Mackenzie Philp, Dylan Herbst, Smithsburg boys are state cross country champs
-- Smithsburg senior Dylan Herbst, North Hagerstown sophomore Mackenzie Philp and the Leopards boys cross country team all could sing the same song after the MPSSAA cross country championships on Saturday, Nov.
Key points
- "Someone told me I had 12 seconds, and then I saw a sign that said, 'Stay angry!' I was like, the nail's not in yet, the job's not done, I've got to keep hammering." "Dylan is so fit, and it was clear he was really trusting his fitness in that second mile," said Leopards coach Adam Rudy.
- "He's an aggressive racer and he's got such (high) self-confidence." Junior Dylan Lowe (13th, 17:41.3), senior Luke Gentzel (16th, 17:47.5) and senior Gavin Gross (26th, 18:12.3) rounded out Smithsburg's championship scoring five.
- Then in the final mile, Mackenzie kicked into another gear, leaving Caroline behind and striding to the finish tape as a champion in 18:24.4 -- the fastest time by any girl in any classification, and 58 seconds faster than her fourth-place run in 2025.
Smithsburg boys repeat in Class 1A Led by Herbst and sophomore Grayson Wynkoop, who finished 1-2 in the Class 1A boys race, the Leopards went back-to-back as 1A team champions, scoring 54 points to defeat Liberty by 11.
Additional details
- "Our plan was to get out fast in the first mile and then use the hills to our advantage, because we know that's a struggle to run and we're kind of good at it," said Mackenzie.
- Herbst broke out of a three-runner lead pack that included Wynkoop and Catoctin junior Noah Riling during the notoriously hilly second mile of the 5K course.
- But if Caroline hadn't been there, I probably wouldn't have done as well as I did." Caroline settled for second in 18:36.3 -- still more than 1:45 faster than her 11th-place effort a year ago.
- Add in a trio of second-place finishes, a third-place team finish by the Hubs girls and a fifth-place effort, and Washington County had a heck of a day at Hereford High School.
- Dylan's been a leader for us all year and I couldn't be more proud of and happy for him." Wynkoop, who set the pace through most of the first mile, suffered for that later.
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