Words: Celina Wong
On September 8, 2018, the Centennial Girls Cross Country team scored big by beating Howard High School in a tiebreaker, securing the Howard County Invitational title.
In cross country, the top five runners are considered to be ‘scoring runners.’ Whatever place each runner earns tallies up into a total point value. During this race, the top five runners from both Centennial and Howard had the same total score.
Centennial’s sixth runner, junior, Apoorva Ajith, broke the tie score of 65 points, beating Howard’s sixth runner by a mere six seconds.
“I was elated,” said Ajith about the win. “I was proud of my team and myself and just happy I made a difference to help the team win.”
Ajith explained how this title sets the tone for the rest of the season.
“I think this [win] shows how serious we are about the state title and it really boosted morale for us to just keep pushing.”
Senior captain, Cora Blount, commented on how the underclassmen will perform next year without the support of the seniors.
“I think it will be hard for the underclassmen because they’ve had us on the team since freshman year, but the juniors will be able to fulfill the role.”
The girls also competed on the iconic Bull Rull course on September 22. Blount and Alison Betler placed 12th and 19th, respectively. Overall, the girls scored 217 points and placed 8th. Centennial High School will continue to fight for their spot in the county at a tri-meet on Wednesday, October 17, at River Hill High School.
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