Here are The Baltimore Sun’s All-Metro boys indoor track and field teams for the 2021-22 season.
Athlete of the Year
Judson Lincoln IV, Oakland Mills, senior
Performances like Judson Lincoln IV’s at the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association Class 2A indoor track and field championships don’t just happen. Natural talent can take an athlete so far, but to be a champion — especially a four-time champion — you need to put in the work.
Lincoln did all the work needed and then some.
The Oakland Mills senior and future Virginia Tech Hokie closed his high school indoor career with four state gold medals. He won the 300 and 500 meters, and ran on winning 4×200 and 4×400 relays.
In the process, Oakland Mills ran away with the 2A team title.
For his efforts, Lincoln has been named the 2021-22 Baltimore Sun boys indoor track and field Athlete of the Year.
“We had a one-month break with all the COVID and stuff in early December. It was a lot of hard work during that time where there were no coaches around. We had to put in all the work individually.”
This year’s indoor season was far from normal. Lincoln said his team competed in only one meet, held outdoors, before the regional meet.
The Scorpions went into the 5th Regiment Armory for the state meet, each individual knowing what he had to do to push the team higher.
“We knew what we had to do in each of our events,” Lincoln said. “We knew where we were ranked and had to at least get the mark to get the points we were projected to get. Especially for the 300, it was me, Kanye [Holland] and Shane [King], we knew we wanted to get top three, sweep that event. That really helped us a lot, boosted the morale going into the 4×2.”
Among the highlights of Oakland Mills’ state championship day was Lincoln, Holland and King finishing 1-2-3 in the 300.
“We knew we could do that and it would be hard work leading up to that,” Lincoln said. “We knew what we were supposed to run. … We were all pretty excited after we placed top three.”
Lincoln has a bright future ahead of him, as he’s committed to run for Virginia Tech. But he’s not going to go on cruise control. He wants to be at his best heading into college.
“It’s a very big goal of mine to keep the momentum going and try to win national events, win states, and just keep that momentum going into college,” he said.
“Trying to make it to states and win states and getting state records is a big goal of mine,” he said, “to go out with a bang and leave some sort of history.”
Coach of the Year
Josh Alcombright, Severna Park
In a close fight for the team title at the MPSSAA Class 4A indoor track and field championships, Alcombright’s Falcons held off Dulaney with 55 points, topping the Lions who finished with 45.
Without one superstar who could rack up a lot of points on his own, or dominate one specific group of events, Alcombright’s Falcons were a balanced unit, and it paid off with a state championship.
The only individual state title for Severna Park came from senior Jack DeBaugh in the 500 meters. The Falcons also won the 4×800 relay, a team made up of seniors Tyler Engleman, Mason Siebenhaar, Edward Sullivan and Christopher Kirchner.
Brandon Kiefer finished second in the pole vault and Tyler Canaday won the 1,600 as the Falcons displayed strength in mid-distance, distance and field events.
All-Metro first team
Ethan Aidam, Oakland Mills, junior
Part of the Scorpions’ 2A state championship team, Aidam won the state title in the 3,200 and finished second in the 1,600.
Talil Atkins, Poly, senior
Atkins won a pair of 3A state gold medals, taking the 300 meters and running on the victorious 4×200 relay. He added two silvers, finishing second in the 500 and on the 4×400 relay.
Timothy Cherry, Glenelg, senior
Cherry claimed a pair of 2A state championships, winning the 800 and 1,600 meters. He dominated the 800, winning by nearly six seconds, and beat Aidam by four seconds in the 1,600.
Tyler Dailey, Dulaney, junior
Dailey won the 4A state title in the 800 and ran on the championship-winning 4×400 relay. He finished fourth in the 1,600.
Vaughn DeVaughn III, Mervo, senior
DeVaughn was the 3A state champion in the 55 hurdles and the high jump, and his strong anchor leg nearly rallied his team to victory in the 4×200, where it finished second.
Aiden Neal, Manchester Valley, senior
Neal took gold in the 1,600 at the 3A state championships and nearly got another, finishing second in the 800 in a photo finish. He also ran on the third-place 4×400 relay team.
Korede Otusajo, Milford Mill, senior
In the 3A state meet, Otusajo cruised to victory in the 500 and held off Neal by eight-hundredths of a second to win the 800.
Gavin Shaffer, Dulaney, senior
Shaffer finished the 4A state meet with three gold medals. Individually, he won the 55 hurdles and the high jump. He also ran on the winning 4×400 relay.
Rahkeem Smith, Calvert Hall, senior
Smith won the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association title in the 55, finished fourth in the 300 and was fifth in the high jump.
Thomas Smith, Calvert Hall, senior
One of the top hurdlers in the country, Smith was an MIAA champion in the 55 hurdles and finished second in the event at the New Balance Nationals.
Donovan Young, Gilman, senior
Young was MIAA champion in the triple jump and long jump. He also won the triple jump at the New Balance Nationals.
All-Metro second team
Jack DeBaugh, Severna Park, senior
Nathan Fields, South Carroll, senior
Aki Harvey, Oakland Mills, senior
Jason Holmes-Williamson, Calvert Hall, senior
Zack Kralec, Hereford, senior
Jadon Ra-Akbar, Hammond senior
Peyton Thomas, South Carroll, senior
Kenneth Wilson, Owings Mills, senior
