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 Westminster’s Taylor, Century’s Linde win at Carroll County. Century’s girls repeat, Winters Mills boys win
By Craig Amoss
Some people will do anything to win.
Westminster’s Ryan Taylor may have won a championship, but he missed out on the feel of the wind in his hair as he ran. Sporting a quasi-Mohawk haircut, the senior took the race out on a fast pace, fell behind, caught up and cruised home in 17:25, nearly a full 10 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor, Winters Mills’ Zach Hopkins, who finished second in 17:35.
“I had a plan to just try and separate myself as quick as possible,” he said. “Then just push the hill and that’s where I think I got everyone. Then he (Hopkins) passed me, and when we got to the woods, I think that’s where I just lost everybody.”
 A risky maneuver to be sure, given the tough and hilly course at South Carroll High School, coupled with the soggy ground from the recent rains.
“It was a risk, but it paid off in the end,” he said.
Less hair-raising was the look he and several teammates, in true Mohawk fashion, were wearing for the event.
“We had a team pasta dinner and a couple of the guys had gotten it done, so they practically forced me to do it,” said Taylor with a slight shrug. “I like it.”
Winters Mill coach Dan Repolge no doubt liked what he saw as the Falcons claimed four of the first seven spots. Hopkins finished a strong second, but he had plenty of help from Tom Carpenter (4th, 17:40), Eric Tringall (6th, 17:48), Ryan Spangler (7th, 17:49) and Reilly Cox (17th, 18:40). What had been a close battle after three runners with second-place Westminster opened considerably after that point as the Falcons cruised past the Owls, 36-54.
“I was very pleased, I thought we ran very well,” said Repolge. “We had a couple of guys down at 5 and 6 who been off (with injuries) for the past week or 10 days, so I think they’ve got some room to come back, but this is the best result we’ve had all year so we’re very happy about that.”
Westminster and Century waged a tight battle for second place, with the Owls barely edging out the Knights, 54-59. Liberty (119) and North Carroll (128) also placed in the top five. Century was paced by a third place finish from Nick Pezza (17:40), eighth from Ryan Fenton (17:53) and a 10th from Pat Mead (18:03). James Beacham (5th, 17:46 was Westminster’s second finisher, while Alex Cooke (17:55) placed ninth as the three top team finishers monopolized the Top 10.
Maura Linde and her Century teammates may not be ready to apply for an anti-trust exemption, but they have certainly have had their own monopoly on the county championship of late. The junior easily cruised to her third consecutive individual title in 19:53, more than half a minute over her nearest pursuer, South Carroll’s Cody Mezebish (20:24), while the rest of the Century squad earned its third county championship in the past four years. 
Paced by Kirsten McGovern (6th, 21:10), Allie Dearie (8th, 21:37), and Katie Todd (9th, 21:59), the Knights nearly doubled up on second-place Liberty 39-70.
“I thought they did well today,” said Century coach Kristin Hadden, whose team will attempt to capture the Class 2A state championship that eluded them by one point last year. “I thought they made a good effort. I know the course was a little muddy and it was tight going up those hills and they had to slow down a little bit, but I’m proud of them.”
“We’re all healthy this year,” added Linde. “We know it’s (States) going to be tough, but I’m confident and the team’s confident. But especially after last year, losing by one point, we’re out to get it.
Winters Mill and Liberty waged a spirted battle for second place, but the Lions, led by Samatha McElroy (4th, 20:49), Casey Sullivan (7th, 21:23) and Michele Lambert (10th, 22:11), held off the Falcons, who were paced by Hanna Oneda’s fifth place finish of 20:56, 70-75. Fourth place South Carroll laid claim to both the Nos. 2 and 3 positions with Mezebish and freshman Samantha Bingaman (20:43).
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