Senior Micah Phillips-Spencer was one of the few runners who stood out among the athletes, winning the first heat in the 55-meter dash.

“I thought the scrimmage went well even though most of our varsity kids were gone because of their break from the cross country season,” junior Jemuel Phillips-Spencer said. “It gave all the new-comers a taste of what track is like and what they need to improve so that next meet they will be able to perform at a higher level.”

According to Jemuel, Conway, senior Zach Weinstein and Micah will help lead the team this year, as well as senior discus thrower Nadim Elhage.

“I think we are going to have a great season, and winning states is definitely a possibility,” Elhage said.

Seniors Serenah Polite and Jennifer Maizlish and juniors Taylor Caulk and Christine Hildreth ran in the 4×100 meter relay, placing 105 out of 274 competing schools.

“We had a personal record of 51.41 seconds,” Caulk said. “This was a huge improvement over the other times we have run this season.”

Juniors Will Conway and Micah Phillips-Spencer, along with seniors Alex Kim and Robert Bowis, ran in the 4×400 meter relay, placing 61 out of 567 competing schools.

According to Caulk, Bowis ran a 49.18 second 400-meter, which is one of the best 400-meter times in the state. He passed two people in front of him, finishing first place in his heat.

Several CHS runners and throwers were chosen to participate in the Woodward Relays April 9 at Georgetown Prep. The boys tied Richard Montgomery for sixth place out of 28 competing schools, and the girls tied Severna Park for 16th place.

Sophomore Mike Hammer split 52 seconds in the 4×400 meter relay, helping the boys maintain a strong lead. In the 4×1600 meter relay, the boys placed second while the girls placed fifth.

Junior Nadim Elhage dominated on the field, placing first in the discus throw relay and fifth in the shot put relay.

“I think we could have done better in other events but we were missing some people because of the ACT that morning,” coach Paul Jacobson said. “This was a high quality meet with a lot of good competition.”

CHS participated in another meet April 13 at home, where they defeated both Northwood 84-38 and St. Andrews 92-35.

 “We won all three relays and had first place finishes in eight out of the 12 individual events,” Kim said.

Polite placed first in both the 100 meter hurdle and the 300 meter hurdle.  Other top scorers include Kim, who won the 1600 meter run, Bowis, who won the 1400 meter run, senior Zoe Maslen, who won the 3200 meter run and freshman Jessica Weinreich, who won both the 1600 meter run and 800 meter run.

“A strong point right now would be our depth as a team across both sprinting and distance, which is always helpful in winning as a team,” Kim said.

Elhage helped the Bulldogs maintain a strong lead by crushing his opponents in both the discus throw and shot put. Sophomore Erica Roberts won the girls discus throw while senior Ronke Obayomi won the girls shot put. Taylor Caulk also jumped a 17’ 2’’ in the long jump, which is the third best in CHS history.

Both the boys and the girls won all three relays, despite the team missing some key players due to injuries.

“As a team everyone did their job well and a lot of people improved,” senior Remington Smith said. “But there were still some problems adjusting to the changes without Zach Raker and I running in the sprint relays. Hopefully Zach has a fast recovery and we can go back to the normal relay team from indoor season and run well at the big meets like counties next month.”

Junior Nadim Elhage dominated in the field, winning both the shot put relay and the discus throw relay.  Other top scorers include junior Zach Weinstein, who won the 666 meter run, junior Will Conway, who won the 1 mile, and junior Taylor Caulk, who placed first in the triple jump.

In the 1600 meter sprint medley, the boys finished first while the girls finished fifth.
Prior to that, the track and field team started off the season March 29 with the boys defeating both B-CC and Blair. The girls team easily defeated Blair, but lost to B-CC, making it the first loss in a dual meet in over six years.

 Elhage and junior Joey Kale helped the Bulldogs maintain a strong lead by placing first and second in the shot put.  Elhage also won the boy’s discus throw.

“It was good for the beginning of the season, especially since we are missing some of our key sprinters through injuries,” coach Paul Jacobson said.  “The boys won very easily.”

 Senior Robert Bowis placed first in the long jump and contributed to the boys winning three out of the four relays.  Senior Serenah Polite placed first in both the 100 and 300 meter hurdles as well as the triple jump. Caulk did well in the 100 meter dash and long jump.  Freshman Emma Coleman competed well also. 

  “Emma Coleman surprised us all with a 27.3 second 200 meter dash which is incredible for a freshman,” Polite said.

