Out of Town Teams Welcomed to Woodlawn Warrior Invitational
Friday, April 10, 2004
This year’s 4 th annual Woodlawn Warrior Invitational welcomes the most out-of-town teams since its inception in 2000. Thirteen teams will travel down interstate 95 South or 70 East to the Baltimore County school for a day of track and field action. Meet Directors Mark Pryor and Michael Sye are ecstatic about the number of visiting teams outside of Maryland. “When we started this meet, we hoped that it could grow into an all-star event that would attract teams from up and down the east coast,” stated Pryor. “We are glad to host this many (29) teams this year and even happier to attract teams from as far as West Virginia”, stated Sye.
Highlighting the list of teams traveling to Maryland this weekend will be South Shore HS from Brooklyn NY coached by Phil Zodda. South Shore boast a 4x800m relaytime of 7:53.51 that currently ranks them 3 rd nationally by Track & Field News (April 2000). South Shore’s 4x400m relay also ranks 4 th in the US with a performance of 3:18.87. This is Coach Zodda’s second trip to terrapin land as he enjoyed the Caribbean style lunches, meet t-shirts as well as the competition on the track in its first edition.
Traveling with South Shore will be its NYC neighbors Murry Bergtraum High School coached by Charles Goldberg. This will be their first trip but hopefully not the last for his girl’s team. Their team is led by junior Jessica Clarke who is ranked 3 rd nationally indoors by Track & Field News in the 300m dash (:38.73). Clarke will look to make her mark in the 100m & 200m dashes at Woodlawn as well as the relays.
Jessica Retelny of Scarsdale HS in Scarsdale NY will also be traveling down 95 to taste the crabs & seafood as well as the sprinting competition. Retelny placed 7 th this past winter at the National Scholastic Indoor Championships in the 55m dash and looks to add the 100m & 200m Woodlawn Warrior crowns to her resume while in Maryland. The Empire State’s neighbor New Jersey will also be represented. Moorestown High School and Winslow Township HS girl’s team have entered the Warrior Invitational this year for the first time and bring a crop of talented young athletes.
A first this year will be a team from West Va . coming to Woodlawn. Preston High School coached by Paul Martin will be traveling to Baltimore to see if their success this fall can translate on the track in another state. Preston won this year’s WV state cross country championship title and will be bringing a creditable crew of distance runners to Maryland led by Scott Gemberling.
Historically, Maryland and DC have been rivals in all aspects of sports. This year’s Woodlawn Invite renews that rivalry in track & field with the DC teams from Woodrow Wilson, H.D. Wilson, Spingarn and St. John’s College High Schools all traveling up the Baltimore/Washington Parkway. Wilson’s coach Ron Jenkins hopes his boys’ 4x800m relay can achieve a qualifying time for the prestigious Penn Relays; as well as region bragging rights.
But let’s not forget the host state’s big names scheduled to compete at the Woodlawn Invitational. A clash of titans will take place, not once but twice and maybe three or four times in the sprints & relay events. Oakland Mills HS ( Columbia, MD) will be bringing its Class 1A-2A indoor state champion sprinter Anthony Cole to Woodlawn to do battle with recent rival Augustus Korkoya of Chesapeake HS in Baltimore County.
Cole ranks among the nation’s fastest sprinters this indoor season by Track & Field News and was the Baltimore Sun’s Winter Performer of the Year. Korkoya looks to rise from the shadows of obscurity to make a name for himself and possibly earn a college scholarship. While Baltimore County knows well what he can do, Chesapeake coach Alvin Pridgeon is eager to showcase his talented charge in the 100m, 200m and 400m events as well as in the relay. Round 1 of this heavyweight match up between Cole and Korkoya starts at 10:00am with the semi-final heats of the 100m dash.
The host school hopes to rewrite the records in at least three events during its self-named event. Head Coach Mark Pryor is hoping that indoor high jump state champion Ronald Bias can stamp his name in the event’s record books for both the long and triple jumps. Bias owned both events in the state this indoors with marks of 22-04.50 and 45-02. Unfortunately, Maryland does not contest both at their indoor state meet. Thus, Bias has been waiting for spring to showcase his skills. Senior Samuel Henry has improved tremendously over his high school years and hopes to have a breakthrough performance boosted by all the high caliber middle distance competition. The same can be said for senior Leslie Conley who has been dominating her competition in the 800m run and looks to be pushed to new limits. Pryor notes a surprise may come from freshman Dwight Parker in the 3200m run.
The excitement on the track will undoubtedly be fueled by the support of fans, friends and parents who will watch the meet from the new Kevin W. Liles Stadium at Woodlawn High School. The new stadium seats 2,000 people and gives every spectator a clear view of all the action on the track. The new Press Box with state of the art sound system will ring out all the results and winners names throughout the day and serve notice that the Woodlawn Warrior Invitational is a mainstay on the outdoor high school track & field scene. With the smell of Caribbean jerk chicken and a local vendor selling track & field shoes and apparel, visitors will think the Penn Relay Carnival had moved to Baltimore. Or just that it’s that time again for the Woodlawn Warrior Invitational. Hope to see you there!
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