But on Saturday in Potomac, the St. Albans star won the 800 meters, 1,600, and 4×800 relay and led the Bulldogs to their first IAC title since 2016.
“For this to be like my first real, full track experience and to be able to do it with this group of guys, it really means a lot because I’ve been with them all four years,” Attiogbe said. “We’ve all worked hard for this, and we finally had an opportunity to all come together and really show what we got. And we made it worth it.”
Attiogbe, a Cornell commit, accrued 38 of his team’s 160 points as St. Albans finished ahead of host Bullis (116) and Georgetown Prep (103). Coach Ted Findler credited his side’s discipline for toppling local powerhouse Bullis, which had won four consecutive titles.
“The whole league is fantastic,” Findler said. “And obviously Bullis has an incredible team, they’re one of the best in the country, so to be able to compete with them at all, on any level, is really special. … You could just tell this was a unique year. The guys did it out there. They did all the work.”
In the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference championships, also contested Saturday night at Bullis, Georgetown Day prevailed. The Grasshoppers, who were a runners-up by just two points last year at this event, didn’t want to spend another night in May watching another team celebrate.
“It is a very strong, very deep team,” Coach Anthony Belber said. “And that makes me proud as a coach because it’s never just about a few individuals.”
GDS finished with 189 points, with Flint Hill (100) in second and Sidwell (85) in third. The Grasshoppers also broke the school’s 4×100 relay record set in 2014 by running it in 43.21 seconds.
Heading into next year, GDS will retain a solid core of the team that eased to the MAC championship. The junior class is led by the 4×100-winning team of Nathaniel Romine, Kovan Smith, Zachary Kovner and Nathaniel Mintzer. Speedster Thomas Ogada, who ran with Smith and Kovner in the 4×400, also returns.
“The little banner wouldn’t mean anything; it’s about, ‘Do you know you had a great meet?’ and our team had a great meet today,” Belber said. “Every individual, every relay team, we just were off the charts with how well we performed.”