 Weinstein, one of CHS’s top distance runners, placed second in both the 1600 and 3200.

“To prepare for the meets at the beginning of the season, we work on endurance,” Weinstein said.  “We usually alternate between easier and more difficult days to prepare.”

 According to Weinstein, Quince Orchard, Clarksburg and Watkins Mill will be the Bulldogs’ toughest competition this season.

  “Although we have several injuries, coming off a very successful indoor track season, we hope to duplicate that success during the outdoor season,” athletic director David Kelley said.

 The Bulldogs meet against Georgetown Prep on April 5 was cancelled due to weather conditions.

“We expect our boys to be one of the top teams in the county this year,” coach Paul Jacobson said. “We finally have a good balance between our sprinting talent and our long distance talent.”

In order to find success, the team will rely on a core group of standout sprinters: junior Micah Phillips-Spencer and seniors Zach Raker and Robert Bowis. The team hopes that junior distance runners Will Conway and Zach Weinstein will also lead it to victory in upcoming meets.

“We have some new people that I think are really going to help us,” Phillips-Spencer said. “We lost a lot of top runners from last year whose talent we really need to make up for.”

The boys are expected to be the most successful in the 500, the 200 and the four-by-two. The team is also looking to juniors Charlotte Bourg and Taylor Caulk to pay immediate dividends for the girls.

Seniors Robert Bowis, Remington Smith, Zach Raker, John Rhee and Alex Kim, as well as juniors Nadim Elhage, Will Conway, Zach Weinstein and Micah Phillips-Spencer represented the boys team at states Feb. 22.

“Regionals went really well,” Bowis said. “We qualified 10 people, which is the most in the state, and that gives us a good shot to          win states.”

Bowis, Raker, Phillips-Spencer and Smith made up the 4×200 relay team that came in first at regionals. The 4×400 team consisting of Bowis, Kim, Conway and Raker also captured first place at regionals.

“We have a balance of all events,” coach Paul Jacobson said. “We qualified in almost every event. We have a full team.”

The Bulldogs also found success in individual events at regionals. In the 300-meter-dash, Phillips-Spencer came in first and Bowis finished second.  Rhee finished second in the 55m hurdles.

In the field events, Elhage placed second in shot put with a throw of 47-09.
Senior Serenah Polite was the lone competitor at states for the girls team was after qualifying in the 55m hurdles.

With states over, the team now looks to spring and the start of the outdoor season.

“Spring will be more competitive,” Bowis said. “All the times are faster and there are new events. We will have a really good guy’s team.”

“Deuces” – Chris Brown ft. Tyga and Kevin McCall

Compared to his previous hits like “Forever” and “I Can Transform Ya,” “Deuces” holds a more solemn tone and a darker edge. The young rapper, recently under fire for domestic abuse, showcases his smooth vocals and frustration towards women in this catchy track. 

“We No Speak Americano” – Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP

This bizarre song was heard throughout European discotheques all summer long, and it’s inevitable that jet-setting Bulldogs will bring this eccentric yet addictive dance number to the hallways of CHS.

“Say Hey (I Love You)” – Michael Franti & Spearhead

Franti and his band Spearhead engage listeners with dancehall rhythm structure and a fusion of popular genres like reggae, pop and jazz. Basically, this is a fun-loving song, meant to be paired with a beautiful September afternoon spent outdoors.

“Hold Yuh (Remix)” – Gyptian ft. Nicki Minaj

Jamaican reggae artist Gyptian and Young Money rapper Nicki Minaj collaborate on this summer release. Minaj softens her usual vulgarity, and her verse easily flows with Gyptian’s melodic voice and the steel drum background.   

“Your Man” – Down With Webster

Canadian boy band Down with Webster channels the classic boy-chasing-girl aspect of high school in this catchy pop tune. The song’s quirky lyrics like “She’s a four leaf clover, but I won’t press my luck” are reason enough to listen.

“The Suburbs” -Arcade Fire

The title song on their new album, “The Suburbs” continues Arcade Fire’s signature sound tinged with violins and percussion, but it covers a more conventional topic. Love it or don’t, every Bulldog can relate to this track to good old Potomac.

The girls and boys finished fourth and third, respectively, in the Viking Invitational, held annually at Whitman April 17, but their head coach believes they can do better.

“We need a lot better discipline,” head coach Scott Silverstein said. “Our team just does not listen sometimes.”

