Between May 4 and May 8, MoCoRunning.com conducted an open online poll to find out the county championship preseason fan favorites. Participants were instructed to select their favorites in each event and rank the top teams for the outdoor county championship meet. 64 valid submissions were received, but voters were not required to vote for every category.
Below you will find the results. The county champion favorites are listed with the percentage of votes they received.
Most Likely Girls Records to Fall: 100, 200, 400, 800, 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, 4x800, HJ, LJ, TJ, DT, PV
Prepare yourself, track fans, for an all-out assault on the record books. This is not hyperbole. Everything up until this point indicates Tuesday's meet will be by far the most impressive girls' county championship in history. Since girls started competing in the 1970's, there has never been so much talent at one time and I'm looking at three athletes in particular. Olivia Ekpone, Thea LaFond, and Britt Eckerstrom already account for five of the county meet records. This is the beginning of the end: the farewell tour of counties, regions, and states for three of the greatest female athletes the county has ever seen. The seniors have one last chance to rewrite the record books and leave their mark on MoCo track & field.
In addition to all of that, skies will be partly cloudy with almost no wind and temperatures mostly in the 60's. These records don't stand a chance.
Ekpone is simply the greatest MoCo sprinter in history and she needs only to break her own records in the 100, 200, and 400. Poor weather has prevented her from recording any personal bests this outdoor season, but check Tuesday's weather forecast.
2:15.49 remains Eckerstrom's 800m PR, but she has split 2:13 or faster on the 4x800 relay more times than I can count. She is fit and will lead the pack on Tuesday.
You will say that Ekpone can't run three open events and four relays. That is correct, but this year's Northwest relay teams can approach all of those records without full strength teams. The record will be obliterated in whichever relay Ekpone runs, but with Eckerstrom, India Knight, Camry Torian, Sheridan Allen, Naomi Sheppard, etc. every relay meet record is on notice!
Then we have Kennedy's Thea LaFond. LaFond recorded nationally elite personal bests in the high jump (5-08.75), long jump (18-04.50), and triple jump (41-03.25) in a stellar three week span in which she also won the Penn Relays triple jump title. LaFond will be attempting not only to win four events but break four meet records. 14.05 in the 100-meter hurdles seems the most out-of-reach compared to her personal best of 14.74, but don't be shocked if she takes down Gariepy-Bogui's 5-09.50 or Wanda Evans' long-standing 1987 record of 18-07.50.
The discus record of 122-07 is on the soft side compared to some of these other records. Seneca Valley's Virginia Owusu-Mainoo and Einstein's Anna Ucheomumu have season bests right around 118 feet.
Likewise, the girls' pole vault record at 9 feet is not the most impressive record. Catherine Panasenkov of QO and Erin Parker of Damascus have both cleared 9 feet already this season (it's fitting that fan votes were split 50-50).
Even Sally Glynn's 11:00.5 (which is nowhere near Glynn's best high school performance) could be at risk. Whitman's Anna Ryba has been dropping time all season and could make a run at it.
In summary, take a good look at the current meet records because they will look very different after Tuesday.
The Northwest girls are the overwhelming fan favorites to take home the team title on Tuesday. If Ekpone sweeps the sprints and Northwest sweeps the four relays, Northwest will have 70 points just from those 7 events. That is before factoring in the contributions of Eckerstrom, Knight, Torian etc. in open events.
If anyone can take down Northwest, it is the Wootton girls. Wootton won the Cougar Relays and Chantilly's invitational. Casey Dowling has returned from an injury and is running well. Gwen Shaw and Sylvia Deppen are expected to gobble up major points in the hurdles and Grace Corbett will be in contention to win her events.
It's interesting that Corbett and WJ's Camille Bouvet finished tied in the 1600 meter poll. Corbett leads the county by over ten seconds so far this season with a time of 5:05.96. Bouvet has a career best time of 5:04.18, but has not approached that time since last year. At the same time, Bouvet has not had many opportunities to run outside of dual meets and relay meets. She is the only runner to have an answer for Ryba in the 3200 this season as she ran 11:21 to defeat Ryba in a dual meet.
The girls shot put has been outstanding this year. Expect rivals Rachel Porzel and Virginia Owusu-Mainoo to lead the way, but the young throwers DaShawn Herbert-Williams and Ozioma Edokobi could pop a big one at any time. I'm told Clarksburg freshman Angel Graham, who has thrown over 35 feet this season, is out for the year due to injury.
Boys County Preview
Most Likely Boys Records to Fall: 4x800, 4x400
Richard Montgomery has already gone under the county meet record this season with a time of 7:47.49 at the Penn Relays. Walter Johnson has too much pride to give away the 4x800 title and the mocorunning forum is buzzing about a 7:56 clocking at the Annapolis Relays, a time with potential for improvement. The first 4x800 race ever run on WJ's new track was a sub-8:00 performance between WJ and RM in a dual meet. Can the next 4x800 on WJ's track be sub-7:50?
