Howard County Times 2023-24 boys indoor track and field All-County: Howard’s Joey Ensor dominates in distance events

Howard's Joey Ensor won a pair of distance state championships on his way to becoming boys indoor track and field Athlete of the Year.

Howard senior Joey Ensor can pinpoint the exact moment his mentality shifted.

At Duckworth Relays during the last outdoor track and field season, Ensor ran a 4-minute, 33-second mile. Part of a relay, the time wasn’t official. From that race, Ensor learned the necessary pace to set a personal record.

He sought continual improvement and reached new heights in his final indoor season. The senior won county, 3A East Regional and Class 3A state titles in both the mile and two-mile races.

Ensor also finished second in the 800 at regionals with a personal record time (1:57.09). Ensor is the 2023-24 Howard County Times boys indoor track and field Athlete of the Year.

“I’m proud that I was able to go back-to-back and win those two events,” Ensor said. “Freshman and sophomore year, if you told me that I would be here winning a state title, I wouldn’t believe you. So, I’m just proud I was able to come home with the victory.”

Those victories came amidst a challenging Class 3A field. In each race, Ensor had a Towson runner on his tail, Evan Cline in the 1,600 and Kieran Mischke in the 3,200. Ensor finished the mile in 4:20.76 and two-mile in 9:43.55, using his leg strength and speed to close on the final lap.

“Joey has this incredible strength and innate ability to close really quickly,” Howard coach Erik Jenks said. “He has a lot of good leg speed. You can just look at his range from the 800 all the way to the two-mile. At this point of the year when you have someone who can run sub-9:40 in the two-mile and then also come back and run 1:54 or 1:55 in the 800. We truly believe that if he’s out in front, no one should really be able to catch him.”

His leg strength traces back to the 2023 outdoor season training for nationals. Ensor consistently ran 400s with little rest to build that strength. He also worked diligently over the past two summers with lactic workouts, limiting the effect of lactic acid buildup later in races.

Playing soccer early in his career, Ensor always had great speed. However, he lacked endurance. He placed a key emphasis on those summer workouts, not wanting to plateau before his senior year. The veteran showcased the benefits of those workouts during a standout cross country season and extended them into the indoor season.

“We knew that he’s very talented,” Jenks said. “We saw glimpses of greatness in him last outdoor season. That summer mileage and cross country season, which gave him that aerobic base to compete in the mile and two-mile, I think that really set it off. Cross country season was the beginning of that and really being able to just compete at such a high level.”

In prior postseason years, Ensor frequently cramped and even had to drop out of a race. Recovery is essential when running multiple distance events. That process differs for each athlete, so Ensor needed to find what worked best for him.

Starting this year, Ensor always eats half a banana, drinks a Gatorade and does five to 10 minutes of feed-up work. Those help him feel refreshed for each race. The intense competition only fueled his competitive fire and allowed him to perform his best on the season’s biggest stages.

“I honestly really enjoyed having that competition,” Ensor said. “This whole season has been about me trying to win, wanting competition and wanting to get really good times, so I could enter college with a lot of confidence. Having all of those people want to beat me and challenge me every single race really helps my confidence and ability as a runner.”

All-county first team

Chase Burke, Hammond, senior

Burke shined at counties with a pair of personal records, winning the 500 (1:07.39) and finishing third in the 300 (35.87). He then continued that success at regionals with three first place finishes, winning the 300, 500 and was part of the victorious 4×400 relay team. The senior capped off his career at states with a fourth-place finish in the 500 and sixth in the 300.

Delbert Cowesette, Atholton, junior

Cowesette thrived as a sprinter all season, finishing as the runner-up in the 55 at counties, regionals and states. He saved his best time for the biggest stage, running a personal record 6.43 second time in the 55 at states. The junior also won the long jump at counties with a personal record of 21 feet, 9.75 inches.

Jayden DeLeon, Oakland Mills, sophomore

DeLeon placed second in the 300 at counties. The sophomore built on that performance winning, the event at regionals with a personal record time of 35.57 seconds. He also was a part of the region winning 4×200 relay team and runner-up 4×400 relay team. At states, DeLeon finished seventh in the 300 and placed top-four in both relays.

Jaylen Etheridge, Long Reach, senior

Etheridge won the 300 at counties (35.39) and was the runner-up in the 500. He continued his momentum at regionals, finishing third in the 300, fourth in the 500 and third as part of the 4×400 relay. The senior qualified for states in all three events and closed out his career with a fifth-place finish in the 300.

Xavier Gardner, Howard, senior

Gardner shined as a hurdler for the Lions, placing second in the 55-meter hurdles at counties. He then avenged that runner-up finish at regionals with a personal record time of 7.71 seconds to win the event. The senior finished fourth at states as Howard County’s top finisher in a challenging field.

Henry Hopper, Wilde Lake, senior

An accomplished distance runner, Hopper saved his best performances for regionals and states. He placed third in the mile and two-mile at states, highlighted by a personal record mile time of 4:29.12. The senior then created a personal record at states in the mile (4:25.98) finishing fourth and earned a bronze medal in the two-mile (9:50.97).

Louis Montgomery, Marriotts Ridge, senior

Montgomery and Gardner battled in the hurdles all season and Montgomery won the battle at counties with a personal record time of 7.78 seconds. He then was the runner-up behind Gardner at regionals and capped off a strong season with a fifth place finish at states. The senior also placed third in the triple at counties.

Marlin Newsome, Centennial, senior

Newsome dominated in the 55 throughout the season, sweeping the event at counties, regionals and states. He saved his best for last with a personal-record 6.38 second time for his first indoor gold medal, also breaking the Class 2A classification record set by Oakland Mills Trevin McHargh the year prior. The veteran was also a member of the county and regional winning 4×200 relay team that placed third at states.

Adeeb Pender, Oakland Mills, senior

In just his second season pole vaulting, Pender went out in style. He won the county and regional title, clearing 12-6 at counties and 12-3 at regionals. Pender’s performance at counties broke a school record, as he closed out the season placing fifth at states.

Logan Ruehl, Mt. Hebron, senior

At counties, Ruehl won the shot put title with a distance of 49-2, clearing the next closest competitor by several feet. He extended that momentum at regionals, also winning the event with a personal-record distance of 50 feet, 0.5 inches. The senior closed out his indoor career with a third-place finish at states, as Howard County’s top finisher.

All-County second team

Amadeus Davis, Howard, senior, mid-distance/relays

Emmanuel Dean, Wilde Lake, senior, mid-distance/relays

Zamir Herald, Howard, senior, jumps

David Herzberger, Centennial, senior, distance

Jaiden Jarrett, Centennial, senior, sprints/relays

Kaiden Lee, Oakland Mills, junior, shot put

Steeve Nwalal, Wilde Lake, senior, hurdles/high jump

Jonathan Okorie, Glenelg, senior, mid-distance/relays

AJ York, Oakland Mills, sophomore, high jump

Kidus Zeleke, Reservoir, senior, distance