Hawks’ Amefia sheds nerves, triple jumps to state gold as one of 6 county athletes to win titles on Day 1

LANDOVER — This was a time to be bold.

Urbana High senior Janine Amefia said she often felt “scared and uneasy” at track meets.

The competition was fierce. The pressure to perform was intense. And she often felt her nerves adversely affected her when she competed, even though her distances and results in the triple and long jumps were still quite good.

Yet here was Amefia on Tuesday evening at the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex in her final state meet. It was now or never. And, as she prepared to take off down the runway on her third attempt of the preliminary round in the Class 4A girls triple jump, she felt confident and strong.

Spectators clapped in rhythm to try and give her that extra little boost that she needed.

“I had the right energy. I had the right support. I just wanted it,” said Amefia, who leaped a personal-best 38 feet, 9 inches on her final prelim attempt to win her first state title after the mark held up as the best during the final round of the event.

Her victory, combined with Bailey Smith’s second-place finish in the pole vault, Avery Radwinsky’s third-place finish in the discus and a second-place finish by the 4x200 relay team, helped stake the Urbana girls, the two-time reigning 4A team champions, to the early lead in the team standings with 35 points after the first day of the meet.

Wednesday will feature competition for 2A and 1A schools, and the 4A and 3A schools will be back Thursday afternoon for the final day of the meet.

“I am just hyped,” said Amefia, the younger sister of Angeline, a former Urbana team captain and multi-time state champion. “Last states as a senior. I wanted to do something memorable.”

Amefia was not the only one. She joined Thomas Johnson’s Luke Freimanis, Brunell Owusu and James Partlow and Oakdale’s Lillian Schultz and Grant Lohr as Frederick County champions on the first day of the state meet.

Owusu, a junior at TJ, was similarly fearful when she began her pole-vaulting career, mainly for her safety. But, after placing seventh at states last spring with a height of 10 feet, 6 inches, she saw her potential.

She dedicated herself to the event over the last year, and on Tuesday it resulted in her first state title when she matched her personal-best height of 11-6 in the 3A girls pole vault.

“I just felt more confident,” she said. “I jump better in warm weather. I was more confident because it was a nice day. It was easier to bend the poles. I felt good in my run. So, I think it all worked out pretty well.”

Owusu prevailed in a four-way tie for first that included teammate Gabriela Umpierre and Urbana’s Smith because she had fewer misses over the course of the event.

“I was very nervous [before the event],” Owusu said. “I was shaking a lot. I knew everything today depended on attempts.”

Meanwhile, Partlow, TJ’s distance running star, began the meet by running a heroic split in the 4x800 relay of 1 minute, 54.88 seconds for the heavily favored Patriots, which propelled them from 15th place all the way to third after the baton was inadvertently punched out of the hand of Jonathan Barreto-Luna on the opening leg.

Junior Jonathan Regules hammered home the comeback finish for TJ with a 1:53.55 anchor leg.

“It was insane,” Partlow said. “All of the guys ran so well, considering the circumstances.”

The grueling leg in the relay diminished Partlow slightly for the 3,200-meter run later in the meet. But, as expected, he still won that race comfortably in 9:16.29, adding to his state title haul this year, which includes a cross-country title and the 1,600 and 3,200 titles during the indoor season.

“I am pretty tired,” he said after winning the 3,200.

Freimanis gave TJ another 10 points with his victory in the 4A boys high jump. His winning leap was 6-6, which he cleared on his first attempt at that height. It was two inches better than Princewill Osahon of Bowie.

Also adding to their state title collections were Schultz and Lohr of Oakdale.

Schultz backed up her indoor state title in the Class 3A girls pole vault by winning the outdoor title Tuesday with a height of 12 feet, despite missing her first attempt at 11-6.

“I kind of told myself I got it,” she said. “[Eleven-6] was a half a foot under my [personal record]. I knew that I could do it. I haven’t gotten under 11 feet all season. I could feel it was a good day. With pole vault, you could feel it in your veins. It’s a good day.”

Lohr, meanwhile, overcame a nagging back issue to successfully defend his title in the 3A boys shot put. His winning put traveled 55 feet, 1¾ inches.

Nagging injuries are often something Lohr has dealt with over the course of his track career. Yet, he always seems to find a way to pull the best out of himself in the big meets.

He will attempt to defend his state title in the 3A discus on Thursday.

“I think the injuries kind of help me in a weird way,” Lohr said. “They help me get out of my own head. I am able to stop overthinking and just go out there and do my thing.”

NOTES: Tuscarora's Justin Banks placed second in the 3A 3,200, and also helped the Titans' 4x800 relay team take third. ... Oakdale's Donovan Harrington took third in the 3A long jump. ... Urbana's Aaron Humes placed second in the shot put by just 1.5 inches to Paul X. Rivers of Northwest. TJ's Spencer Deweese was third. ... Urbana's boys 4x800 relay team finished second in 4A. ... TJ's boys 4x200 relay team finished third in 4A.