Race for county title a crowded heat

‘‘I think we are where I’d expect us to be right now,” Wootton coach Kellie Redmond said. ‘‘I’m happy, for the most part, with the performances that have gotten us to this point. ... From the standpoint of the condensed season, the kids have handled it well.”

Having won the county title and finished a county-best third at the Class 4A state meet during indoor season, the Patriot girls are the presumptive favorites to take the team title Thursday. Indoor Girls Athlete of the Year Olivia Ekpone has continued to impress, holding the season’s fastest times in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter races.

Ekpone should rack up big points in the sprints and help one or two of Wootton’s relay teams do the same. The Patriots also look for points from the jumps and sprint events, and pole vaulter Liz Calhoun is an ace in the hole.

Host and defending champion Churchill won’t let go of the title without a fight, however. The Bulldogs would have finished second at last year’s meet without the 40 points they got from the graduated Audrey Gariepy-Bogui. They dropped the indoor county title by a mere two points, and return three big scorers (Louise Hannallah, Erin McManus, Katie Wolf) and plenty of depth in relays and other events.

Whitman, Paint Branch, Poolesville, B-CC and Northwest are other teams that bear watching.

On the boys side, Quince Orchard (Class 4A) and B-CC (3A) both come in having won state titles this school year in cross country and indoor track. The bad news for both on the county stage is that the distance events are the greatest strength for each, and for several other teams.

Quince Orchard looks capable of overcoming that problem, though, with a deep, veteran and hungry roster.

‘‘We haven’t won a county title in track,” Cougars coach Seann Pelkey said. ‘‘We’re really just trying to take advantage of our depth. With the counties being a one-day meet, the school with the most depth has the advantage. For any team to hang with us, they’re going to have to wear out their studs.”

A slew of other title hopefuls will be banking on the sprint events for their points. Blair, Clarksburg, and Richard Montgomery all make their living at the shorter distances, and all finished in the top six at the county indoor meet. They could cancel one another out, or one could emerge to snag the title with a dominant performance in the sprints.

Watch out, though, for Gaithersburg. After two years without a county title, the Trojans have been uncharacteristically quiet this spring. But thrower Sean Stanley is the favorite to win both the shot put and discus, middle distance man Antonio Palmer is worth some big points, and the Trojans could have more depth than suspected in the hurdles and jumps.

‘‘The county’s kind of even this year,” Gaithersburg coach Adrian McDaniel said. ‘‘I think overall, if my kids show up, they could score in a lot of events. ... We definitely want the team title.”

The team title is what it’s all about this week. Individually, athletes will be tuning up for the regional meets that begin six days later. But they’ll also be running for team bragging rights.

‘‘At regionals, mostly, you want to get kids to states,” Redmond said. ‘‘We’re not as hungry for a regional title. ... In terms of intensity for how we want to place as a team, it’s high at counties and high at states.”