Churchill and Richard Montgomery will be battling for the team title until the very final event, the 4x400. Richard Montgomery has clocked 3:22.98 and Churchill has clocked 3:24.59. Let us not again be surprised if the indoor county champs, B-CC (3:26.26 season best) are in the race for the win. Of course the reason this record has stood for 27 years is because it is the last race of a single-day meet. Athletes will be tired.
The Richard Montgomery boys have successfully redeemed themselves for under-performing at indoor nationals and the Penn Relays in the 2010 season, but perhaps the biggest gaffe of the 2010 season was a false start in the county championship 800-meter race which potentially cost Richard Montgomery the team title. As this "season of redemption" continues, Richard Montgomery looks focused and ready to challenge for the title again this year.
Fan votes were nearly split down the middle between Richard Montgomery and Churchill as the 2011 boys' team champion. Churchill had a perfect day at the indoor county championship while RM barely showed up at all and still finished third. RM has a number of things working for them in addition to four middle distance studs (Sam Martin, David Hamilton, Zack Angel, and Jacob Cantor) who clocked 7:47.49 in the 4x800 at the Penn Relays. Nick Hu looks to be a contender in the 300-meter hurdles and Nnamdi Edokobi can potentially rack up 20 points in the throwing events. A wildcard is Sonny Kirksey who is inconsistent at times, but cleared 6 feet in the high jump as a freshman last year.
Churchill is still just as loaded as they were indoors. Micah Phillips-Spencer is emerging as the county's premier sprinter in his junior year. Phillips-Spencer and Robert Bowis will challenge indoor 55-meter region champ, Emmanuel Atabong of Springbrook, as well as Watkins Mill's William Yougnia and B-CC's Terrence James in the sprints.
Zach Weinstein of Churchill is the indoor 3200m county champion, but he has his work cut out for him as the 3200 is expected to be the much-anticipated showdown between Northwest's Chris Miller and WJ's Alex Willett. Fans were deprived of the showdown when Miller skipped out on the 3200 at the Viking Invitational. Alex Willett has been unbeatable lately with a 1:53 800m split to go along with his 4:17 1600m split and 9:32 3200m season best, but he has yet to approach Chris Miller's season best 3200m time of 9:19.07.
Churchill's Will Conway has not repeated a performance of the caliber of his 4:21.34 indoor state championship victory, and will likely be facing a loaded field that includes Martin, Willett, Miller, and Sherwood's Kyle Tockman, all of whom are on fire this season.
The best thing about the meet moving from Clarksburg to Walter Johnson is that spectators can watch the throwing events without straying too far from the track, something that was simply impossible at Clarksburg. This year's throwing events will be significant in determining the boys team champion. RM's Edokobi will be dueling with Churchill's Nadim Elhage in both throwing events. Health has been an issue for both Edokobi (back) and Elhage (elbow) this season, so the ability just to get a mark will play into the team standings. Patrick Schlosser from Watkins Mill has a unique technique in the discus that may lead to a county title in his sophomore year.
Watkins Mill will take exception to being left out of the discussion for the team title. Damiete Roberts missed the end of the indoor season and got a late start to this outdoor season, but fans have selected him as the favorite in the 110-meter hurdles. He is versatile enough to possibly pick up a few more titles in the long jump and triple jump. While Yougnia, Schlosser, and Roberts are performing better than ever, without a Brandon Addison, they don't have the depth of last year's team. In particular, it is unlikely they can stack a 4x100 and 4x400 relay (back to back races). As evidence, they have not stacked a 4x100 relay yet this season and I think fans voted for them to win this year's 4x100 county title based on a strong sprinting reputation rather than results from this year. With that said, if the stars align as they did a year ago, Watkins Mill could repeat as county champions.
Like Richard Montgomery and Watkins Mill, Quince Orchard also has a few weapons it was missing indoors. Devin Haywood returns from ineligibility and should give QO a boost at the right time. Elliott Davis came out this spring as one of the county's very best freshman athletes and will play a role in QO's final team total along with veterans Darius Lewis, Eric Bishop and the distance trio of Drew Lehner, Conor Spauling, and Evan Laratta.
The Northwest boys may not be in contention for the team title, but they could have two of the biggest stars of the meet. Fans voted Sheldon Trotman to be the top male point scorer of the meet with potential victories in the long jump and triple jump. Trotman has won the last three county titles in the long jump. Chris Miller is the hottest distance runner in the county right now with season best times of 4:21.00 and 9:19.07.
