Ranking the top 30 Washington County high school girls athletes of 2023
Over the course of 2023, 193 Washington County high school girls athletes earned all-county honors in at least one of the 10 girls sports (basketball and indoor track and field in the winter; softball, lacrosse, outdoor track and field and tennis in the spring; and volleyball, soccer, cross country and golf in the fall). That doesn't include the girls who participated in wrestling, several of whom took part in the state tournament.
Who made The Herald-Mail's top 30?
1. Lauren Stine, North Hagerstown
Stine was The Herald-Mail's county cross country runner of the year as a junior in the fall and the county outdoor track and field athlete of the year as a sophomore last spring. In cross country, she won Central Maryland Conference, Washington County and 3A West titles before finishing third in Class 3A at states. She also was the champion of South Hagerstown’s Rebel Invitational and Middletown’s Run in the Valley, and the runner-up at the prestigious Maryland Invitational. Outdoors, she won the Class 3A state title in the 3,200 in 10:54.42, making her the No. 2 performer in the event in county history. She also was the county leader in the 1,600 (5:06.35) and ranked No. 2 in the 800 (2:21.29). She was an all-county first-team honoree indoors, placing second in the Class 3A 3,200 at the state meet after winning the 3A West title.
2. Grace Ellis, Smithsburg
As a sophomore, Ellis was The Herald-Mail's county indoor track and field athlete of the year, leading the Leopards to their first state indoor team title by scoring 23.5 points. She was the Class 1A state champion in the 500, setting a school record (1:19.15) and getting within a tenth of a second of the county record. She also placed second in the 800 (2:25.57) and fifth in the 300 (43.62) at states. She won county titles in the 500 and the 800. Last spring, she earned all-county first-team honors in both outdoor track and field and lacrosse. On the track, she ranked No. 2 in the county in the 400 (1:00.44), No. 3 in the 800 (2:22.12) and was a member of the No. 1 4x400 (4:09.17) and 4x800 (9:52.09), winning 1A state gold in both relays. As a lacrosse defender, she finished the season with 29 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers while also scoring three goals for the Leopards. As a junior in the fall, she earned all-county second-team honors in soccer.
3. Lauren Toms, Williamsport
Toms earned all-county first-team honors in tennis last spring as a junior and in soccer in the fall as a senior. In tennis, she finished 24-1 in singles, repeating as the county and 1A West Region II champion before finishing third in the state tournament. Her loss came against Pikesville's Julia Jeffrey, then the No. 2-ranked senior in Maryland according to tennisrecruiting.net, who easily rolled to the state title. In soccer, the midfielder was the county’s top public-school scorer with 17 goals and four assists despite missing several games to injury, earning MACS All-State honorable mention. Will play soccer for Division I Navy.
4. Madi Wade, South Hagerstown
As a junior last spring, Wade was The Herald-Mail's county softball player of the year, leading the Rebels to a 14-6 record for their most wins in 25 years. She batted .544 with county highs in extra-base hits (21), home runs (six), walks (16) and OPS (1.793) to go with 32 RBIs. In the circle, she went 12-5 with a county-high 151 strikeouts in 108 innings. As a senior, she was a key contributor on South's volleyball team in the fall.
5. Paige Smith, Williamsport
As a senior last winter, Smith repeated as The Herald-Mail's county girls basketball player of the year after leading the Wildcats to a 24-3 record (their most wins in a single season since winning a state title in 1992) and a second straight appearance in the Maryland Class 2A semifinals. She averaged 22.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.9 steals and 2.6 assists.
6. Gabby Grantham-Medley, North Hagerstown
As a senior last winter, Grantham-Medley made the all-county basketball first team, averaging 21.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.3 steals, 3.2 assists and 1.3 blocks for the Hubs. She is currently playing at Division I Duquesne.
7. Mollie Rebuck, St. Maria Goretti
As a senior in the fall, Rebuck was The Herald-Mail's county soccer player of the year, racking up 104 points with 47 goals (the most by any county player this century) and 10 assists. She totaled 98 goals for her high school career.
8. Cora Gentzel, Smithsburg
As a junior in the fall, Gentzel was an all-county cross country and soccer first-team honoree. In cross country, she won the Class 1A state title and led the Leopards to the team championship. She placed second in the county and 1A West meets and won the CMC small-school division. On the pitch as a midfielder, she had five goals and two assists. Last spring as a sophomore, she earned all-county outdoor track and field first-team honors, ranking No. 2 in the county in the 1,600 (5:19.21), No. 3 in the 3,200 (11:56.72) and No. 5 in the 800 (2:25.57). She was a 1A state champ in the 4x800.
