The scrimmage meet this weekend was not timed and there were no relays or 3200-meter races. There will be no official results, races were not seeded, and athletes were not permitted to wear official school uniforms. Many of the top returning athletes skipped this meet, but there were several elite athletes who showed they were ready to go. This is one person's takeaways.

Wootton was one team that turned loose many of its best athletes. Gwen Shaw and Sylvia Deppen came out strong in consecutive heats of the 55-meter hurdles. In the 300, Wootton girls swept the first three heats. Casey Dowling, Gwen Shaw, and Sylvia Deppen won the first three heats, all right around 42.5 seconds. Dowling also jumped 17-05 in the long jump.

Officials piled runners into a waterfall start for some heats of the 300 including a race dominated by Northwest freshman Kennedy Knight (didn't get a watch on her). Then India Knight and Camry Torian from Northwest won consecutive heats out of lanes. Both clocked about 42 seconds. This is Camry Torian's first year running indoor track.

In one of the last heats from a waterfall, Magruder's Bethany White clocked 42.4, making for at least six county girls who ran mid-42 in six separate heats. At the upcoming developmental meets, the races should be seeded so the top girls will get to race one another.

Bailee Freeman from Clarksburg cleared 5-02 on her first attempt in the high jump. Hayley Henshaw from Northwest was granted a fourth attempt at 5-02 and cleared it (it's just a scrimmage).

Virginia Owusu-Mainoo from Seneca Valley tossed about 35 feet in the shot put.

While 42 was the magic number for the girls 300, 37 was the magic number for the boys 300. Manyo Nkiri from Paint Branch won the first heat in 37.1. Micah Phillips-Spencer from Churchill won the second heat in 37.5. Darius Lewis, who transferred from Quince Orchard to Seneca Valley, won the third heat in 37.6.

Lewis and Phillips-Spencer were among the best in the 55-meter dash. Phillips-Spencer won the first heat in 6.6 followed closely by Seneca Valley's Isaac Cudjoe. Lewis won the second heat in 6.7. Lewis was also the best in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.0.

Seneca Valley is looking much-improved this year with the addition of Darius Lewis and Kwasi Boateng, a transfer from South Hagerstown High School, to go along with sprinters Kevin Joppy and Isaac Cudjoe.

In the girls 1600, Northwest freshman Gaby Go challenged B-CC senior Ava Farrell, but faded in the final quarter mile. Farrell stretched out a lead to win in 5:32. Northwest's Naomi Sheppard was second in 5:35 and B-CC's Brittney Wade was third 5:38. It was Wade's first competitive 1600, though Coach Chad Young says that we will see her in her usual shorter events later in the season.

We saw Wade and Farrell again in the 800. Wade led from start to finish, but the pace was pretty slow. She hit 400 meters in 1:15 and Farrell began to close the gap. Farrell nearly caught Wade at the finish line. Both girls finished in 2:30.

India Knight won the open 500 by nearly ten seconds in 1:22. In a later heat, Kennedy's Nicolette Clarke ran 1:25.

The first heat of the boys 500 saw Paint Branch's Malik Keels chase down Blake's Darius Oxley. It looked like Keels won at the line in 1:10. In a later heat, Northwest's Andrew Kyeremeh ran all alone to finish in 1:09.8.

In the 800, Gaithersburg's Mustapha Diomande pushed the early pace, but Sherwood's Nick Johnson took over after a 62 second quarter. Johnson ran away with it in 2:07. Quince Orchard's Evan Burnham outkicked a tight pack for second place in 2:12.

Burnham fought back and forward with Einstein's Ryan Henderson in the first half of the open 1600. Burnham took over and ran away from Magruder's Michael Pasti to win in 4:46. Pasti ran 4:48 and B-CC's Peter Horton ran 4:50.