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Dark clouds and threatening skies loomed Thursday afternoon, but the rain held off until the completion of the Class 4A West Region track meet at Magruder High. Here is a breakdown of the storylines heading into next week's state championship meet at Morgan State University.

A shoeless run to victory

Like they have done all year, the Churchill girls were impressive against county competition. The Bulldogs earned the regional crown with 120.5 points; 11.5 better than second-place Northwest and 49.5 more than third-place Wootton.

The highlight of the day came on the anchor leg of the Bulldogs' 4x100-meter relay team. With the lead on the final exchange, senior Amirah Polite accidently stepped on her younger sister, Serenah's shoe. But Serenah was able to maintain her balance as her shoe went flying into the air and she sprinted the final 100 meters to a barefoot victory.

"I hesitated for a second then I was like, ‘Now win,'" Serenah said. "[My foot] burns."

The Polite sisters had a fantastic day, as they placed in several hurdle and jumping events. Amirah took first in the triple jump (35 feet, 0.75 inches) while Serenah placed third, nine inches behind. Amirah and Serenah also finished second and fourth in the 100-meter hurdles, respectively, to Sherwood's Katherine Salke (14.6 seconds).

Sprinter Kathryn Wolf was runner-up in the 100- , 200- and 400-meter dashes. Distance runner Maryam Fikri placed third in the 1600 and fourth in the 800.

Business as usual for Ekponé

Since transferring from Wootton to Northwest in March, sophomore Olivia Ekponé has not missed a beat. Like she did in the county meet, the sprinter captured the 100, 200 and 400 crowns. She hopes to repeat as state champion in all three events.

"For the 400 I was shooting for a [time of] 55.1 so I can get top-seeded, unlike last year where I was put in lane five," said Ekponé, who did better than that with a 54.5 in the 400. "[My coaches] are teaching me to run my own race and mentally push my race. I did that today and I'm really impressed."

Patriot games

While the loss of Ekponé definitely hurt Wootton, the void has allowed several girls to shine for head coach Kellie Redmond's squad. The Patriots, who took second at counties, remain strong competitors.

Junior Jessie Rubin won the region's 3,200 and 1,600 races, setting a personal record of 5:07.9 in the 1600.

"This has been my best season of my career," said Rubin, who also helped the 4x800 team to victory. "Sophomore year I was still learning how to run and this year I put everything together. It's going to be some intense competition [at states]. …We have some great talent that's showing the county what we still have."

Freshman Casey Dowling won the long jump with a leap of 15-11. Another rookie, Grace Corbett, was victorious in the 800 (2:18.7).

Sugar is sweet, and so is Cain

Gaithersburg's Owen Cain, the Gazette's 2008-09 Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, had another remarkable day by capturing the long, high and triple jumps. But he was still disappointed by a second-place finish to Walter Johnson's Jonathan Hale (14.64) in the 110-meter hurdles.

"Jumps were alright," said Cain, sporting a mowhawk. "Triple jump I know I can get better in states. Hurdles I know what I need to do. It's pretty alright and cool, but I have higher expectations for myself at states."

Travon Carroll and Ali Kalley finished one-two in the 300 hurdles. Antonio Palmer was .03 seconds behind Quince Orchard's Wayne Bartholomew in the 800.

Antwan Nyguen cleared 12 feet to win the pole vault while Lauren Rose won on the girls' side (9 feet)

Gaithersburg ran away with the boys' team title with 113 points, 43 better than runner-up Whitman.

Brown wows

Quince Orchard senior Marcus Brown followed up his county shot put and discus championships with regional titles in both events.

Despite a self-admitted inconsistent performance, Brown set a personal record in the discus by throwing a whopping 170-10. If Brown is able to duplicate his success at next week's state meet, he will undoubtedly take the torch of "Best thrower in the county" from his good friend and competitor, Gaithersburg senior Sean Stanley, who is a four-time state champion. Stanley placed second in both events.

"We just compete," Brown said of Stanley. "We push each other. When I'm at my best I expect him to be at his best. It will be fun [at the state meet]."

Haile again

For the past year every male distance race involving Sherwood's Solomon Haile and Whitman's Andrew Palmer has played out to a familiar theme. It is pretty much guaranteed Palmer will battle to keep it close for much of the race only to see Haile, one of the top distance runners in the country, pull away down the stretch.

The same was true Thursday, as Haile captured the 3,200 and 1,600 regional titles. He will run his last races in a Warriors uniform next week before heading off to the University of Arkansas in the fall, while Palmer returns to the Vikings.

Other notable performances

- The Northwest boys and girls 4x400 relay teams posted outstanding times: 3:55.2 for the girls and 3:23.4 for the boys.

- The Jaguars' Chris Onuigbo won the 400 in 50.03.

- The boys 100-meter dash saw a photo finish; Walter Johnson's Duane Wilson edged Whitman's Anthony Young-Wiseman. Both posted a 10.8.

- Whitman' Rachel Osnos cleared five feet in the high jump for victory.

- Quince Orchard's Shannon Dwyer won the girls 300 hurdles.

- Springbrook's Milan White took the girls shot put title (35-04.25) while Blake's Octavia King ran away with the discus (117-11).