It is time once again for dual meet action to begin across Montgomery County. I will be predicting the outcome of every dual meet this season for your entertainment. I will offer my thoughts and opinions on the most interesting match ups in articles like this one.

I hope to maintain divisional standings on the front page of mocorunning.com throughout the season. For this I need 100% of dual meet scores. Coaches should email me their dual meet scores at webmaster@mocorunning.com. Many coaches also choose to send me full or partial individual results which is also encouraged, but at the very least, please send the scores so I can maintain the standings. Thanks in advance!

Many teams will test themselves on Tuesday or Wednesday for the first time this outdoor season. I suspect most of these teams have a few new athletes that no one knows about yet. My first predictions of the season are usually the shakiest, so go easy on me.

I will try to attend at least one dual meet per week. Since I can't be everywhere at once, student athletes, parents, and friends are encouraged to help me cover all of the meets by emailing me stories, pictures, or videos.

Girls Standings
B-CC 0-0 Churchill 0-0 Walter Johnson 0-0 Kennedy 0-0 Sherwood 0-0 Wheaton 0-0		Blair 0-0 Blake 0-0 Northwest 0-0 Watkins Mill 0-0 Whitman 0-0 Wootton 0-0		Clarksburg 0-0 Einstein 0-0 Magruder 0-0 R. Montgomery 0-0 Northwood 0-0 Rockville 0-0 Springbrook 0-0		Damascus 0-0 Gaithersburg 0-0 Paint Branch 0-0 Poolesville 0-0 Quince Orchard 0-0 Seneca Valley 0-0
Boys Standings
B-CC 0-0 Churchill 0-0 Walter Johnson 0-0 Kennedy 0-0 Sherwood 0-0 Wheaton 0-0		Blair 0-0 Blake 0-0 Northwest 0-0 Watkins Mill 0-0 Whitman 0-0 Wootton 0-0		Clarksburg 0-0 Einstein 0-0 Magruder 0-0 R. Montgomery 0-0 Northwood 0-0 Rockville 0-0 Springbrook 0-0		Damascus 0-0 Gaithersburg 0-0 Paint Branch 0-0 Poolesville 0-0 Quince Orchard 0-0 Seneca Valley 0-0

Boys Picks Clarksburg over Magruder Clarksburg over Springbrook Springbrook over Magruder Blair over Wootton Richard Montgomery over Einstein Northwest over Watkins Mill Gaithersburg over Seneca Valley Churchill over Walter Johnson Northwood over Rockville Sherwood over Kennedy Sherwood over B-CC B-CC over Kennedy Damascus over Paint Branch Whitman over Blake

Girls Picks Clarksburg over Magruder Clarksburg over Springbrook Magruder over Springbrook Wootton over Blair Einstein over Richard Montgomery Northwest over Watkins Mill Gaithersburg over Seneca Valley Churchill over Walter Johnson Northwood over Rockville Sherwood over Kennedy Sherwood over B-CC B-CC over Kennedy Damascus over Paint Branch Whitman over Blake

Division I

It is a new year with new athletes, but the divisions remain the same. Last year, the Churchill girls easily ended the season undefeated in dual meets while the boys teams all ended the season with at least one loss (Walter Johnson won the division in a tie breaker).

The Churchill girls should again be able to skate by all of their opponents without maximum effort. Their ability to cover all of the events at an elite level should prove too much for the other teams in the division.

The boys side of this division is a little more cloudy. Churchill and WJ may be the largest two teams in the county and therefore have an advantage against the rest of the teams in their division. Churchill and WJ match up well with strong distance runners and each with a sprinter who qualified for the indoor state meet. Rather than debate which team is better in the events longer than 800-meters, I would look around and see which team can better cover the field events and hurdles. Churchill has shown that it has a few prospects to cover these events. Walter Johnson will find just how valuable Ian Francis was to their team now that he has graduated. I think Churchill's depth will carry them through this one.

B-CC will host Sherwood and Kennedy. I think the Sherwood boys and girls are actually pretty well-rounded at the dual meet level while B-CC and Kennedy have several areas to address. Thea LaFond vs. Katie Salke in the hurdles should be fun to watch.

Division II

Jessie Rubin, Katie Falk, and a number of other Wootton girls were hybernating this winter. If they return to the team, they will be tough to beat. The Blair girls have some speed. While Sarah McMillian of Blair can probably sweep the sprints, Rubin should have no trouble in the distance events and the other Lady Patriots should fill out the remaining events.

Division III

The Clarksburg boys and girls swept division III last year and I think they should do it again this year. Both the boys and girls teams should be unbeatable in the sprints and throwing events. They have some athletes in the jumps and hurdles as well leaving a few distance events as their only potential weakness.

Richard Montgomery vs. Einstein is a pretty good matchup. Both boys teams looked like they were doing a pretty good job rebuilding this indoor season after graduating several key seniors. RM showed a little more depth and strength this indoor season so I think they can get past Einstein.

The Einstein girls have been gradually improving and have some pretty good weapons to take on a team like RM. RM is young and will have a tough time in dual meets this year.

Northwood vs. Rockville. Neither team scored a single point at the indoor county championship, but I think outdoors will be a different story. I've been told Rockville has a new coach and they got some good athletes from their school to join the team. From Northwood, Keith Hudson and Le'Quisha Parker should be out in full force and because of them, I give Northwood the edge.

Division IV

Paint Branch may have won the indoor state title with five girls, but it is a lot tougher to win a dual meet with five girls, especially against Damascus. Afterall, the two teams did tie for the win at the indoor 3A West Region meet this winter. I expect Paint Branch will have a few more athletes come out from the basketball team this spring, but I'm not sure how well they will match up against Damascus. For both the boys and girls, Damascus should be expected to clean up in distance events, but also be competitive in all other events. When in doubt, I always pick the team that I think has more depth (Damascus in this case), but this should be a pretty good meet all around.