GIRLS:
Edison is the defending champion and even though it looks like they will not be able to approach their 160 point team total from last year, the Eagles are still the favorites.
Edison will be looking for at least a ten point lead after the conclusion of the field events, led by junior Keosha Simonson, who is the top seed in both the long jump and triple jump and should also score in the high jump and shot put.
On the track, the Eagles should score in all events except for the 3,200 run with Simonson also putting points on the board in running events as the top seed in the 55 hurdles and also placing in the 55 dash and 300 dash along with sophomore Shekyira Mann. The Eagles should also have points from senior Lauren Carman in the 500 dash and junior Katie Lawler in the 1,000 run with Carman and Lawler also mainstays in the 4x800 and 4x400 relays.
Yorktown was second to Edison last year and is in position to possibly give the Eagles a fight for first place. The Patriots will look for the bulk of their field event points from junior Briana Hanifin in the high jump, senior Heather Angolia in the shot put and junior Jaclyn Smith in the triple jump.
The top performer in the running events for Yorktown is sophomore Andrea Oaxaca, the defending champion in the 1,000 run and favorite in that event even though she will be also be running in the race prior to the 1,000 as one of the top contenders in the 500 dash.
If Yorktown can keep it close through the field events, they have a shot at just about matching Edison\'s scoring in the running events; if all goes well.
Mount Vernon returns senior Assiatu Williams as the defending champion in the 55 hurdles, triple jump and high jump. Williams, along with sophomore sprinter Kierra Terry, will be counted on for most of the scoring for the Majors in order for them to maintain their third place spot from last year.
Stuart looks ready to improve their scoring total from last year by about 20 points this year led by sophomore sprinter Danielle Wiliams, the runnerup last year in the 55 dash who already has a state auto qualifier this season at 7.42 and Williams will be looking to improve one notch on her district runnerup 300 dash finish of last year as well.
Washington-Lee\'s points may come solely from their group of distance runners with senior Sarah Weber responsible for about half that total as she returns to defend her titles in both the 1,600 and 3,200 meter runs as well as probably running a leg on the 4x800 relay for the Generals.
Falls Church should factor well into the 4x800 and 4x400 relays and their top scoring individual event appears to be the 1,000 run with senior Casey Davenport while Wakefield\'s top point getter may well be sophomore sprinter Sarah Sneed.
BOYS:
Defending champion Edison graduated numerous seniors off their squad which racked up 199 points last year. However, the Eagles still look strong enough this season to exceed 150 points and probably score twice as many points as the next closest team.
Edison is capable of possibly outscoring the rest of the district combined in the four field events (the pole vault counts toward regional meet advancement but is a non-scoring event due to it not being a recognized event among the three Arlington County schools in the district).
Edison junior Dada Titcombe will be the main focus for the Eagles in the field events, coming in as the top seed and with regional auto qualifying marks in the high jump (6-0) and long jump (21-0.5) as well as being the top seed in the triple jump with a state auto of 45-9.
The Eagles also have junior Bernard Butler as the top seed in the shot put and additional points in the horizontal jumps from junior Joe Jackson.
Dada Titcombe should also be Edison\'s top point getter in the running events as he comes in with the best times in the district in both the 55 hurdles and 55 dash and the Eagles should also be to cluster plenty of points in the short and long sprints from among Joe Jackson, Ryan Henry, Chaz Martin, Leoule Degfae and Tihut Degfae.
As on the girls side, the bulk of Washington-Lee\'s points on the boys side will be in the distance running events. The Generals have senior John McGrail as the defending champ in the 1,600 run; senior Stephen Browning is the defending titleist in the 3,200 run and they also come into the meet with the fastest time in the 4x800 relay.
However, the top weapon for W-L is senior Chris Tyson, who is the prohibitive favorite in both the 1,000 and 3,200 runs with state auto qualifying times already established for both.
Yorktown should be able to once again have steady performances in most events to at least equal their third place finish of last year. The Patriots top field eventer is senior Nick Hagelin in the high jump with Hagelin also coming in with the second fastest time in the 55 hurdles.
Mount Vernon senior Jason Wellington is the second seed in the shot put and the Majors will also look for points in the running events from Anthony Lecounte in the 1,000 run.
Stuart senior Ethan Rissel is one of the bright spots for the Raiders as the number two seed in the 3,200 run behind Tyson of W-L and Rissel is also among the favorites in a fairly balanced 1,600 run field.
Falls Church\'s main hope in individual events appears to be senior Matt Gorman in the shot put and for Wakefield it is junior sprinter John Logan.