Divisional meets are just beginning and there are already a lot of early-season questions to answer. Who worked hard over the summer? Who is in shape? Who is going to surprise people?

In the girls' race, she might not have been a surprise to the folks in Bethesda but Whitman freshman Anna Ryba bolstered onto the county running scene.

Quince Orchard senior Aimee Moores had taken the race out quickly; she wanted to assert herself early in the season. But, by the second mile Moores could hold her lead no longer. Ryba would cruise the rest of the way of her first ever race into her first ever win. Her time was in the low 20 minutes. Moores did not finish too far behind and had a sizeable lead on the rest of the field.

After Moores and Ryba, sophomore Anna Bosse led the way for Walter Johnson. She was never able to move up and challenge Moores or Ryba but she raced steadily and held her ground for third place in high 20 minutes.

In terms of team scores, Whitman came out on top. The team appears to be in great shape despite the graduation of county elite Morgane Gay. Quince Orchard followed in second place. Walter Johnson, a relatively young team, had a relatively slow day with a couple of absences and off-days.

The boys of Walter Johnson had a much better showing, winning the team competition. The individual winner of the boys' race was Whitman junior Andrew Palmer. From start to finish he proved himself the top runner in a field of talented runners. Only a few were with Palmer after the first 20 meters and toward the end of the first mile, nobody was with him. His finishing time was 16:40.

Early on, Palmer met some ambitious challengers. Senior Wayne Bartholomew of Quince Orchard and junior Sean O'Leary of Walter Johnson wanted to see what they could do at this early point in the season. But, both dropped off before the first mile. O'Leary finished under 17:10 with teammate Roni Teich who held himself back the first mile. Bartholomew ended up taking a harder hit. He finished fifth behind sophomore Alex Willett of Walter Johnson. Willett is coming off an outdoor season in which he ran 10:14 for two miles and is already smashing his 5k times from last year.

In team competition, Whitman and Quince Orchard finished behind Walter Johnson respectively.