Name
Comments
anonymous track fan
Sunday, May 08, 2011 11:08:38 PM
looks like it will be one for the ages. can we start streaming meets please?
love
Sunday, May 08, 2011 11:13:56 PM
should be a close meet
Monday, May 09, 2011 01:05:59 AM
Love the article. Great stuff
Monday, May 09, 2011 08:32:17 AM
Great summary, KP!
anonymous coward
Monday, May 09, 2011 05:22:08 PM
1:53!? where was the heck did that happen
Tuesday, May 10, 2011 10:23:27 PM
That awkward moment when people not mentioned in the article take down 2 meet records lol
DamiRob
Tuesday, May 10, 2011 11:03:36 PM
^ this
Thursday, May 12, 2011 01:54:27 AM
Great work NW girls very proud. Now on to regions and state
Thursday, May 12, 2011 01:55:50 AM
NW girls can't be beat will show big at the Maryland state meet
Fan of Underdogs
Friday, May 20, 2011 02:20:43 PM
Magruder Girls have earned respect in the 4 x 100, 4 x 200, and 4 x 400. Northwest had to stack their 4 x 200 to win. That's a compliment to Magruders Girls. Wait til next year
Monday, May 23, 2011 01:24:05 AM
Yes Magruder girls have a great 4x200 and 4x100 team much respect to the girls and the coach. So what if NW loaded the team this is a competition sport . NW has many options and depth to take any relay. Nw won the 4x200 with time to spare. NW girls has I. Knight C. Torian and T. Wellman and will get new kids like Kennedy Knight who will come in next year to fill spots for kids moving on. Magruder should not just sit back till next year cuz it will still be a fight to beat NW.
Monday, May 23, 2011 01:25:22 AM
Yes Magruder girls have a great 4x200 and 4x100 team much respect to the girls and the coach. So what if NW loaded the team this is a competition sport . NW has many options and depth to take any relay. Nw won the 4x200 with time to spare. NW girls has I. Knight C. Torian and T. Wellman and will get new kids like Kennedy Knight who will come in next year to fill spots for kids moving on. Magruder should not just sit back till next year cuz it will still be a fight to beat NW.
Ekpone is simply the greatest MoCo sprinter in history and she needs only to break her own records in the 100, 200, and 400. Poor weather has prevented her from recording any personal bests this outdoor season, but check Tuesday's weather forecast.
Then we have Kennedy's Thea LaFond. LaFond recorded nationally elite personal bests in the high jump (5-08.75), long jump (18-04.50), and triple jump (41-03.25) in a stellar three week span in which she also won the Penn Relays triple jump title. LaFond will be attempting not only to win four events but break four meet records. 14.05 in the 100-meter hurdles seems the most out-of-reach compared to her personal best of 14.74, but don't be shocked if she takes down Gariepy-Bogui's 5-09.50 or Wanda Evans' long-standing 1987 record of 18-07.50.
If anyone can take down Northwest, it is the Wootton girls. Wootton won the Cougar Relays and Chantilly's invitational. Casey Dowling has returned from an injury and is running well. Gwen Shaw and Sylvia Deppen are expected to gobble up major points in the hurdles and Grace Corbett will be in contention to win her events.
Richard Montgomery has already gone under the county meet record this season with a time of 7:47.49 at the Penn Relays. Walter Johnson has too much pride to give away the 4x800 title and the mocorunning forum is buzzing about a 7:56 clocking at the Annapolis Relays, a time with potential for improvement. The first 4x800 race ever run on WJ's new track was a sub-8:00 performance between WJ and RM in a dual meet. Can the next 4x800 on WJ's track be sub-7:50?
Churchill is still just as loaded as they were indoors. Micah Phillips-Spencer is emerging as the county's premier sprinter in his junior year. Phillips-Spencer and Robert Bowis will challenge indoor 55-meter region champ, Emmanuel Atabong of Springbrook, as well as Watkins Mill's William Yougnia and B-CC's Terrence James in the sprints. 
The best thing about the meet moving from Clarksburg to Walter Johnson is that spectators can watch the throwing events without straying too far from the track, something that was simply impossible at Clarksburg. This year's throwing events will be significant in determining the boys team champion. RM's Edokobi will be dueling with Churchill's Nadim Elhage in both throwing events. Health has been an issue for both Edokobi (back) and Elhage (elbow) this season, so the ability just to get a mark will play into the team standings. Patrick Schlosser from Watkins Mill has a unique technique in the discus that may lead to a county title in his sophomore year. 
Watkins Mill will take exception to being left out of the discussion for the team title. Damiete Roberts missed the end of the indoor season and got a late start to this outdoor season, but fans have selected him as the favorite in the 110-meter hurdles. He is versatile enough to possibly pick up a few more titles in the long jump and triple jump. While Yougnia, Schlosser, and Roberts are performing better than ever, without a Brandon Addison, they don't have the depth of last year's team. In particular, it is unlikely they can stack a 4x100 and 4x400 relay (back to back races). As evidence, they have not stacked a 4x100 relay yet this season and I think fans voted for them to win this year's 4x100 county title based on a strong sprinting reputation rather than results from this year. With that said, if the stars align as they did a year ago, Watkins Mill could repeat as county champions.
Like Richard Montgomery and Watkins Mill, Quince Orchard also has a few weapons it was missing indoors. Devin Haywood returns from ineligibility and should give QO a boost at the right time. Elliott Davis came out this spring as one of the county's very best freshman athletes and will play a role in QO's final team total along with veterans Darius Lewis, Eric Bishop and the distance trio of Drew Lehner, Conor Spauling, and Evan Laratta.