Glenelg

GLENELG, Md. - Glenelg scored three runs in the fifth inning after an untimely Middletown error and went on to beat the Knights 4-1 in the Class 2A West softball final Monday afternoon. Middletown (15-4) had a chance to get out of the inning with minimal damage, but an error extended the inning. "One error kept us from getting out of the inning, and they came back and hit two doubles, which got us in a hole we couldn't get out of," Knights manager Charlie Toms said. Emily Enders had two hits for Middletown, which had five total hits, but none in key situations.

BOYS BASKETBALL GLENELG, Md. North Hagerstown's season came to an abrupt, physical end Monday in the 2A West quarterfinals, suffering a 54-44 loss to Glenelg. The physicality was on the backboards where the Hubs were outrebounded, 49-32 and allowed Glenelg 23 offensive rebounds. Glenelg (13-7) broke away from a 21-21 tie with a 7-0 run and the halftime lead and never relinquished the lead as North (17-5) battled to within four points with two minutes remaining. Marshall Branch led North with 15 points, Cole Bellon added 10 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots and Purnell Spruce dished out eight assists and had a team-high nine rebounds.

GIRLS SOCCER SAINT JAMES -- Courtney Peterson led Saint James with two goals as the Saints routed Glenelg (0-4) on Monday, 7-0. Jessie Cho, Soo Joo Park, Alyssa Glass, Suzie McKelzey and Mary Kate Afzali each scored a goal, while Rachel Herrera made three saves for the Saints (2-2-2). BOYS SOCCER Hyndman 7, Southern Fulton 0 WARFORDSBURG, Pa. -- Courtney Strait had seven saves but Southern Fulton (1-3) was shut out by Hyndman. Clear Spring 1, Broadfording Academy 0 CLEAR SPRING -- Devin Repp scored the winning goal on an assist from Matt Blair as Clear Spring shut out Broadfording.

Leopards run out of town By DAN KAUFFMAN dankauff@herald-mail.com GLENELG, Md. - For one half Saturday, the Smithsburg girls basketball team looked like it would finally return to the state semifinals for the first time since 1988. Eariel Gholson was making 3-pointers like they were going out of style, while her teammates gave Glenelg headaches holding onto the ball with a ferocious, quick defense. The scoreboard at the half: Smithsburg 32, Glenelg 29. Then, as quickly as the Leopards had found hope, the Gladiators simply took it away.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - One to go. Boonsboro's volleyball team was far from perfect against Glenelg in the Maryland Class 1A state semifinals at the University of Maryland's Ritchie Coliseum on Monday, but they were good enough to sweep the 1A South champions 25-22, 25-21, 25-13 and secure a spot in Saturday's state title match. The Warriors (13-4) were not as sharp as they were in last week's 1A West semifinals and final, but nonetheless will go for their second state title - their first came in 1984 in their only other trip to the final - when they face South Carroll on Saturday at 5 p.m. "Our team chemistry against Poolesville and Williamsport was excellent," Boonsboro coach Andrea Parry said.

Local Roundup - Southern Fulton makes final GIRLS BASKETBALL CHESTNUT RIDGE, Pa. - Kelly True had 23 points and seven rebounds Tuesday to lead No. 6 Southern Fulton to a 46-35 win over Shanksville and move the Indians into the Class A District 5 final. Brooke Francis had eight points and eight rebounds and Jodi Appel had seven rebounds for the Indians (21-5), who will play Berlin on Thursday. Berlin beat Northern Bedford 50-39 to advance. SOUTHERN FULTON (46)

Roundup: Mercersburg still unbeaten PREP FOOTBALL MERCERSBURG, Pa. - Merecersburg Academy continued its unbeaten ways with a 12-6 victory over Lawrenceville School on Saturday. Chace Brackley had a 1-yard scoring run for Mercersburg (4-0) in the first quarter and Kyle Fields threw an 11-yard touchdown to Tugger Zema in the fourth quarter. Fields finished with 258 yards passing. Defensively, Ryan Fay had 16 tackles and two fumble recoveries. Sheanon Summers had 14 tackles, and Alex Laddbush had two sacks.

Three area teams get shot in finals By DAN SPEARS dans@herald-mail.com Three teams try to take the final step to the MPSSAA Girls Basketball Tournament today in their region finals. Class 1A South Smithsburg at Glenelg, 7 The Leopards' scoring machine heads down the road to Howard County to face the Gladiators for a rematch of last season's 1A South final, which Glenelg won. Last year, though, the Leopards didn't have Eariel Gholson, who transferred into the district this season.

Middletown puts unbeaten season on line By MARK KELLER / keller@herald-mail.com Something will have to give tonight in Harford County. Unlike the state soccer final, which can and, in many cases will, end in a draw, tonight's Middletown-Joppatowne Class 2A football semifinal will result in one team going home with its first and only loss of the season. The other will make a long-awaited return trip to the University of Maryland's Byrd Stadium next weekend for the state championship game.

MIDDLETOWN, Md. - For some coaches, playoff time is the beginning of the second season. But for Middletown coach Tim Ambrose, it's simply the 11th game of the regular season. And in this case, that might be the most logical approach. When the Knights travel to Glenelg today to square off against the Cardinals in the Class 2A quarterfinals, it'll be the second time this season the two teams have faced each other. "We scrimmage them every year in our first scrimmage," said Ambrose, "and we beat them last year 7-0 in the first round of the playoffs.

