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Countdown to No. 1: The Top 175 Maryland athletes in Baltimore Sun history

One of the elite skateboarders in the world for the past two decades, Lasek has won 14 Summer X Games medals, including six gold, six silver and two bronze. At 39, the Dundalk native owns the record for the highest score ever (98.5) in X Games skateboarding vert competition. He's also the only one to complete a stunt known as a MacKenzie.

One of the elite skateboarders in the world for the past two decades, Lasek has won 14 Summer X Games medals, including six gold, six silver and two bronze. At 39, the Dundalk native owns the record for the highest score ever (98.5) in X Games skateboarding vert competition. He’s also the only one to complete a stunt known as a MacKenzie.  (Harry How / Getty Images)

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To celebrate the 175th anniversary of The Baltimore Sun in 2012, reporter Mike Klingaman compiled a list of the top 175 athletes who were either born in or raised in the state of Maryland, or who competed here for at least three years.

The athletes were ranked based on their performance, their impact on sports and their lasting resonance with fans. Coaches and managers were not included.

111. Crystal Langhorne, basketball

Her Maryland teammates called her “The Franchise” for good reason. Langhorne was the go-to post player on the Terrapins’ 2006 NCAA championship team. The school’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder, she was a three-time All-American and the only player to have led the country three times in field-goal percentage. A first-round WNBA pick, she plays for the Washington Mystics.   (Gail Burton / Associated Press)

109. Katie O'Donnell, field hockey

The 5-foot-2 attacker paced Maryland to two national championships (2008 and 2010) and won a Honda Award as the country’s best college player. Her final year, O’Donnell led the nation in points (98) and assists (34). A three-time first-team All-American, she scored seven game-winning goals as a senior and is only the third player in NCAA history with 300 career points.   (Mike Buscher / Special to The Baltimore Sun)

78. Mike Cuellar, baseball

He arrived on the Orioles’ doorstep in December 1968 in a ho-hum trade, an aging pitcher seen as past his prime. In his first three years, the crafty left-hander won 67 games and led the Birds to back-to-back-to-back World Series appearances. The team’s first Cy Young Award winner, Cuellar spent eight years in Baltimore, winning 20 or more games four times and pitching 133 complete games and 30 shutouts.

  (Walter McCardell / Baltimore Sun)

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