Loyola’s Matt Jablonski made a tough decision this summer. A soccer player nearly his entire life and a starter and team captain during Loyola’s playoff drive last year, Jablonski decided to forego his senior year on the pitch to devote himself to running full time where he is budding superstar.
The result was a spring and fall filled with record breaking performances in track and, on Saturday, Jablonski delivered a new course record at Dulaney as he led the Loyola cross country squad to a team title in the Barnhardt Invitational.
Jablonski bettered the course mark by 14 seconds with a time of 15:14, smashing the mark established by from Broadneck runner Matt Centrowitz, now the nation’s top-ranked 1,500 meter runn at the University of Oregon.
Loyola also placed Kevin Corbusier and Hank Wieroniey in the top 10, as the Dons topped second place Gilman 61-86. Towson was next best local team, finishing fifth with 157 points, while host Dulaney was sixth with 161 and Archbishop Curley (186) was eighth.
On the girls’ side, North Harford’s Megan Schott was the top local finisher, placing second to Thomas Johnson’s Savanna Plombon. Thomas Johnson had three of the top finishers to to capture the team title, ahead of second place Dulaney, which bunched three runners – Krissy Link (8th), Sydney Glenn (9th) and Abbie Trippe (10th) – together in the top ten.
Catonsville’s Sophie Mantelli had a strong fifth place effort, while Emily Ruppel led Loch Raven by finishing sixth.
For the complete individual and team results click here.