9. Caroline Matthews, Boonsboro
Matthews was an all-county track and field first-team honoree both indoors and outdoors as a junior, and a cross country first-teamer in the fall as a senior. Indoors, she won Class 1A state gold in the 3,200 and placed second in the 1,600 and fourth in the 800. She won county, Central Maryland Conference and 1A West titles in the 3,200, setting the county meet record (11:18.52) and also had the county's top performance of the season in the 1,600 (5:23.71). Outdoors, she ranked No. 2 in the county in the 3,200 (11:06.75) and No. 4 in the 1,600 (5:20.91). She was the overall CMC champion and 1A state runner-up in the 3,200. In cross country, she placed fourth in the CMC small-school division, fifth in 1A West, sixth in the county and 12th in 1A at states.
10. Caydence Doolan, North Hagerstown
As a sophomore in the fall, Doolan was The Herald-Mail's county volleyball player of the year, leading the Hubs to a second straight Class 3A state championship. She led the county in kills per set (4.14), ranked second among hitters in hitting efficiency (.384) and added 3.08 digs per set.
11. Brianna Ellis, Smithsburg
As a senior last spring, Ellis was The Herald-Mail's county lacrosse player of the year, leading all county players in goals (64), draw controls (100) and caused turnovers (44). She also had 17 assists and 56 ground balls for the Leopards, who won the first region title in program history and reached the Class 1A state semifinals.
12. Lauran Finn, Saint James
As an eighth-grader playing for the Saints' varsity tennis team last spring, Finn was The Herald-Mail's county player of the year. She went 10-0 in singles matches and 4-0 in doubles. That included a straight-sets victory over Mercersburg's No. 1 boys singles player, Arnav Pallapothu, and a pair of straight-sets wins over Washington's Angeline Almeyda, a West Virginia Class AAA singles quarterfinalist.
13. Addy Zeigler, Clear Spring
As a junior in the fall, Zeigler earned all-county volleyball first-team honors as an outside hitter who averaged 3.15 kills on a county-best .397 efficiency and also led the county with 1.11 blocks per set for the Blazers, who repeated as Class 1A state champions.
14. Riley Troxell, South Hagerstown
As a junior, Troxell earned all-county first-team honors in indoor track and field last winter and in both outdoor track and field and tennis in the spring. Indoors, she ended the season with the county's top performance in the pole vault (10 feet, 2 inches). She placed second in the county meet, fourth in the Central Maryland Conference and fifth in Class 3A at states. Outdoors, she again ranked No. 1 in the county in the pole vault (10-6). On the tennis courts, she teamed with Amanda Frushour to go 20-2 in doubles, winning county and 3A West Region I championships.
15. Alyssa Fisher, Clear Spring
As a senior, Fisher earned all-county first-team honors in both basketball and softball. On the hardcourt, she averaged 14.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.9 steals and 2.0 assists for the Blazers. On the diamond, she batted .426 with three doubles, three triples, two home runs, 16 RBIs and 17 stolen bases.
16. Jenna Howe, Smithsburg
As a sophomore, Howe earned all-county track and field first-team honors both indoors and outdoors. Indoors, she was part of the Leopards' Class 1A state title-winning 4x200 relay and placed third in the 300 and fifth in the 55 at states. She won county and 1A West titles in the 55 and the county title in the 300, ending the season with the county's top performances among public-school athletes in both events (7.64 and 42.87). Outdoors, she ranked No. 1 in the county in the 400 (59.02) and No. 2 in the 100 (12.64) and 200 (26.01). She also contributed to the No. 1 4x100 (50.52) and 4x200 (1:46.50) relays. She won four events at the county championships.
17. Amelia Mikus, Boonsboro
As a junior last winter, Mikus won the Maryland girls wrestling state title at 135 pounds.
18. Haylee Hartman, Boonsboro
As a junior last spring, Hartman made the all-county softball first team, batting .508 with five home runs, a triple, three doubles and 40 RBIs. She was an all-county basketball second-team honoree, and as a senior in the fall, she made the all-county soccer second team.
19. Macy Rhinaman, Boonsboro
As a senior in the fall, Rhinaman earned all-county soccer first-team honors as a midfielder who had 13 goals and three assists and was selected to the MACS All-State first team.
