“That 800 really took the momentum away from the other teams,” St. John’s Coach Desmond Dunham said. “Our guys came out and had a huge race.”
Both St. John’s and St. Albans had three runners apiece in the 800, with the Cadets coming in with a 7.25-point lead over the Bulldogs. The Cadets earned 19 points in the race. The other two St. Albans runners finished fifth and 11th.
St. John’s (141 points) overcame a poor start Wednesday with an impressive Thursday finish to win its third straight title despite winning only two relays and two field events. Gonzaga (100) was runner-up, and St. Albans (99) took third.
“We came in today talking about just handling business and getting everything done,” said senior sprinter Roman Mills, who was part of the record-breaking 4×100-relay team (42.92 seconds). “And today, everybody executed, and we got the job done.”
The Cadets made things far less suspenseful on the girls’ side, winning their fourth straight with a team record 223 points. Host Dunbar, the DCIAA champion, was second with 134.5 points. Sidwell Friends (53) was third.
The Cadets’ dominance is built on a strong bond forged between teammates.
“Chemistry is really important,” said sophomore sprinter Cymia Yourish, who won the 400 (56.37). “You can look at some team, and maybe it doesn’t seem like they, like, get along so much. I feel like we make sure to have strong relationships. If you didn’t have chemistry, there wouldn’t really be motivation or passion.”
St. John’s, which won the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship Saturday, placed first in 11 of 17 events and set meet records in each of the four relay events.
“It’s incredible that our girls’ team was able to sweep the relays after they swept at the [WCAC meet] just a couple days ago,” Dunham said.
Seniors Meredith Gotzman (1600 and 3200 champion) and Lailah King (100 and 200 gold medalist) were named most valuable runners on the girls’ side. St. John’s shot put victor Donovan Tyler and McKinley Tech sprinter Ayotunde Ejiko (100, 200 and 400 winner) earned honors on the boys’ side.
As the meet wound down, the Cadets stayed late to participate in one of the team’s most sacred traditions: their circle. At the state meet, graduating seniors get the opportunity to thank the team, impart wisdom or talk about what being a Cadet means to them.
“It’s a special way for this team to send off our seniors,” Dunham said.