LANDOVER – Janee Quailes and Trevor Goodwin brought glory and medals home to Cambridge-South Dorchester High School after their victories at the Region 1A East indoor track and field championships on Feb. 6. Quailes won the girls’ 500-meter dash in a time of 1:25.94, while Goodwin grabbed top honors in the 1,600 – the metric equivalent of the mile – in 4:49.61.

The Vikings were competing in their first indoor divisional championship, with the team getting its start this season.

“Janee ran a perfect 500-meter race at Regionals, dropping 5 seconds off her season-best time,” Boys’ Head Coach John Shaw said. “Trevor looked confident and strong, and was back to running like he did outdoors last season, running in the low 4:50’s. Both Janee and Trevor have been working hard all season, and that’s paying off when it counts.”

Goodwin said, “I always love having strong races. I feel like I’m bringing energy to my teammates and really making a difference in the meet.”

Janee Quailes

Trevor Goodwin

Next up for the Vikes is the grand finale of the winter season, the Region 1A State Championships on Feb. 20, also in Landover. The top four finishers in each event qualified for States, so Janee and Trevor will have quite a few of their teammates with them – 13 Vikings are going - after the team’s successful showing at Regionals.

“As a first-year program, it’s amazing to have 13 athletes qualify for the state championships, either individually or as part of a relay,” Coach Shaw said.

C-SD boys placed fourth out of 13 teams at Regionals, with the Lady Vikings earning sixth. Surrattsville won the girls’ 1A East title, with Maurice J. McDonough leading the boys.

Quailes is a junior, with experience in both long-distance running during the cross country team’s fall season, and as a sprinter and relay runner in the spring track and field campaigns.

“I never thought I would be first in the region in the 500 meters in my first year of indoor track,” Janee said. “The other day I found out I was fourth in the state, and I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen at the state championships.”

Girls’ Head Coach Heather Silveira remembers her own successful high school and college careers when she thinks about Quailes.

“Janee reminds me a lot of myself – her drive, self-motivation and give-it-all-you-got attitude make her such a pleasure to coach,” Silveira said. “She absolutely deserves the regional title for the 500 and I couldn’t be more proud of her.”

Goodwin is putting an exclamation point on his four-year statement as one of the top runners in the school. The senior has worked hard to develop his skills in the fall and spring seasons, both on the track and the uneven ground of cross country courses.

“Trevor has such a knack for grabbing everyone’s attention. He is so talented and determined, it makes coaching him a cake walk,” Silveira said. “His love for the sport and love for competition make his so deserving of the regional title in the mile. I am very proud of all of his accomplishments.”

Assistant Coach Angie Condon said, “Having a winter track and field team at C-SDHS is so new. I’m excited for all of the team who qualified for the state championships, especially for Janee and Trevor.”

“Janee quietly leads the girl sprinters and is now looking towards finishing as a top contender in the 500,” Condon said. “Trevor has run exceptionally well all season in the distance events, and is also shooting for a medal in the mile and the 4x800-meter relay.”

“I hope I’m able to bring that energy I had with me in the mile to the States,” Trevor said. “I think our team is ready and anxious to perform well at the state meet.”

The championship took place at the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex. Teams from the Eastern Shore met squads from across the bridge, including many with well established and successful programs. Though the Vikings felt at times during the season as if they were playing catch-up, the students – a good mix of veterans and rookies – stuck with the program.

That meant, for many, learning entirely new events, or re-learning how to compete in races. With indoor tracks being shorter than the outdoor version, some races are different distances.

The shortest sprint, for instance, is 55 meters indoors, rather than 100 meters outdoors. Then there is Janee’s event, the 500-meter dash. There is a 400-meter dash outdoors – she’s pretty good at that one, too – but not a 500.

There were even times when, because of school pride and the team’s philosophy of leaving no event uncontested, athletes were entered to show the colors and gain experience. Turns out that’s not a problem for a bunch of teens who run, jump and throw with an attitude that says, “Put me in, coach.”

In track and field meets with seven or more teams, events are scored to eight places. First gets 10 points, second 8, third 6, fourth 5, and so on, down to eighth, with 1 point.

For the boys, McDonough scored 111. Second through fourth was very close, as Surrattsville scored 72, Fairmont Heights 71 and C-SD 68. Then came Perryville with 45.5, Bohemia Manor 42, Crisfield 18, Havre de Grace 15.5, Snow Hill 13, Kent County 12, International School at Langley Park 10, Mardela 5 and Washington 5.

For the girls, Surrattsville earned 102, followed by Snow Hill 93, Perryville 67, Bohemia Manor 52, Maurice J. McDonough 44, C-SD 38, Crisfield 37, Fairmont Heights 17, Mardela 15, Havre de Grace 3 and Kent County 3.

The Region 1A Championships on Monday will be an all-day event at the Sports and Learning Complex. Action starts at 11:00 a.m.

Coach Shaw said, “The coaching staff is excited for Feb. 20, to see Cambridge-South Dorchester compete against the best of the best that the state has to offer.”