Fall 2008 All-Met

Quick Links: First Team | Second Team | Honorable Mention

Boys' Cross-Country

Video: Five Questions

We ask all first-team selections five questions about their sport and their athletic careers, and explain how Runner of the Year Solomon Haile was selected.

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Runner of the Year

Solomon Haile

Sherwood » Sr.

Haile was unbeaten, winning the Montgomery County, Maryland 4A West and 4A championships in course-record times. Two of his signature wins came at Van Cortlandt Park, where he set two more course records, winning the Manhattan Invitational (12:06.61) and Foot Locker Northeast (15:22). He capped the season with the Foot Locker national title.

» When did you know you were good at your sport?

"When I [won] Nike Indoor Nationals [after moving here from Ethiopia], I didn't expect myself to run indoors like that. I don't have any experience in indoor track. [You wonder], 'Am I good?' You're not sure that much. I trained hard before, but after that moment, something is different."

Coach of the Year

Tom Martin

Walter Johnson

A runner's coach who bought a foosball table for the locker room and sometimes took his team to breakfast after practice, the 10-year-assistant-turned-head coach guided the Wildcats to Montgomery County and 4A West titles before leading them to their first state championship.

First Team

Graham Bazell	Leoule Degfae	Andrew Palmer	Thomas Porter
Atholton » Sr.	Edison » Sr.	Whitman » Jr.	Mountainview » Sr.
Bazell swept the Howard County, Maryland 3A and 3A East championships. He also won Bull Run in 15:51.	Degfae won his second straight National District and Northern Region titles and was third at the Virginia AAA meet (15:29).	Repeat All-Met was runner-up at the Maryland 4A meet, championships, 4A West Region and Montgomery championships.	The three-time All-Met set four course records, was a three-time Foot Locker finalist and Virginia AAA champion in 15:13.

Cory Puffett	Zachary Sullivan	Ben Veilleux
DeMatha » Jr.	Spalding » Sr.	Clarke County » Sr.
Puffett won his second straight WCAC title in 16:41 and was runner-up at the DC-MD Private Schools championship (16:03).	Sullivan won the DC-MD Private Schools and MIAA titles and also was first at the Doc Jones and Lion's Den invitationals.	The Nike Cross Nationals finalist won the Bull Run District, Region B and Virginia A championships. He also was first at Glory Days in 15:23.

Second Team

Name	School	Year
Chris Foley	Chantilly	Jr.
Josh Hardin	Potomac Falls	Sr.
Michael Lynch	Atholton	So.
Andrew McCullen	Oakton	Jr.
John McGowan	Sidwell Friends	So.
Craig Morgan	River Hill	Sr.
Petros Welday	Bladensburg	Jr.

Honorable Mention

Thomas Arias, Damascus, Jr.; Griffith Ashooh, Colonial Forge, Sr.; Jared Berman, Robinson, Sr.; Andrew Cerrito, Northern, Sr.; Ramsey Chapin, Georgetown Prep, Sr.; Tihut Degfae, Edison, Sr.; Nicolas Escobar, Magruder, Jr.; Andrew Finlayson, Severna Park, Sr.; Simon Gigli, School Without Walls, Fr.; Ryan Hagen, Potomac Falls, Sr.; Neal Hendricks, Oakton, Sr.; Sean Kirby, River Hill, Sr.; Billy Ledder, Gonzaga, Jr.; Brett Mandeville, South County, Sr.; Chris Miller, Northwest, So.; Will Neal, Chesapeake, Jr.; Sean O'Leary, Walter Johnson, Jr.; Antonio Palmer, Gaithersburg, Sr.; Robert Patterson, DeMatha, Sr.; Scott Plunkett, Annandale, Sr.; Campbell Ross, Potomac School, So.; Jonathan Sham, Wilde Lake, Sr.; Jack Strabo, Landon, Jr.; Zach Weinstein, Mount Hebron, Sr.; Chris York, Clarke County, Sr.;