Gill in the 300 hurdles (47.54) and the 4×200 relay team (1:49.98), Tuscarora’s Christiana Hinds in the high jump (4-10) and the 4×100 relay team (52.09), Frederick’s Sarah Meredith in the discus (125-8) and Thomas Johnson’s Elisa Ramos in the pole vault (10-8).
In the boys meet, the other county champions were: Thomas Johnson’s Mack McKeever in the 3,200 run (9:56.45), Linganore’s Xander McClure in the high jump (5-10) and the 4×100 relay team (44.02), Oakdale’s 4×400 relay team (3:34.58), Urbana’s 4×800 relay team (8:35.67), Tuscarora’s 4×200 relay team (1:33.04), Frederick’s Arthur Core in the 110 hurdles (16.13) and Adam Moezaw in the shot put (47-8) and discus (125-1) and Middletown’s Justin Lynch in the 300 hurdles (41.7).
Follow Greg Swatek on Twitter: @greg_swatek