Coaches Reactions to a Championship Venue Change and a Indoor Track Championship Recap

MPSSAA BASKETBALL UPDATE

In past seasons, the MPSSA State Basketball Championship was hosted in College Park at the University of Maryland’s Xfinity Center, but this year, it will be moving to Catonsville, to the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. CSZ reached out to basketball coaches throughout Maryland to get various opinions, and here is what coaches had to say!

MPSSAA shifted the venue for the 2026 boys and girls basketball state championships from the University of Maryland's Xfinity Center to the UMBC Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena.

The move, announced earlier this month, marks the first change in location for the boys' finals since they began at UMD facilities in 1947.

The boys' championships have historically been held at Ritchie Coliseum from 1947 to 1955, Cole Field House from 1956 to 2001, and the Xfinity Center since 2003. The girls' championships have bounced between venues, going from UMBC in 1993-2013 to Towson University's SECU Arena from 2014-19 and most recently to the Xfinity Center.

Whitman boys’ basketball coach Christopher Lun explained that the tradition of competing at the University of Maryland will take time to move past.

“Many of our past Whitman teams have such great memories in College Park,” Lun said.

The Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena has a capacity of 6,000, but only 5,000 seats are available for basketball games. The Xfinity Center had room for over 17,000 fans.

The new venue’s proximity could be the source of the change. In some counties, like Howard County, the average distance to the games decreased by over five miles. Pikesville basketball coach Michael Dukes appreciated the easier access and the potential for boosted attendance.

Other team coaches had mixed opinions on the sudden change to UMBC.

Towson girls’ basketball coach Eric Erhardt did not feel strongly about the change and offered a more ambivalent reaction.

“Obviously, the facilities aren’t quite as nice as Maryland; however, I’ve been to UMBC games and think the gym and atmosphere have always been good. The location is fairly easy to get to off the beltway. I prefer UMBC because of the proximity,” Erhardt said.

Peter Kenah, the coach for the Walt Whitman girls’ basketball team, saw his team go to both UMBC and UMD for the championships. He looked forward to fewer logistical restrictions from playing at UMD.

“I am a huge fan of the change…The smaller venue compared to the cavernous UMD is great…More intimate, more exciting,” Kenah said.

Kenah also wants to see the state semifinals come to UMBC instead of just the finals.

“That was the best rather than the model now. It made it really feel special to make the state final four,” Kenah said.

The MPSSAA basketball state championships will be held from March 12 to March 14.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

TRACK AND FIELD 🏃

Last week, the MPSSAA Indoor Track and Field Championships were held at the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex, where many MoCo teams competed as athletes strived for gold. Scroll down for a full recap of every MCPS athlete who took home a bronze, silver, or gold medal!

Last week, the Prince George’s County Sports and Learning Complex hosted the MPSSA Indoor Track and Field State Championships! Over 150 teams and several hundred athletes competed in the sport’s final event. Montgomery County had no shortage of athletes make the state level podium. The following athletes placed in the top three for their event in their class!

3A Boys Track Events: Dimitrios Rementelas, a sophomore from Sherwood, will undoubtedly be an athlete to watch out for over the next few seasons. This winter, he took home the silver medal in the 3A 800m, finishing in 1:59.81, followed by the gold medal in the 1600m, finishing in 4:22.54. Northwood senior Henry Nichols took bronze behind Rementelas, finishing in 4:25.56, but improved to silver in the 1600, with a final time of 9:38.57. Nathan Downie from Wootton came in a few seconds behind Nichols to claim bronze, finishing in 9:43.2.

3A Girls Track Events:Northwood junior Addison Finlay was the only 3A medalist from Moco, as she set her PR in the 55m hurdles, taking gold with a final time of 8.27 seconds.

4A Girls Track Events: Cori Emah, a junior from Montgomery Blair, set her PR and finished second in the 500m race, with a time of 1:18.07. In the 800, Clair Saboe from Blair and Simone Carter from Blake both finished on the podium, with Saboe’s time of 2:19.27 good for silver, and Carter finishing half a second later earned her bronze. In the 1600m, two Montgomery County seniors earned spots in the top three. Audrey Wycholis from Northwest crossed the line in 5:12.93, while Alexia Ladstaetter from Bethesda-CC finished .35 seconds behind for third. Ladstaetter went onto win the 3200m, finishing in 11:15.67, while Whitman sophomore Kinjal Kapoor placed third in 11:20.95, her PR. 