GIRLS SOCCER SAINT JAMES -- Courtney Peterson led Saint James with two goals as the Saints routed Glenelg (0-4) on Monday, 7-0. Jessie Cho, Soo Joo Park, Alyssa Glass, Suzie McKelzey and Mary Kate Afzali each scored a goal, while Rachel Herrera made three saves for the Saints (2-2-2). BOYS SOCCER Hyndman 7, Southern Fulton 0 WARFORDSBURG, Pa. -- Courtney Strait had seven saves but Southern Fulton (1-3) was shut out by Hyndman. Clear Spring 1, Broadfording Academy 0 CLEAR SPRING -- Devin Repp scored the winning goal on an assist from Matt Blair as Clear Spring shut out Broadfording.

LANDOVER, Md. -- The Williamsport and Smithsburg boys indoor track teams battled each other all winter for the conference, county and region titles. It was no surprise that they were at it again Monday at the Maryland Class 1A State Championships at the Prince George's Sports & Learning Complex. In another tight finish, the Wildcats edged the Leopards 44-41 -- for third place. The title went to Western Tech (69), while Glenelg (56) was second. "You always come down here trying to win, and the kids made a run at it," Smithsburg coach Ray Shriver said.

No other high school cross country runner in Maryland can match Michael Lilley's dedication to the sport. At least that's what the Williamsport senior keeps telling himself. "Every time I toe the line, I can draw on that -- that nobody else trained as hard as I did over the summer," Lilley said. "I built from 50 miles a week to 80 miles a week by the end of the summer. I basically had no summer vacation. All I did was run. I went to bed early, ate healthy, everything. " All the hard work has paid off, as he is undefeated on Maryland soil this season.

LANDOVER, Md. - Jesse Buchman's anchor leg of Williamsport's state championship-winning 3,200-meter relay on Monday can be described in one word. Guts. Buchman lost the lead to Digital Harbor on the first turn of the final lap, but fought back to regain it on the final turn and held on at the Prince George's Sports Complex. Buchman won by about three meters, helping the Wildcats clock 8:25.18 and give Washington County its first state title of the day. "He passed me on the outside, so I knew I'd have to pass him outside, I wouldn't be able to do it inside," Buchman said.

BOYS BASKETBALL Jefferson 61, Glenelg 49 JEFFERSON (8-4) McDonald 14, Jones 4, D. Jones 2, Fagan 1, Bryan 6, Hosby 28, Zbikowski 6. Totals 24 12-21 61. GLENELG (5-10) Saries 10, Visnie 5, Richardson 23, Vznulski 4, Pranick 7. Totals 19 7-11 49. Jefferson 15 17 14 15 -- 61 Glenelg 11 13 15 10 -- 49 3-point goals -- Jefferson 1 (McDonald), Glenelg 4 (Saries 2, Richardson 2). JV -- Jefferson, 53-48 (J: Marquis Smith 21). Heritage Academy 93, Carroll Christian 48 CARROLL CHRISTIAN (8-10)

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - One to go. Boonsboro's volleyball team was far from perfect against Glenelg in the Maryland Class 1A state semifinals at the University of Maryland's Ritchie Coliseum on Monday, but they were good enough to sweep the 1A South champions 25-22, 25-21, 25-13 and secure a spot in Saturday's state title match. The Warriors (13-4) were not as sharp as they were in last week's 1A West semifinals and final, but nonetheless will go for their second state title - their first came in 1984 in their only other trip to the final - when they face South Carroll on Saturday at 5 p.m. "Our team chemistry against Poolesville and Williamsport was excellent," Boonsboro coach Andrea Parry said.

South Carroll is the team to beat in the Class 1A girls race Saturday at the Maryland State Cross Country Championships at Hereford High School. "That's what everyone says, but we're going to see what we can do," said Smithsburg senior Natalie Mancini, who led the reigning state champion Leopards to the West region title last week. The Leopards will have to do more than they did at the South Carroll Invitational earlier this season. The host Cavaliers placed seventh in a tough field with 169 points, while Smithsburg was 12th with 305. "We're a lot better than we were that day," Smithsburg coach Ray Shriver said.

Over the last three weeks, no Tri-State area boys basketball player has been better than Jefferson junior Vance Hosby. The Cougars' 6-foot-6 center has left opponents in his wake ever since he jump-started his recent surge with a 47-point, 15-rebound destruction of Brooke on Jan. 13. Hosby's last five games haven't been too shabby, either: · 19 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks in an 82-72 victory over Urbana on Jan. 17. ...

PREP CROSS COUNTRY Brunswick Invitational Girls results Teams: 1. Linganore 76; 2. Liberty 92; 3. Jefferson 107; 4. Delone Catholic 116; 5. Williamsport 135; 6. Smithsburg 158; 7. Glenelg 161; 8. Brunswick 182; 9. Poolesville 229; 10. North Hagerstown 267; 11. Tuscarora 299; 12. Walkersville 305; 13. Boonsboro 331; Incomplete - Martinsburg, Seneca Valley, South Hagerstown, Catoctin, Northern-Calvert. Individuals (top 20): 1. Ogden (NC) 19:24; 2. K. Stromberg (DC)

GLENELG, Md. - Glenelg scored three runs in the fifth inning after an untimely Middletown error and went on to beat the Knights 4-1 in the Class 2A West softball final Monday afternoon. Middletown (15-4) had a chance to get out of the inning with minimal damage, but an error extended the inning. "One error kept us from getting out of the inning, and they came back and hit two doubles, which got us in a hole we couldn't get out of," Knights manager Charlie Toms said. Emily Enders had two hits for Middletown, which had five total hits, but none in key situations.