Craig Morgan had just enough energy left to raise his arm into the air one last time.

Over the course of four races, a combined 6,400 meters, his legs had done all the work. Yet as he crossed the finish line in the 800, his final race of the state championships at Baltimore's Morgan State University, he let the index finger on his right hand do the talking.

On this day, the River Hill junior was No. 1.

"Some people really come out at the state meet, other guys don't, and this whole week I've been thinking that I want to be one of those guys that puts it all together; does something people remember," Morgan said. "I felt like this was my chance to make my mark."

Morgan not only made his mark, but he did it in thrilling fashion. He captured individual titles in the 800 and 1,600 while also helping the Hawks' 4x800 relay squad to first. And in each race May 24 he had to execute a comeback in the final 300 meters.

Twice, in the 1,600 and 4x800 relay, he pulled ahead merely seconds before crossing the finish line.

"He wasn't going to let himself lose, you could see it," River Hill coach Earl Lauer said. "The third lap in the 1,600 I was yelling at him to stay with (Arthur) Leathers (who was leading), but he knew what he was doing. His kicks were unbelievable these last couple days."

Between the three classifications, 1A, 2A and 3A, Morgan was the only athlete from the county to win more than one event. No county team managed to capture a state title, breaking a string of four straight years with at least one champion between the boys and girls, but the River Hill girls did come awfully close. The Hawks ended up finishing second in 2A with 55 points, just 10 behind Middletown.

For complete results see High School Wrap-Up.

Class 2A

To put Craig Morgan's efforts at the state championship in perspective, it's important to note that he didn't finish better than third in any individual event at the county championships and only won the 800 at the 2A South regional. However at the state meet, where he also finished third in the 3,200, he produced his fastest times of the postseason every time he stepped on the track.

Of the triumphs, none was more exciting than the 4x800. When Morgan was handed the baton by teammate Adam Davis for the final leg, he trailed Liberty's Matt Pierce by nearly 150 meters. However the Hawks' anchor slowly chipped away at the lead and, on the last straight away, caught and passed Pierce, who ended up stumbling and falling to the ground inches before the line.

"That was definitely the best victory. After I won, hugging all my teammates, knowing that we did it together, that was amazing," Morgan said. "I love gunning people down in the last 100."

Morgan took third in the 3,200 with a time of 9 minutes, 50.45 seconds and then completed another comeback effort to win the 1,600 in 4:24.35. In the 800, Morgan's string of top finishes seemed to be coming to an end, as he was actually in last place after the first lap.

"It worried me a little bit, but I looked up at the scoreboard and I saw my first lap was like 58 (seconds), which is where I usually am," Morgan said. "I didn't feel like the leaders were going to be able to maintain their pace."

The leaders did slow down and, sure enough, Morgan surged into the lead on the final turn and went on to win in 1:59.21. Morgan ended up having a hand in 36 of River Hill's 38 team points, which was good enough for sixth place in the team standings.

Mt. Hebron's Jackson Jordan was a winner as well, bouncing back from a second-place effort at regionals in the 110 hurdles to place first with a time of 14.86. His time was nearly a full second faster than the previous week.

"I've been having hamstring problems consistently throughout the season, so there was a whole lot of rest and ice this week" Jordan said. "My time in the prelims (14.75 seconds) gave me a lot of confidence, because it was back where I felt like I should be."

On the girls' side, River Hill didn't win a single individual championship during its run to second place, but racked up points behind four second-place finishes and a pair of thirds. Anna Demaree set personal best times in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200, and finished second, second and third respectively. Katie Harman, meanwhile, was second in the 3,200 and third in the 1,600.

It was the best-ever finish as a team during outdoor for the River Hill girls.

"To have one athlete come to states last year between the two teams, to now this year having a busload come and perform like they did is a huge step for us," Lauer said.

Marriotts Ridge's Jocelyn Henline cleared 10 feet for the first time this year in the pole vault, helping her win a state title as well.

Class 3A

Long Reach junior Funmi Alabi once again showcased herself as one of the state's elite sprinters, winning the 100-meter dash in 11.81 seconds. It was the second fastest time in the 100 at the meet among all the classifications. In the winter, Alabi won the 55 at the indoor state meet.

Alabi also took third in the 200, an event that she says will be her focus in the off-season.

"I don't want to be known as just a 100-meter runner, so I'm going to be concentrating a lot more on my endurance," she said. "This year was much better than last year, so I can't complain about that, but I'm expecting much bigger things as a senior."

In the pole vault, Wilde Lake's Laura Shoemaker cleared 9-feet-6 to finish second.

Atholton's Graham Bazell and Howard's Joey Thompson continued their postseason trend of trading first and second place in the distance events, going down to the wire in both the 3,200 and 1,600.

Bazell, who had beaten Thompson in the 3,200 by 13 seconds at counties and 19 seconds at regionals, again won the two mile race, although this time by only a second. Bazell's time of 9:18.69 was three seconds off his regional pace.

Thompson then rebounded to lead wire-to-wire and win the 1,600 with a time of 4:20.74, less than a second ahead of Bazell.

"I knew after losing (the 3,200), I wasn't losing the 1,600. There was no way," Thompson said. "It wasn't my best race in the mile this spring, but I made sure I was always in control. To hold the lead from start to finish, something I'm usually not very good at, felt pretty good."

Atholton's Kadeem Bailey was second in the high jump with a height of 6-0.

Class 1A

Glenelg's girls took advantage of the relays, finishing first in the 4x800 and second in the 4x400, to post 25 points and finish in ninth place in the team standings. Katie Rouse, who also finished fourth in the 800, and Torie Kirshe each ran a leg in the two relay races.

The Glenelg boys finished with 18 points, good enough for eighth place, and were led by Connor Pencek finishing third in the 1,600 and fifth in the 800. Pencek also was a member of the Gladiators' 4x800 relay squad that took third.

E-mail Brent Kennedy at bkennedy@patuxent.com.

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