2-FOR-1 Uzoh, Tongue do it all for team | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

Unselfishness.

Meade's Anya Uzoh and Annapolis' Jessica Tongue have both left their footprints in the county's record books throughout the past season and their entire high school careers, but each also yearns to help his or her team in any manner possible.

Take Uzoh, for example, who pole vaulted for the first time all season at the region meet and placed second, earning Meade eight important points en route to the team title.

And then there's Tongue, who, in addition to being counted on for four first place finishes each meet, takes the time during practice to make sure her teammates are getting the most out of their abilities each time they lace up their spikes.

"As a captain and as a senior she's more team oriented," said Annapolis coach Charles Gross. "She led every workout, and she pushed harder. I think it helped everybody who ran with her. If you were running with her, you were running faster than you wanted to go."

Tongue's accomplishments include a county-record 7.18-second 55-meter dash and a county record 15-feet, 9-inch long jump, both set at the county championship meet in January. Tongue scored 38 individual points at that meet for the Panthers, who finished seven points short of Meade for second place.

Her greatest accomplishment, though, happened last weekend at the national meet at the Prince George's Sports and Learning Center in Landover, when she ran a leg in Annapolis' national champion 55 hurdle relay team.

"I was just jumping up and down and screaming," Tongue said. "We were all so happy."

Tongue, Torrie Saunders, Larissa Wilds and Ashley Cottrell, who cheerleads and usually only runs during the outdoor season, ran the event together in a competition for just the second time ever, and finished with a winning time of 34.59 seconds.

"Larissa Wilds, she really did outstanding," Tongue said. "Ashley, for her to come out there and help us win was big too. There was a lot of pressure on them, and they really came through for us."

Uzoh came through all season for Meade's county, region and state champion indoor team.

He competed in every event, both track and field, at some point during the indoor season, save for the mile and two-mile, and is the ultimate weapon on Meade's star-studded team.

At the county championship meet he accounted for 30 points, and was part of the 1600 relay team that ran in a county record 3:27.19.

"He was the most important piece of the puzzle," said Meade coach Nigel Holder. "Without him, we're one leg short for the (1600) and (800), and there's nobody in field events. You take Uzoh out, and we don't win anything. That's how important he is."

As crucial as Uzoh's performance at meets was, Holder suggested that perhaps his greatest asset was during practice, helping his teammates, very much like Tongue.

"A lot of people see his versatiltiy during the track meets, but the majority of his biggest and brightest qualities stand out in practice," Holder said. "He's a great mentor to a lot of the new kids on the team. He's the total package."

Uzoh, an aspiring decathlete, carries a 3.7 GPA and is getting looks from major Division-I programs.

Tongue is also getting looks from bigtime programs and figures to continue her success at the lext level.

Regardless of their accolades, both are quick to deflect attention from themselves to their teammates, a main reason why both are not just team stars, but team captains.

For example, between Tongue and Saunders, Annapolis had a 1-2 punch that Gross said "scares everybody."

But if it were up to Tongue, the focus wouldn't be put solely on her.

"It's a team effort, not Torrie, Jessie and the help of others," she said.