Words: Sarah Paz

On November 12, the Centennial Boys’ and Girls’ Cross Country teams celebrated a successful season at their banquet. The season, which ended on November 10, resulted in a win for the Boys’ team and a third place finish for the Girls’ in the state meet.

The banquet started at 6:30pm and ended around 8:30pm. Runners and their families gathered to have a potluck dinner and recall the highlight of the seasons.

After the meal was finished, runners were called up by age and were awarded their certificates of participation. Coach Kevin McCoy reflected on the development of the seniors, saying that “every day was a joy, even though I didn’t act like it.”

But the wins weren’t the only thing that was celebrated. The announcement of the retirement of the beloved Boys’ Cross Country team coach Al Dodds led to much sadness from the members of the Boys’ team, especially for the seniors who had been coached by him the longest.

In his speech, Coach Dodds reflected on his more than 40 years he spent coaching, sharing the humorous moments of his career and the successes of his past teams.

After his speech, the Centennial Boys’ Cross Country team had speeches prepared for him, discussing the numerous times Coach Dodds had believed in them and impacted the way they are today. At the end, they presented him with a heartfelt gift.

Although he wants to spend more time with his grandchildren, Coach Dodds expressed the desire to continue coaching a few days a week for the Cross Country team.

Overall, the banquet was an event filled with joy and a bittersweet conclusion to a successful season.

For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.

Words: Sarah Paz

On Saturday, November 10, the Centennial Boys’ and Girls’ Cross Country teams raced in MPSSAA 3A State Cross Country Championships.

The Centennial Boys’ Cross Country team won first place, ending with a score of 87, which is determined by adding the places of the first five runners. They crushed the second place team, Linganore High School by 39 points and the third place team Towson High School by 52 points.

Senior Justin Ziegler crossed the finish line in 17:21, earning 12th place. Just three seconds later, sophomore Jacob Cole earned 14th place, followed by seniors Chris Bieberich, David Riina, Jason Kraisser, Zachary Deming and Ryan Erle. Ziegler, Cole, Bieberich, Riina and Kraisser won a medal signifying that they placed in the top twenty five.

The Centennial Girls’ Cross Country team won third place, dominating other Howard County schools such as Atholton High School and Mount Hebron High School. Northern Calvert High School won first place.

The team consisted of seniors Alison Betler, Cora Blount, Christina Stavlas, Caroline Shimeall, junior Apoorva Ajith and sophomores Katerina Talanova and Michelle Weaver.

The Centennial Girls’ Cross Country team ran around 10am, while the Centennial boys ran around 11am. The race was on a sunny but cool morning, which is often considered as the ideal weather for running a successful race. Though Hereford’s course is known for being extremely difficult, all runners persevered and contributed to the success of both teams.

For the seniors, many are sad that this is their last cross country race and they celebrated their successes at the cross country banquet that occurred on November 12.

For more breaking news and photos, follow The Wingspan on Instagram and Twitter @CHSWingspan.