Between January 13 and January 16, MoCoRunning.com conducted an online poll. 92 valid votes were used.

Below you will find the results. The county champion favorites are listed with the percentage of votes received. The teams are listed in order based on the number of poll points received.

Event Name, School % Name, School % 55m Dash Jalen Walker, Northwest 52.4 Martha Sam, Blake 54.7 55m Hurdles Shyheim Wright, Northwest 67.5 Alexus Pyles 64.5 300m Jalen Walker, Northwest 61.0 Martha Sam, Blake 33.3 500m Oliver Lloyd, Paint Branch 47.0 *Martha Sam, Blake 43.1 800m Diego Zarate, Northwest 53.6 Gaby Go, Northwest 31.7 1600m Diego Zarate, Northwest 70.5 *Gaby Go, Northwest 28.3 3200m *Diego Zarate, Northwest 48.1 Lucy Srour, Churchill 38.2 4x200 Northwest 49.3 Paint Branch 24.6 4x400 Northwest 36.8 Blake 30.6 4x800 Northwest 37.8 Walter Johnson 35.0 High Jump Aaron Beidleman, Northwest 67.1 Alexus Pyles, Clarksburg 53.3 Long Jump Josh Netterville, Northwest 35.9 Alexus Pyles, Clarksburg 31.7 Triple Jump Aaron Beidleman, Northwest 34.7 Alexus Pyles, Clarksburg 34.8 Shot Put Noah Vernick, Quince Orchard 42.4 Justina Ababio, Clarksburg 32.8 Winning 4x4 Time 3:34.02 4:02.83 *This poll was conducted before entries were finalized. Athletes with an asterisk by their name are not actually entered in the event fans voted them to win. Diego Zarate is not entered in the 3200m. Amir Khaghani of Whitman received the second most votes with 22.2%. Martha Sam is not entered in the 500m. Tiffany Woods of Sherwood received the second most votes with 20.0%. Gaby Go is not entered in the 1600m. Kiernan Keller of Walter Johnson received the second most votes with 21.7%.

Rk Boys School Poll Points Rk Girls School Poll Points 1 Northwest 206 1 Clarksburg 132 2 Paint Branch 108 2 Northwest 129 3 Quince Orchard 105 3 Blake 79 4 Clarksburg 59 4 Paint Branch 73 5 Richard Montgomery 54 5 Walter Johnson 49       Winning Team Score 90.6       77.0

Analysis by Ryun Anderson

The county championships will take place on Tuesday, and athletes and fans alike recently voted in Mocorunning's pre-meet poll. These are the results of the poll.

The boys' poll was dominated by Northwest runners - fitting, considering their overall domination of the county throughout the first month of the season. Senior Jalen Walker received first-place votes in both the 55 and 300 meter dashes, but will have strong competition that includes Wootton's Jaron Woodyard. Likewise, Northwest senior Diego Zarate received first-place votes in the 800, 1600, and 3200 meter events.

The voters also voted Northwest to win all three boys relays. They have recorded the fastest times in the county in all three, but the competition will be stiff. Northwest and Richard Montgomery recently ran a thrilling 4x800 at the Montgomery Invitational, and both Paint Branch and Quince Orchard have a chance at winning. Watkins Mill, Gaithersburg, and Churchill have all run less than a second from Northwest's fastest time, promising a competitive 4x200 relay.

The triple jump seems to be the most wide-open of the boys field events: Northwest's Aaron Beidleman won the poll voting, but Seneca Valley's Donovan Beckett-Simms currently has the highest mark of anyone in the county.

Blake senior Martha Sam received first-place votes in the 55, 300, and 500 meter dashes and leads the county in all three. Meanwhile, Clarksburg's Alexus Pyles has a chance to break Gwen Shaw's county meet record in the 55 hurdles, a mark she already surpassed recently at the Montgomery Invitational. Pyles also has a chance to win multiple titles in the jumps.

The Walter Johnson girls deservedly received first-place in the polls for the 4x800, but Seneca Valley recently put together a very strong relay at the Montgomery Invitational and could challenge Walter Johnson for the county title.

To call the Northwest boys favorites to win the meet would be putting it lightly: with pre-meet poll favorites to win 12 of the 14 events, Northwest could set a record for most points scored by a boys team at the county meet (the current record is 115 points). Paint Branch and Quince Orchard should both compete for the second place position. The girls' side is much more open, with Clarksburg narrowly edging Northwest in the pre-meet poll, with Blake and Paint Branch not too far behind.

Overall, we shall look forward to another exciting Montgomery County championship, and hope that it provides a look ahead to the other championship races this indoor season.