Columbia, MD - The defending Region 20 champions are taking to the track this weekend, as the Howard Community College Dragons cross country team begins their season!
HCC will participate in three meets this year, and features a whole-new lineup to defend the crown they won last season.
 "We lost two great runners in
Ryan Thibaudeau (Fulton, MD/Reservoir) and
Brandon McMillen (Columbia, MD/Oakland Mills) to graduation," said head coach Philippe DeRosier, "so this year will be a reset for us."
The Dragons have just one returner from last season's title winning squad in sophomore
Daniel Warner (Marriottsville, MD/Marriotts Ridge). To compliment Warner, the Dragons have brought up two stars from the track program in
Matthew Calinda (Hanover, MD/Meade) and
Jayden Gallion (Glendale, MD/CMIT Academy), alongside new recruits
Caleb Adams (Pasadena, MD/Chesapeake),
Ben Fry (Columbia, MD/Wilde Lake), and
Samuel Venegas (Silver Spring, MD/James Hubert Blake).
On the women's side, recruits
Taneya Watson (Bowie, MD/CMIT Academy) and
Katy Spence (Jessup, MD/Meade) are joined by track & field stars
Aniya Clerisier (Orlando, FL/Wilde Lake) and
Samone Haywood (Columbia, MD/Hammond). Women's soccer midfielder
Sadia Tariq (Ellicott City, MD/Mount Hebron) will run double-duty as she joins the team as well.
"The expectation for our track runners who we've elevated to cross country is to support our distance runners," said DeRosier. "We have some strong freshmen that I think can elevate us and keep us at the Region 20 championship level."
The Dragons will participate in three meets this season. They kick off their season at Salisbury with the 37th Annual Don Cathcart Invitational, then face West Chester in the WCU Golden Ram Invite. Their final meet will be the Region 20 Championships on October 31 at Westmoreland County Community College!
"We want to put down good times and progress from that," said DeRosier. "The goal is to get better and better leading up to Regionals."
The Dragons take to the track at 2:00 PM tomorrow at Salisbury to start their season!