4A Boys Track Events: Springbrook senior Etornam Agbonyitor finished third in the 300m, with a time of 35.25 seconds. In the 500m, teammate Darly Philogene set his PR finishing in second, in 1:05.64. In the same event, Walter Johnson’s Jack Fiening won third, finishing just .4 seconds behind. Fiening then went on to set his PR and win the 800m in 1:57.18. Benjamin Burckle, the senior from Blair, was close behind, as his time of 1:57.67 was good enough for second. 

Similarly to Fiening, Burckle then set a PR in the 1600m as he was the first of three Montgomery County athletes to hit the podium. His time of 4:16.91 was perfect for the gold medal, followed by Bethesda-CC’s Tobin Connelly in second and Clarksburg’s Ayaan Ahmad in third. In the 3200m, once again, the podium consisted entirely of MoCo athletes, as Ahmad took the top spot, followed by Churchill’s Santiago Gutierrez and Whitman’s Jonah Greszler. Lastly, Paint Branch senior Shiloh Bryant-Serrano set a PR and won the 4A 55m hurdles, finishing in 7.59 seconds, taking gold by just one hundredth of a point.

Boys Relay Events: Montgomery Blair and Churchill were both podium place holders in the 4A 4x200m relay, with the Blazers setting their PR in a gold medal finish of 1:32.09, while the Bulldogs were close behind, finishing in 1:32.47 and in second. Walter Johnson had two teams make the podium. The Wildcats’ 4x400 team finished second with a time of 3:28.55, while their 4x800 team also finished in the silver slot, with a time of 8:15.58.

Girls Relay Events: Springbrook was the only MoCo squad to place in a 4x400m event, as their runners finished third, four tenths of a second over the four minute mark. Montgomery County found much more success in the 4A 4x800m relay, as their teams took all three of the top spots. Montgomery Blair finished in first with plenty of time to spare, crossing the line in 9:28.31. They were followed by Blake in second at 9:45.41, and Bethesda-CC in third at 9:51.61.

Boys Field Events: The only field events where a Montgomery County athlete placed came in the 4A shot put and the 4A high jump. Jacob Breitstein, a junior from Churchill, threw his 12lb ball just half an inch shy of 56 feet, which was plenty to earn him the gold medal. Bakari Taylor, a senior from the same school, cleared second place by seven inches with his 6 foot 9 inch jump, giving him the gold in the high jump

Girls Field Events: Teagan Bandholz is the lone Poolesville Falcon mentioned in this article, but she did take the gold medal in 2A shot put, reaching a max distance of 41 feet 7.5 inches. Benedicte Mpiana brought home bronze for Northwest as she reached 37 feet 5.5 inches. Finally, Kylee Kreafle, a senior from Churchill, and Raeona Fisher, a senior from Blake, both reached the top two in the 4A high jump. Kraefle tied for gold reaching five feet four inches, while Fisher tied for second just two inches below.

GIRLS BASKETBALL 🏀

Congratulations to Whitman on securing the top regular season record in Montgomery County, regardless of what happens in their game tomorrow on the road against 14-5 Wootton. That is far from the only good matchup on tomorrow’s slate, as Quince Orchard will travel to Bethesda-CC, Damascus will host Clarksburg, and Wheaton and Northwood will battle it out at the bottom of the standings. Stay tuned to CSZ’s socials for playoff brackets, which are scheduled to be released on February 24

BOYS BASKETBALL🏀

In the past week, Whitman dropped their first two games of the season, both coming in one point games against Richard Montgomery and Bethesda-CC. Because of the weather cancellations earlier in the season, tomorrow now marks the final day of the regular season, and it will feature several top-tier matchups, including Paint Branch traveling to Blake, Blair hosting Richard Montgomery, and others. Stay tuned to CSZ’s socials for playoff brackets, which are scheduled to be released on February 24

MCPS ATHLETICS ZONE FEATURE

Montgomery County students produce stories highlighting their county’s athletes, and CSZ is thrilled to continue working to highlight their work. Watkins Mill senior Camila Pupo Flores recently published an article giving a spotlight to two MCPS Wrestling Coaches, who don’t only know each other from the gym. Click the link below to learn more about this unique feud!

POSTS FROM THE COMMUNITY 📷📝🎬

SHARE YOUR STORIES

Know a coach, teammate, or fan going above and beyond? Nominate them for a feature! Your story idea could be highlighted in next week’s edition.

Email us at [email protected].