Silverstein believes that the more discipline they put in, the better they will run during the their next races.

“When we listen, we do well,” Silverstein said. “If our heads are not into it, then we won’t perform as well as we would like to.”

Though official captains have not been picked, senior Maryam Fikri has tried to hold the position.

According to Fikri, she “leads the way” for others during workouts, as well as “encourages everybody to try harder.”

Fikri has also asserted herself as one of the best runners on the team, finishing fourth in the 1600-meter and second in the 800-meter at the Viking Invitational.

“I am a week ahead of how I was running a year ago, so I feel like I can accomplish more things than I did last year,” Fikri said.

Another runner who has risen above the others is junior Robert Bowis, who finished 2nd in the 400-meter and the 4×100-meter relay.

“I really ran and felt well during both of the races,” Bowis said. “When you feel like that, you can do great things.”

Bowis, along with a group of runners including sophomore Micah Phillips-Spencer and senior Katie Wolf competed in the Penn Relays April 25.

“I’m really excited for the Relays because I have raced extremely well this year and this is a great way to show off all that I have done so far,” Bowis said.

With the girls team taking home the top spot in the county for the fourth time in five years, it is safe to say that CHS has become something of a county powerhouse of late. Thanks to seniors Maryam Fikri, Alex Giedd and All-American Katie Wolf, the girls have become one of the most dominant teams in the state, and are among the best in CHS history.

“We began to talk about it as a dynasty,” coach Scott Silverstein said. “All the girls on this team weren’t on that first team five years ago, so it shows that they can continue to have success.”

The boys, after several years in the Montgomery County gutter, have begun to emerge as strong contenders for the county title, finishing fourth overall during the indoor season.

“These boys are really well balanced,” Silverstein said. “They are the best team since I got here.”
The balance of senior leadership and strong underclassmen contributions has served CHS well this year.

While the girls boast some of the state’s finest runners, a new crop of underclassmen are poised for a breakthrough season and will be ready to fill in when needed. Most notable among the underclassmen girls are sophomore Charlotte Bourg and junior Taylor Caulk.

The boys on the other hand, while significantly less top heavy with seniors, still feature a few star runners. Among those are seniors Sei Masuoka and Tarek Elhage, who finished fifth in the state in the two-mile.

“Seniors and underclassmen will make an equal impact on this season,” Ethage said. “We have very strong veteran runners but we also have many talented younger runners that can keep up with the senior runners.”

CHS track’s lethal combination of star power and depth leaves them in an excellent position to build on two already outstanding seasons. Both the boys and girls squads are approaching this season with every bit of the intensity and dedication that led them to strong finishes earlier in the year.

“We prepare the same way with hard workouts,” Silverstein said. “When things work you keep doing the same things.”

The Bulldogs’ first meet will be Wednesday, March 23 at home against Blair.

“The biggest surprise was our boy sprinters,” coach Paul Jacobson said. “[They placed] second in state in the 4×200 meter relay, which was a shock.”

The 4×200 meter relay team consisted of senior Jashawn Thomas, juniors Zach Raker and Robert Bowis and sophomore Micah Phillips-Spencer.

Due to snow, Regionals took place Feb. 17 at the Baltimore Armory.

For the girls, the 4×8, 4×2 and 4×4 relay teams all qualified for states. Senior Ale Martinez won the girls 55 meter hurdles and senior Katie Wolf placed second in the 55 meter dash. Giedd came in third in the 2 mile run and senior Myriam Fikri came in second in the 1 mile run.

For the boys, the 4×8, 4×4 and 4×2 relay teams also qualified for states. Senior Tarek Elhage also qualified by placing sixth in the 2 mile run.

The indoor track team competed Jan. 25 in the County Championship, where the team’s main competitors were Northwest, Walter Johnson, Damascus and Whitman.

“The boys ran really well and placed fourth in the county,” Wolf said. “The girls pulled a major upset against Northwest and won the county title for the fourth time in five years.” 
The girls team won the championship with a total of 89 points.

“We ran the meet of our lives and scored in almost every event,” Wolf said. “To pick one team member who really made a difference, I’d have to say [junior] Serenah Polite.  She ran a huge personal best and placed higher than she ever has in the hurdles, scoring six points for the team.”

After an amazing performance by Fikri in the 800 meter race, the team was ahead. Polite placed fourth in the triple jump, furthering the team’s lead.