20. Kayla Hawbecker, Smithsburg
Hawbecker earned all-county first-team honors in indoor and outdoor track and field as a sophomore and in cross country as a junior. Indoors, she ran a leg of the Leopards' Class 1A state title-winning 4x800 relay and placed third in the 800 and fourth in the 1,600. Outdoors, she ranked No. 1 in the county in the 800 (2:21.05) and No. 3 in the 1,600 (5:20.48) and anchored the Leopards to the 1A state title in the 4x800. In cross country, she placed fifth in the county, seventh in the CMC small-school division and 13th in Class 1A at the state meet.
21. Aidan Faith, Hancock
As a senior, Faith earned all-county track and field first-team honors both indoors and outdoors. Indoors, she finished second in the county and 1A West meets and third in Class 1A at the state meet in the high jump, with a top performance of 4 feet, 10 inches that tied for second in the county. Outdoors, she ranked No. 1 in the county in the long jump (16-6) and triple jump (35-2) and tied for No. 1 in the high jump (5-0), earning 1A state medals in all three jumps.
22. Becca Sanon, Williamsport
As a senior, Sanon earned all-county track and field first-team honors both indoors and outdoors. Indoors, she finished the season ranked first in the county in both the 55 hurdles (9.89) and high jump (5 feet). She placed second in the state (Class 1A) and the county in the high jump and was third in the county and 1A West meets in the 55 hurdles. Outdoors, she ranked No. 1 in the county in the 100 hurdles (17.63) and tied for No. 1 in the high jump (5-0).
23. Joslyn Foltz, Hancock
As a senior, Foltz earned all-county track and field first-team honors both indoors and outdoors. Indoors, she won the Class 1A state title in the shot put with a throw of 33 feet, 7 1/2 inches that topped the county leaderboard. Outdoors, she ranked No. 1 in the county in the shot put (34-3 1/2) and No. 2 in the discus (98-3).
24. Kaitlyn Queen, Boonsboro
As a senior, Queen earned all-county track and field first-team honors both indoors and outdoors. Indoors, she won county and 1A West titles in the shot put before placing second at states with a personal-record throw of 33 feet, 3 1/2 inches. Outdoors, she ranked No. 1 in the county in the discus (103-3) and No. 2 in the shot put (33-11 1/4).
25. Chloe Fisher, Smithsburg
As a junior in the fall, Fisher made the all-county volleyball first team, leading the county in assists (9.24) and aces (0.97) per set for the Leopards, who finished 19-2 and reached the Maryland Class 1A state final. She also averaged 2.60 digs.
26. Cami Row, Boonsboro
As a senior last spring, Row earned all-county tennis first-team honors, teaming with Larissa Blair to go 16-2 in doubles and winning Class 1A state and 1A West Region II championships. She also was on the all-county indoor track and field second team as a distance runner.
27. Larissa Blair, Boonsboro
As a sophomore last spring, Blair earned all-county tennis first-team honors after teaming with Cami Row to go 16-2 in doubles, winning the Class 1A state championship. As a junior in the fall, she made the all-county volleyball second team, averaging 2.19 kills and 1.98 digs per set.
28. Piper Meredith, Boonsboro
As a sophomore in the fall, Meredith was The Herald-Mail's county golfer of the year. She finished with the county's best nine-hole scoring average (38.1 strokes) while winning girls individual titles in the county, Central Maryland Conference and Maryland District 1 Class 2A-1A tournaments. She finished second overall in District 1 Class 2A-1A with the county's top score (a 73), was third overall in the county tournament, fifth overall in the CMC with the county's top score (a 74) and sixth in the Maryland 2A-1A girls tournament.
29. Kylie Snyder, Smithsburg
As a senior last spring, Snyder earned all-county outdoor track and field first-team honors after tying for the No. 1 county ranking in the high jump (5-0) and running on the No. 1 4x100 (50.52), 4x200 (1:46.50) and 4x400 (4:09.17) relays. She won 1A state gold in the 4x400. She also earned all-county basketball second-team honors.
30. Maddie Kesselring, Smithsburg
As a senior, Kesselring earned all-county lacrosse first-team honors after compiling 62 goals, a county-best 27 assists, 65 draw controls, 44 ground balls and 16 caused turnovers. She also made the all-county basketball second team.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Ranking the top 30 Washington County high school girls athletes of 2023
