Carroll County Times 2023 All-County girls cross country: Century freshman state champion Taylor Colson is Runner of the Year
There’s an acclimation period when starting a varsity sport, even for the best athletes. Taylor Colson went through it. She just happened to acclimate very quickly.
The Century freshman needed about a month to get used to not only varsity competition but a brand new sport. Once she settled in, she was impossible to catch.
Colson won the small school division at the Frank Keyser Invitational on Oct. 7 in a personal-best time of 18 minutes, 43.8 seconds. It was the first of many titles that came her way. She cruised to the Carroll County championship and set a 5K personal record of 18:57 to win the 2A West Region championship. It all culminated in Colson winning the Class 2A state championship.
Colson is the 2023 Carroll County Times girls cross country Runner of the Year.
“I would say the beginning of the season, since it was my first time with cross country and the high school environment, I was a little timid. It was more of a learning experience,” Colson said. “Once meets started picking up and it was more about running and being with my team, I started doing better.”
Colson is a nationally ranked triathlete in her age group. She said a lot of her training consisted of working out with family and friends, running 5Ks and 10Ks. She only recently picked up the team aspect of her sport.
“Last year I joined a competition triathlon team, MC Elite,” she said. “The competitive experience got me focused on running. Everything else in a triathlon I was pretty good at. I picked it up and started training more and I’m like, ‘Woah, I’m pretty good.'”
Joining a cross country team was a new experience. Thankfully in Century, she had a strong support group of teammates and coaches.
“The team was very beneficial,” she said. “They all had goals and expectations for themselves and the team. It helped to get me on that train of goals and all that. Beginning of the season we had this meeting of what we wanted our goals to be. By the time of states, we already crushed those goals so much.”
Above all, Colson credits teammate Ryan Hartranft, the Carroll County boys cross country Runner of the Year, as someone that really helped her out in her first year.
“When I joined the team, I wasn’t winning wright away; I wasn’t getting the PRs right way, but he saw the talent in me even before I was showing it. He knew I had potential,” Colson said. “At practice he helped me with little things, what shoes to wear, what to eat on a race day. He would push me in training, just helping me in all aspects.”
The wins and PRs did start to come and they piled up quickly. It all led up to the state championships and the crowning achievement of her season.
The 2A state race was a highly competitive field. Colson tamed the challenging 3-mile Hereford High course in 18:51.54 and held off Hereford’s Sylvia Snider by about four seconds.
“I knew the competition was going to be hard going into states — and the course, too,” Colson said. “The few weeks going into it was mentally preparing myself. I knew physically I could do it but it was going to be a mental challenge.”
All-County first team
Natalie Holcombe, Century, senior
Holcombe took third at the county championships as part of Century’s 1-2-3 finish. She set a 5K PR of 21:02 to finish 12th at regionals.
Brynn Keilman, Winters Mill, freshman
Keilman opened her career with an eight-place finish at the county meet, one of three top-10 finishes for her in her first season.
Elizabeth Mitroka, Century, junior
A track standout, Mitroka had a successful foray into cross country. She finished sixth at the county championships and was seventh at the Frank Keyser Invitational.
Emily Mitroka, Century, junior
Mitroka finished second to her teammate Colson at the county championships, placed fifth at regionals and seventh at states.
Cyndi Phelps, Winters Mill, junior
Phelps won two county meets during the season and placed fourth at the county championships. She was 15th at regionals.
Maya Potter, Liberty, senior
Potter followed up her fifth-place finish at the county championships by winning the Class 1A North Region championship.
Caroline Vogelsang, Manchester Valley, senior
Vogelsang ran some of her best races at the end of the season, placing seventh at counties and running a PR to finish 13th at the 3A North Region meet.
All-County second team
Claire Agius, Century, junior
Lyla Goffena, Manchester Valley, senior
Corinne Michael, Westminster, sophomore
Abby Morse, Liberty, junior
Charlotte Prunkl, Century, sophomore
Nicole Song, Liberty, senior
Maggie Tsambikos, Westminster, sophomore
Olivia Watts, Manchester Valley, freshman
