Blazers fall behind at MCPS Championship

At Saturday's Montgomery County Track and Field Championship held at the PG Sports and Learning Complex, Blair's competitors did not fare especially well. Although freshmen Halsey and Ashlyn Sinclair excelled in their races, most of Blair's other representatives were outrun by athletes from track powerhouses such as Gaithersburg and Walt Whitman High Schools.

Halsey Sinclair came in first in the 1600m run with a time of 5:16.23. She was followed by her sister, Ashlyn Sinclair, who finished with a time of 5:18.59. Halsey Sinclair also won the 3200m race with a time of 11:32.28, ahead of runners from Poolesville and B-CC. Blair's girls team score was 33. Poolesville and Walter Johnson took the two top spots with scores of 59.5 and 53.

Gaithersburg and Whitman, respectively, have the most girls and boys championships (seven and four) to date, while Blair has yet to claim either a boys or girls victory at this particular meet, which was first held in 1986.

Among Blair's runners were freshmen Aaron Townsend in the boys 300m, Ashlyn Sinclair in the 1600m and 800m and Halsey Sinclair in the 1600m and 3200m. Senior Matt Sheldon ran the boys 1600 and 3200m races, while fellow senior Esey Kidane competed in the 500m. Junior Narique Dixon sprinted the 55m dash, and freshman Keianna Dixon ran the 800m. Senior James Dwight represented Blair in the 55m dash, while juniors Alan Bateman and Anthony Glynn competed in the 3200 and 800m, respectively.

Blazer sprinters could not find any luck in their races. Narique Dixon and Dwight both competed in the 55m dash, and came in fifth and sixth. Dixon finished behind runners from Paint Branch, Poolesville, Gaithersburg, and Richard Montgomery High Schools, while Dwight came in behind runners from Kennedy, Paint Branch, Damascus, Wootton and Poolesville.

The MCPS Championship is the last required meet for public schools in Montgomery County.