The county championships take place on Wednesday, and 65 athletes and fans alike recently voted in Mocorunning's pre-meet poll. Here are the results of that poll.

Event		Name, School		%
55m Dash		Josh Netterville, Northwest		77.8
55m Hurdles		Shyheim Wright, Northwest		91.8
300m		Shyheim Wright, Northwest		64.6
500m		Andree' DiReumante, Northwood		32.6
800m		Liam Walsh, Quince Orchard		54.2
1600m		Liam Walsh, Quince Orchard		39.6
3200m		Rohann Asfaw, Richard Montgomery		77.8
4x200		Northwest		80.0
4x400		Northwest		75.0
4x800		Northwest		61.4
High Jump		Dylan Bikim, Quince Orchard		43.2
Long Jump		Josh Netterville, Northwest		36.4
Triple Jump		Donovan Beckett-Simms, Seneca Valley		47.6
Shot Put		Oasjele Ikheloa, Sherwood Tajai Romano, Clarksburg		29.3 29.3
Winning 4x4 Time		3:31.66

Boys Top 5		Poll Points
Northwest		138
Q. Orchard		73
Clarksburg		36
Blake		31
Springbrook		26

ANALYSIS

For the second year in a row, Northwest seems to be the team to beat on the boys side. Their sprinters are in a class of their own among county teams and could very realistically sweep those events. Northwest junior Josh Netterville has been dominant against Montgomery County competition so far in the boys 55 dash and received 77% of the votes. Netterville also won the long jump voting by a slim margin, but I think the favorite for the meet has to be Blake's Ty Mason who recently out-jumped Netterville at the UMES Invitational. He could challenge former fellow Bengal Gaston Assoua's meet record of 23'0 (the only athlete to ever clear 22'0 at the county championships).

Shyheim Wright gathered 91% of the vote in the boys 55 hurdles, and it probably could have been 100% without any argument from me. He's run nearly a full second faster than any other non-Northwest hurdler this season and could challenge the 17-year old county championship record of 7.44 (c). In fact, Northwest could go 1-2-3 in the hurdles which would greatly help their team title quest. He also finished first in the voting in the 300m, an event which he only started running this season but has found great success in.

With Northwest's depth also comes relay success, as fans voted them the favorites in all three relays. They will be the heavy favorites in the 4x800, but a team to watch out for in the shorter relays is Springbrook. They were right with Northwest through three legs at the Montgomery Invitational in the 4x200, and if Northwest doesn't run that same 'A' team Springbrook could really challenge them. Springbrook also has the fastest 4x400 time in the county after defeating Northwest at the Montgomery Invitational which should make for an exciting conclusion to the boys' meet.

The mid-distance events on the boys side are pretty wide open, something which the voting reflects. Quince Orchard's Liam Walsh will most likely not run the 4x800, leaving him free for at least two out of the three events between the 500, 800, and 1600. He's shown the range to contend for the county title in all three this season, and he has not lost to a Montgomery County runner in the 800 or 1600 this indoor season.

The 500 is the most wide-open race on the boys side this year. Northwood's Andree' Di-Reumante won the fan vote but only with 32% of the votes. Whitman's William Ryba has clocked the fastest 500 in the county this season, and he's a contender in the 500 and/or the 800. Jacari Ramsey (Springbrook) and Khaloni Mganga (Northwest) could also contend for a county title.

Other events without clear-cut favorites include the high jump and shot put. Quince Orchard's Dylan Bikim and Gregory D'Elia could go 1-2 in the high jump, but Watkins Mill's Sahil Shrestha has been right with them this indoor year and could become the school's first-ever indoor county champion in a field event.

On the other hand, Rohann Asfaw of Richard Montgomery earned a healthy 77% of the fan vote in the 3,200m, in which he is the clear favorite. It will be interesting to see if he can challenge Will Bertrand's meet record of 9:29, especially if the 3,200 ends up being his only event. Seneca Valley's Donavan Beckett-Simms only earned 47% of the votes in the triple jump but is undefeated against Montgomery County competition this season.