LANDOVER, Md. – Dylan Herbst has a habit of being at the front of the pack.
And because he does, the Smithsburg Leopards have a tendency to finish at the top of the heap.
Herbst accounted for 26 points on Tuesday as he won a state title and finished second in two other events to lead the Leopards to the Maryland boys Class 1A state indoor track championship at Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex.
Smithburg scored 48 1/3 points to outdistance Central-Prince George’s and Harford Tech, who tied for second with 36 points, as the boys team won its fourth state indoor title, the first since 2015. That title ended a run of three in four years (2012, 2014).
The Leopards sealed the title when Herbst won the state title with a personal best time of 2:05:22 in the 800-meter run, while teammate Dylan Lowe finished third in 2:06.42. Camilo Mellott also finished ninth (2:11.14) in the event.
Smithsburg led by 2 1/3 points after 10 of the 13 events contested in the meet. The combined 16 points (Herbst’s 10 and Lowe’s six) put the Leopards over the top for the title.
The top six finishers score points in each event, ranging from 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1.
It is the second state title of the 2025-26 school year for Smithsburg’s running Leopards. The boys won the Class 1A cross country title in November with Herbst finishing second in that three-mile race.
Almost as if it was a tradition, Herbst also finished second in the 1600 (4:29.58) – 1.41 seconds behind state champion Kenai Black of Bohemia Manor – and in the 3200 (10:02.36) on Tuesday.
Clear Spring was the next Washington County team in the 1A standings, finishing fifth with 32 points, led by Daniel Apiou, who also won a state title with a 6-4 effort in the high jump. He added a third-place finish in the 55-meter hurdle finals, clocking at :08.01.
Boonsboro and Hancock competed in the boys meet but didn’t score.
In Class 1A girls, Clear Spring was the top Washington County finisher taking sixth with 23 points, 37 points behind champion Western Tech. Boonsboro finished ninth with 19, while Smithsburg was tied for 16th with six points and Hancock was 20th with five.
South Hagerstown failed to score in the Class 4A boys or girls meet, which was also contested on Tuesday.
North Hagerstown will compete in the Class 3A state meet on Wednesday.
The following is a breakdown of each school’s top finishers.
Boys
Smithsburg
Michael Wynkoop scored eight points in the meet, following Herbst across the finish line in his two second-place efforts. Wynkoop was third in the 3200 (10:03.05) and fifth in 1600 (4:38.97).
Smithsburg team of Lowe, Mellott, Gavin Gross and Charles Higgins finished fourth in the 4×800 relay in a time of 8:46.71
Cayden Nesbitt finished fourth in the pole vault at a season-best 12-6, while Luke Scott added a sixth-place finish at 12-0 for his season-best height.
Levi Miller sixth in 300-meter run in 36.97 and took seventh in the 55 in 6.78 seconds.
Lowe took 11th in the 500 in 1:14.54 but didn’t reach the event final
The Smithsburg 4X400 relay team finished 12th.
Boonsboro
The Warriors had two participants competing in the Class 1A ranks. Nicholas Parmelee finished 11th in the 3200 in 10:39.09, while Harley Paugh took 11th in the pole vault at 10-6.
Clear Spring
Benjamin Myers recorded a personal best throw of 46-03.75 in the shot put to claim second place.
Jeremy McConnaughey took third in 55 final with a personal best time :06.62. Meanwhile, Nate McDonald posted a :08.29 time in the 55-meter preliminaries, but didn’t qualify for the finals.
Gage Crampton posted a 1:10.55 – a personal best – in the 500 to take sixth place.
The 4X800 relay team of Crampton, Nicholas Dominguez, Leandro Luviano and Levi Inglish finished sixth with a season-best time of 8:53.41. The 4X200 team finished 10th.Dean Eadwards had his best pole vault of the season at 11-0, but didn’t score.
Hancock
Landyn Clark finished seventh in the Class 1A high jump with a leap of 5-10.
CLASS 4A
South Hagerstown
The 4×200 relay team of Clinton Otinkorang, Myles Clottey, Jameir Simms and Torin Sitter ran a 1:35.69 to take eighth place.
Girls
CLASS 1A
Smithsburg
Smithsburg girls finished tied for 16th place with six points on the strength of third-place finish in the pole vault by Lillian Hade with a personal-best effort of 10-0 feet.
Boonsboro
The Warriors’ success was carried in the shot put and relays.
Sarah Mohler launched a 30-01.25 heave to finish third in the shot while Sidney Turner took fifth at 35-01.
The 4X200 team of Kamryn Dillow, Alaina Barnhart, Evelyn Briggs and Abigayle Fluharty ran a season-best 1:52.57 to finish sixth.
The 4×800 team of Katherine Lord, Lillian Ross, Ann Swick and Emily Franko posted a season-best 10:49.68 to take fifth.
The Warriors also scored a pair of fourth-place finishes with Briggs posting a personal-best of 9-6 in the pole vault and Emily Franko clocked at 2:31.40 in the 800.
Fluharty also posted a personal best of 43.51 to finish eighth in the 300.
Clear Spring
The Blazers put up the majority of their points in the field events as Audrey Roberts led the Blazers with a 10-0 effort in the pole vault to finish in second place, Hadley Elwood took third in high jump with a personal record of 5-0 and Katelyn Moffitt scored fourth place with 35-01.5 heave in the shot put.
Juliet Hodge scored fourth-place points in the 200 in a personal-best time of 1:20.57. She also has a personal best of :43.42 in the 300, but finished seventh.
Hancock
Madison Booth took third in the Class 1A high jump with a season best of 5-0.
CLASS 4A
South Hagerstown
Tiffany Savage finished 11th in the preliminary field of the Class 4A 55-meter dash in 7.42 seconds and failed to reach the event finals.
