LANDOVER — The audible clanking of the medals worn around the necks of Justin DeVaughn, Deandre Thomas and several other members of the Mervo boys track and field team was a reminder of how much they accomplished at the Class 4A state championships.
But for the Mustangs themselves, those individual accolades take a backseat to the one silent piece of hardware — the team state championship trophy.
Mervo totaled 73 points, distancing itself from second-place Crofton (48).
“I haven’t held one of those [trophies] in a long time,” DeVaughn said. “We’ve always come up short. My freshman year we came up second place indoor, second place again my 10th grade year. This year, we all came together and got the job done. There’s not a lot of us either, not a lot of boys, but we got it done. Good group of guys.”
DeVaughn left Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex with three individual gold medals. He added a gold in the 110-meter hurdles Saturday to the two he won on Friday. His time of 13.78 seconds would’ve been a 4A meet record had there not been too much wind. He also finished fourth in the 300 hurdles and anchored Mervo to second place in the 4×100 relay.
But in reflection of the entire weekend, his thoughts turned to the team and everything that came together to make the championship possible.
“It’s been a long journey for our team, ups and downs,” he said. “I’m glad we went out with a bang for my last year. I just hope they can continue it when I’m gone.”
Thomas didn’t hesitate to sum up his feelings about being a part of Mervo’s championship program.
“Truly grateful,” he said. “There’s been a lot of complaining, tears, sweat to get to where we’re at now. Beginning of the season was a little iffy, but then it was ‘OK, we have to mature. We have to lock in.’ We had to mentally prepare ourselves to get here, then take it to the next level.”
Thomas ran for Digital Harbor last season when the Rams won the Class 3A title. A new arrival, he saw what made his new team special.
“The people,” he said. “The love, the support, everything we have, that’s what makes this special. Us together, nothing’s impossible. … Together, we can make the impossible, possible.”
A program on the rise
Despite not winning an event, Crofton’s collective team strength made it a state runner-up.
Christian Doss’ third-place finishes in both the 110 and 300 hurdles highlighted the Cardinals’ individual efforts. Bryan Schaeffer was fourth in the 400 and Thomas Pole was fourth in the pole vault. Dos, Shaeffer, Julian Treleaven and Chikesandu Ogwo finished third in the 4×400 relay.
All totaled, the collective team effort brought a state runner-up trophy home to join county and regional championships.
“Obviously, our boys team has been dominant the entire season,” Shaeffer said. “I’m extremely proud of each and every person on the team. Me personally, I had a pretty rough season, but I’m glad I could piece it together for the end of the season. Everything was clicking at the right time.”
“It was kind of a slow start to the season, having all these new athletes, new sophomores, up-and-coming athletes, but toward the end we found it in ourselves to trust each other and trust the training and keep going,” Ogwo added.
The Crofton seniors have been the building blocks of the program. They started on a new fledgling program and through hard work built it into one of the premier in the state.
“Just just had to keep doubling down on our mental, keep our trust in the program through and through,” Ogwo said. “Keep coming in every day, doing the work. Just finding in us to be better each and every season.”
Now the challenge is for the new wave of Cardinals to keep building on what these seniors started.
“We definitely built a legacy here,” Shaeffer said. “Every single season has been different here for its own reasons, but we’re going to leave a legacy of dominating the competition in the county, the region and the state as well.”
A perfect 10
Old Mill senior Tsedeke Jakovics is going to go down as one of the premier distance runners Anne Arundel County has every produced.
Before he left for Princeton, there was one last milestone he wanted to accomplish, which he did by winning the 3A 1,600 (4:16.59) and 800 (1:53.58)
“This one meant a lot, this marks No. 10 of state titles. I’m just really happy I got to double digits,” he said.
His 800 win was different than the two gold medals he won on Friday’s first day of competition, when he came from behind in each. On Saturday, he shot out ahead of the pack. Only once he saw someone else challenging, he decided to play the waiting game.
“I took it out, one other person got in front of me, so I sort of coasted, decided to let them push,” he said. “It felt good, my legs were good, so I kicked it in and finished it.”
Jakovics’ efforts led Old Mill to a team runner-up finish in 3A. Colin Prato was second to Jakovics in the 800 and Tristan Sudama finished third in the pole vault.
But the centerpiece of the team clearly was Jakovics, a four-time gold medalist this weekend who started his Old Mill career very raw with a long way to go.
“It’s been a journey for sure,” he said. When I first started, I was no where near thinking I’d even get one state title, now I got 10. It’s been a journey.”
Into the record books
While Woodlawn didn’t get the team finish they wanted, finishing as 4A runner-up to Urbana, Destiny Coleman had a weekend to remember.
Coleman won the 100 hurdles in 13.25 seconds, which would be a state meet record depending on the wind factor.
“When I came here today, I told myself, as long as I do the best I can do, I’m good,” she said.
Individually, Coleman added a second place in the 300 hurdles, a third in the 100 and ran on the championship-winning 4×100 relay to go with its 4×200 win Friday.
Coleman teamed with Jordan Christie, Summer Lane and Anjela Fitzhugh to win the 4×100 (47.15). Fitzhugh finished third in the 200, fourth in the 100 and sixth in the long jump.
“There’s a lot of communication,” Coleman said of Woodlawn’s team. “Our team is very family-oriented. We may fight a lot, but at the end of the day we know what we need to do if we come together and stick together.”
Only a junior, she’s already looking ahead to her final lap at Woodlawn.
“I have a whole ‘nother year left,” she said. “Next year’s about to be crazy if I’m running these times as a junior. I don’t know what I’m about to run next year.”
Other winners
Dundalk’s Martin Ojulu was one of two Owls claiming state championships, winning the 4A 200 in 21.01. He also finished second in the 100.
“I’m excited, I got adrenaline running through the body right now,” he said. “I wanted to get the meet record, but happy with the results I got.”
Ojulu’s career has been a trial, as he overcame several setbacks to become a champion.
“Recently I had two injuries back-to-back during my sophomore year and my junior year so I was out for most of the season,” he said. “Most recently, I got DQed at [county championships], which kind of motivated me more to actually run better and accomplish this.”
Joining Ojulu as gold medalist is teammate Jerycho Sheppard, who won the pole vault clearing 14 feet.
In 3A, Digital Harbor’s LaMont Johnson successfully defended the state title he won last year in the 400.
“Race was cool, it’s not really the time I wanted, but I got points for the team,” he said. “The year hasn’t been exactly how I wanted it to go with injuries and stuff. What I really wanted was to come out here and perform.”
Also, Milford Mill’s junior quartet of Seth Minter, Amauri Patterson, Damon Ferguson Jr. and Damari Jackson won the 4×400 relay in 1:28.03, while Minter, Ferguson, Jackson and sophomore Ayokunle Osunkiyesi won the 4×400 in 3:16.56.
In 3A girls, City’s Ariyah Edwards won the 100 hurdles in 14.25 seconds.
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