Pallotti's Caleb Tenney makes history in winning individual MIAA cross country title

by Nelson Coffin

St. Vincent Pallotti's Caleb Tenney made MIAA cross country history on a pitcure perfect fall afternoon on Monday afternoon at Shawan Downs in Cockeysville.

After winning back-to-back MIAA C Conference individual titles, Tenney stepped up in class on Monday, becoming the first non-A Conference runner to win the overall individual crown, coming from behind to top Gilman's Jemmel Green, the A Conference winner, by nearly 20 seconds, posting a time of 15:34.60.

Green was the pace setter, charging out to a big early lead, but as fast as the Greyhound star was, especially in the early going, he could not holf off Tenney.

Tenney started to close the gap around the one mile mark and then made his move.

“He (Green) went out faster than I thought,” Tenney said. “But I wanted to push it in the second mile. The third mile was painful.”

He added that winning the overall individual title for the first time after claiming the previous two C Conference crowns “means a lot to me.”

His father, Pallotti coach David Tenney, said that being the MIAA champ was one of Caleb’s major goals this season, despite being unable to match the 14:55 that the Panther standout recorded at the Trials of Miles Opening Night in Leesburg, Va. early in the season.

His dad added that Caleb is back on track after recovering from a recent illness.

“But we didn’t want to go out that fast,” he said, alluding to Green’s scorching start.

As far as the team competition was concerned, from top to bottom, Calvert Hall College was the main story.

The Cardinals garnered the A Conference varsity and junior varsity races in dominating fashion before being even more commanding in the open race.

Calvert Hall’s varsity three-peat was assured when its top runners — senior Elliott Palmer (16:07.64), sophomore Aiden Heinbaugh (16:09.96), senior Max Larcher (16:20.57), junior Blake Wancowicz (16:22.17) and sophomore JD Hughes (16:27.39) — placed second-through-sixth behind Gilman's Green (15:52.20).

The Cardinals’ JV was even better, producing a perfect 15 points by having the first seven finishers in the race. CHC’s open squad ended the proceedings by placing the first nine runners and 17 of 20 finishers in that 3.1-mile challenge.

Calvert Hall coach Scott Baker acknowledged that the program’s previous coach, Peter Frein, “got the ball rolling” for the Cardinals.

“He started to get people to come out for the team,” said Baker, a former Calvert Hall and Mount St. Mary’s runner. “He gave me some stuff to work with and then I just kind of put forward my knowledge. It’s important that the whole team is invested and that they can contribute. With things like the open race today, they can all feel like they’re really good.”

“The only thing set in stone is the time trial,” Baker continued about the meritocracy. “We take (the top) 10 and put them on varsity.”

Palmer explained that there’s no real mystery to the juggernaut Baker and his staff assembled.

“It’s all about getting kids to show up to practice, all throughout the year, over the summer, every day, getting everyone to run,” he said. “It’s just commitment and holding each other accountable. Every day, through the rain, through the snow — just running.”

Palmer said that he was happy with his own time despite not being able to track down Green, who started the race like he was shot out of a cannon while covering the first half mile in a little over two minutes.

Nonetheless, when it came to team results, no other squad could touch Calvert Hall’s 20 points, with Gilman (44), Mount St. Joseph (90) and Archbishop Spalding (122) the closest pursuers.

In the B Conference, John Carroll (23) was too far ahead to be caught by Severn (87), Boys’ Latin (92) or Friends (92).

The Patriots’ repeat came by virtue of strong performances by senior Evan DeVoe (16:49.56), sophomore Tommy Parrish (17:19.61), junior Alex Wohlfort (17:21.52) and freshman Elliott Russell (17:21.97), all of whom trailed Annapolis Area Christian School B Conference junior individual champ Jack Nebbia (16:40.62).

Glenelg Country School squad captured its first C Conference crown (after being B champs in 2013) by a narrow 63-65 margin over Indian Creek. 

The Dragons were paced by senior Gavin Lees (17:21.91) and freshmen Link Hoewing-Moxley (17:24.57) and Teddy Hyland (17:53.44). 

2024 MIAA A CONFERENCE
CROSS COUNTRY TEAM CHAMPION
CALVERT HALL COLLEGE HS