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Gaithersburg senior Owen Cain, the 2008-09 Gazette indoor track Athlete of the Year, and the rest of the Trojan boys outdoor squad continued their impressive start to the season by winning the Woodward Relays at Georgetown Prep on Saturday.

Cain helped Gaithersburg win the high and triple-jump relays by recording the best individual jumps of the day (6 feet, 2 inches and 43-9 respectively). But this season, the Trojans aren't resting on their laurels.

"We're always going to have the field events," said Cain. "If we want to get where we want to be, our sprinting has to improve."

The Trojans tallied 65 points to take the meet, well ahead of second-place Richard Montgomery (44) and third-place Clarksburg (42). They are 3-0 in dual meets and 2 for 2 at invitationals, on the heels of winning county, regional and state indoor titles.

"I like what I've seen so far this year," said head coach Adrian McDaniel. "For us to take states, it comes down to our field events. Last year, it only took 50 points to win the state meet, and we have a good chance if we score a lot in the field."

The Trojans boast some of the best jumpers and throwers in the state, including Cain and Sean Stanley, a four-time All Gazette first-teamer (indoor and outdoor) in the shot put.

The day did not go by without a scare, as Cain pulled up a little lame after the 300-meter hurdle race. He was state indoor champ in the 55 hurdles.

"It's just my first time running [the 300 hurdles]; I'm just out of shape," he said. "It hurts, but it's nothing serious, I just have to get used to the race being a little longer."

Coyotes howl

For the first time in the three-year history of Clarksburg High School, the girls varsity track team has seniors.

"It was weird; last year the boys had seniors but the girls didn't," Clarksburg head coach Scott Mathias said. "These girls have been running track for three years, and you can see the results."

"The result" was a dominating performance that included four first-place finishes, three seconds and a total of 90 points, comfortably ahead of C.H. Flowers (68) of Prince George's County and Walter Johnson (38). Clarksburg senior Page Harris helped win the long-jump relay after arriving late from taking the ACTs.

"I wouldn't say we were surprised at all," Harris said. "We have a really strong team this year."

The Coyotes' results would back that up; they won in field events (long jump, high jump), sprint events (4x100 shuttle) and finished third in the distance medley relay, displaying their versatility.

"Our depth is probably our biggest strength," said Mathias. "We're going to use these meets to prep our kids for regionals so we can get as many people as possible qualified for states."

Warning: Will get wet

The Woodward Relays, first established in 1973 by meet organizer and Georgetown Prep head coach Greg Dunston, concludes with its featured race, the steeplechase.

The race is 2000 meters (five laps) and includes four hurdles and one water jump, a barrier set up over a large water pit that extends for a short distance after the hurdle.

"We've always had [a steeplechase]," Dunston said. "At Woodward [now Tilden Middle School] I built one, but it wasn't regulation, and when I was at Walter Johnson we had a dry jump. So here we have a nice water hurdle that's regulation size."

The race was the highlight of the day, with the crowds gathering mostly around the water jump to witness the race. The boys heat was won by Prep's own Johnny Berry (7 minutes, 12.88 seconds) while Clarkburg's Lauren Sumner (8:03.47) won the girls heat going away.

"It was a lot of fun," Sumner said. "It reminded me of steeplechases with my horses, so I was really excited to run this race."

Wildcats go the distance

Walter Johnson asserted itself in all of the distance relays, on both the boys and the girls sides.

The girls swept the 4x1600 (22:57.43), 4x800 (10:07.20) and distance medley (13:24.41). The boys weren't quite as dominant, but did take the 4x800 (8:15.50) and 4x1600 (19:01.88) and took second in the DMR (11:15.77) behind Georgetown Prep.