River Hill's boys and Long Reach's girls won indoor county titles last season, and are favored to repeat this season.
The Hawks, who won the county boys title by 25 points over Oakland Mills, again will be led by their strong distance contingent. And the Lightning, winners of two straight county championships, has the edge when it comes to sprints and hurdles.
A look at each county team:
Atholton
Distance runners Matt Barresi (junior) and Steve Miller (senior) will lead the boys, coached by Chad Boothe. Senior Josh Smith will run sprints, and senior Dennis Cook will go in the 300, 500 and 800 meters. The top pole vaulter is senior Mike Emerson.
Junior Ashley Wall will compete in the high jump and hurdles for Ed Ivory's girls team. Sophomore Nicole McMorrin will run the 500 and 800, and sophomore Stacy Downs will go in the 500, 800 and mile. Sophomore Rachel Smith (high jump, hurdles) and senior Courtney Dredden (hurdles) also look to score for the Raiders.
Centennial
Senior Randy Van Allen, an all-county pick last season, will compete in the high jump and heads the boys team coached by Sam Yurko. Also expected to score for the Eagles will be juniors Shawn Spencer (mile, relays) and Sayer French (800, relays) and senior Ariel Altman (300, 500, relays).
All-county high jumper Lindsay Martin, a sophomore, will lead the girls team coached by Carrie Brunskill. Senior Lori Fritz will compete in the 500 and 800 and sophomores Samantha Test in the 55 and 300 and Julie Richter in the 300 and 500.
Glenelg
Dean Sheridan, a pole vaulter in high school, takes over the boys program. Heading the team will be seniors Brian Selmer (800, 1,600, relays) and Colin Shores (300, 500, 800, high jump) and juniors Philip Selmer (300, 500, relays) and Kevin Durant (high jump). Sophomore Matt Bounds will compete in sprints and relays.
Glenelg's girls finished second in the county last season, then went on to win the Class 1A-2A Central region and state championships. Coach Mike Selmer called this season "a rebuilding year." Leading the way will be juniors Lauren Koutrelakos (pole vault, 55, relays) and Ashley Hall (500, hurdles, relays), sophomore Carrie Selmer (distance, relays) and senior Rebecca Lyons (1,600, relays).
Hammond
Athletic director Bob Maxey, who hasn't coached indoors for at least 10 years, takes over the boys program. Seniors Joe Blasi and Joe Nufer will run longer distances, and seniors Jeremy Miller and Greg Lambert will do middle distance. Senior Andrew Essey will compete in the 300, high jump and hurdles, and junior Brad Roth will run sprints.
Senior Meg Tilley will run the mile, 2-mile and relays, and senior Corey McGrail will throw the shot put for the girls team, coached by Pete Di Marco. Nazosi Kakembo, a junior, will high jump and run sprints, and junior Amy Burke will run sprints and the hurdles.
Howard
Anthony Bell, a 1990 Wilde Lake graduate who coached last season at Mount Hebron, takes over the boys and girls teams.
Junior Justin Ferguson will pole vault and is "looking real good," Bell said. Junior Jared Tape and senior Archie Jamierson are middle-distance runners, and senior Antuan Jones and freshman Jarret Jeffery will run sprints. Junior Ryan Blackwell will compete in the 55 hurdles.
Senior Bridget Baker, a strong distance runner and all-county performer, will lead the girls. The Lions' 800 relay team of seniors Sheena Burton and Treva King, junior Stephanie Seiler and sophomore Sabrina Oursler will be competitive.
Long Reach
Seniors Luis George (300, 500, relays), Ryan Strohl (mile, 2-mile, relays), Charles Wilson (55, 300, relays), Steve McClurkin (sprints), Chris Henry (sprints) and Josh Siegert (middle distance) will lead the boys team coached by Errick Henlon. Sophomores Mike Brewrink (mile, 2-mile, relays), Ben Hutcherson (relays, hurdles) and Andre George (300, relays) also will be counted on for points.
The girls team will be strong again. Every athlete who scored points in the county meet is back, and coach Joe Thomas said the the Lightning will be stronger in the relays. all-county senior performers Teyarnte Carter (55, 300, relays) and Cynthia Nicholls (hurdles, high jump, 55 dash, relays) and junior Rolanda Howard (55 dash, 55 hurdles, 300, relays) will lead the way. Junior Lindsay Bowen will throw the shot put. Two athletes new to the indoor season -- junior Shayla Moore (high jump, relays) and sophomore Angela Watkins (500, relays) -- will add depth.
Mount Hebron
Seniors Tom Tittsworth and Dave Maskeroni and junior Brian Bohlayer will compete in the 300, 500 and relays for the boys, coached by Ken Smith. Sophomore James Mullaly and senior Chad Zimmerman will run distance events, and junior sprinter Chris James is coming off an injury and is expected back in January. Freshmen Chris Dodds (high jump, middle distance) and Travis Ebb (sprints) also will contribute.
