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Even though the 2009 outdoor track and field schedule is slated to cover the next three months, the "season" started for the majority of athletes during November's indoor season.

Most coaches and teams' philosophies revolve around the season-ending championship meets. Thus, student-athletes train during the winter and early spring months with the goal of reaching peak performance in late May.

"The biggest thing in spring season is to peak at the right time and make sure they don't run out of gas," said Quince Orchard head coach Seann Pelkey. "[We have to] keep them focused and motivated in springtime with a lot of other things and distractions going on."

Thanks to a rare mid-year transfer, the Wootton girls will have to find a way to replace All-Gazette sprinter Olivia Ekponé, who moved to Northwest High earlier this month. But the Patriots, last year's county champion, will still be sure to score points from junior Jessie Rubin in distance events.

Rubin finished third at 4A states last year in the 3200-meter run. Freshmen Casey Dowling and All-Gazette sprinter Grace Corbett will contribute elsewhere. Meanwhile, the Patriot boys are young and will look to improve as the season progresses.

"On the girls side we lost some key athletes due to graduation, injury, etc., but that is just the way it goes," said Wootton head coach Kellie Redmond. "On the flip side, we are fortunate to have gained with a very strong freshman class." 

At the other end of Ekponé's move, the Northwest girls may now be the team to beat. The defending 4A state champion in the 100 and 200 will lead the sprinters in a very balanced lineup. Veterans Alyssa Henshaw and Britt Eckerstrom should rack up points in the distance events.

On the boys side, Chris Onuigbo, Marvin Lisk and Hassan Dixon return to pace the mid and short sprinters. All three ran on the 4x400 indoor state championship team.

Rival Seneca Valley seems to be heading in the right direction under head coach Randy Bosnic. Senior Emily Weiner (hurdles, jumps) and Michelle Rodriquez (400) will help the Screaming Eagle girls, while state qualifier Jason Kim (jumps) leads the boys.

Always competitive Quince Orchard is coming off three boys indoor state championships with Marcus Brown (shot put) and Wayne Bartholomew (500, 800). Jacob Adedeji will also be an integral part of the attack in the long and high jumps.

Aimee Moores and Stephanie Joson will pace the Lady Cougars distance runners, with hurdler Shannon Dwyer also providing points.

Indoor shot put state runner-up Sean Stanley will return to Gaithersburg to continue his friendly rivalry with workout partner Brown. Stanley had defeated Brown in virtually every throwing event until last month's state indoor meet.

Along with Stanley, All-Gazette indoor athlete of the year Owen Cain (jumps, hurdles) and distance runner Antonio Palmer provide a solid trio of scoring for the Trojans. The girls should be just as tough with Lauren Rose (jumps), Simone Harris (sprints) and Nicole Peterson (sprints).

Junior Nicolas Escobar, the county indoor 3200 runner-up, should lead Magruder. Escobar will be joined by one of the county's top triple jumpers in senior Steven Ha, also a hurdler. Freshman Rachel Watkins, a county and regional finalist in the indoor 55 dash, will lead the girls along with junior Jasmine Scott.

"Last spring was a down year for us and it was without a doubt a challenging season," said Magruder head coach Nathan Timm. "But for the first time in a few years I feel like I'm in my first year of coaching again."

The Poolesville girls look to be among the best in the state in 1A. The Falcons will look to All-Gazette hurdler Olivia Durr, the defending state 100 hurdles champion, as well as Karissa Harris (sprints), Jenny Reid (distance) and Katherine Connor (distance).

Boys to watch include junior David Wilson (distance), Sam Widmayer (800) and long jumper Kevin Dickerson. 

Last year's county champion, Clarksburg, will look to repeat with its largest team ever. Avery Graham returns to sprint, throw and jump. Teammate Mark Small also returns to the fast track. Naseem Zietoon (800, 300 hurdles), Rob Thompson (throws), Christian Smith (throws), Marcus Kinney (throws) and Jatin Narang (distance) will also contribute.

Jumper Page Harris, Lauren Sumner (middle distance), Jenna Smith (middle distance), Turquoia Johnson (throws, sprints), Courtney Clark (sprints), Charnay Ryland (sprints) and Natalia Morrison (throws) are all capable of scoring for the girls.

The reigning 3A West Region champion Damascus boys are a talented group. Juniors Thomas Arias (mid-distance), Cecil Jonas (300 hurdles, 1600), Jake Furr (shot put) Ian Stanhope (jumps), Ben and Jon Constantinides (distance) and Sam Weeks (hurdles) all should help the Swarming Hornets be among the best in the county. Brian Lucas comes over from the football team to sprint and throw.

On the girls side, athletes to watch include Lakayja Alston (sprints), Melissa Pepper (jumps) and Alex Carroll (distance).

Sprinter and jumper Michael Ameotang, Dee Roberts (hurdles) and Brandon Addison (400) will be the go-to scorers for Watkins Mill. The girls team will paced by sprinters Sheena Brownell and Ashley Dupigny.

Top sprinters: Olivia Durr, Sr., Poolesville; Olivia Ekponé, Soph., Northwest; Hassan Dixon, Jr., Northwest

Top mid-distance: Wayne Bartholomew, Sr., Quince Orchard; Antonio Palmer, Sr., Gaithersburg

Top distance: Nicolas Escobar, Jr., Magruder; Britt Eckerstrom, Soph., Northwest, Alex Carroll, Soph., Damascus; Jessie Rubin, Jr., Wootton

Top jumpers: Owen Cain, Sr., Gaithersburg; Jacob Adedeji, Sr., Quince Orchard; Steven Ha, Sr., Magruder; Lauren Rose; Sr., Gaithersburg.

Top throwers: Marcus Brown, Sr., Quince Orchard; Sean Stanley, Sr., Gaithersburg

Favorites: Gaithersburg, Quince Orchard, Poolesville

Right behind: Damascus

Darkhorses: Magruder, Wootton