BOYS PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
* Richard Queen, Old Mill, Jr. -- This co-captain helped lead Old Mill's boys team to its 14th county and region championships. At states, Queen picked up 16 points for the Pats by winning the 55 -- (6.58 seconds) and taking third in the 55 hurdles. At regions, he won the 55 -- and was second in the hurdles (7.8), and he won both events at the county meet, finishing the -- in 6.4 seconds and the hurdles in 7.6. "Richard has been riding the coattails of a lot of good runners the past couple of years and we expected him to be the man this season and he was," said Old Mill coach Mike Marcus. "We kept telling him to get his shoulders bigger and he handled the pressure very well. We were inexperienced on the boys side and he kind of led the way for them."
THE BOYS TEAM AT A GLANCE
* Topper Ellis, North County, Sr. -- Ellis helped North County's boys team tie Old Mill at the states by claiming second in the 500 and third in the 300, before teaming up with Jon Pinkocz, Toney Fowlkes and Danny Zavorka to win the 1,600 relay in 3:33.1. At regions, Ellis won the 300 -- in 36.6 and was awarded first in the 500 after nearly being disqualified for a lane change violation. He won two individual events at the county meet, taking first in the 300 and 500. "He is our team leader," said coach Ed Harte. "He did many things for this team and he's proven that he is the fastest man in the county."
* Toney Fowlkes, North County, Jr. -- Fowlkes ran a superb chase leg in the 1,600 relay at states, catching a runner from Suitland and helping the Knights win the event in 3:33.1. He finished second to Ellis in the 300 at the county meet and was second in the 300 and third in the 500 at regionals. At the state meet, Fowlkes was fifth in the 300 and 500. "He ran a lot with Topper and he always knew either he or Topper would win," said Harte.
* Delvell Johnson, Old Mill, Sr. -- Johnson emerged as county and region champion in the high jump before settling for second at the states. At regions, he won by clearing 6-2 and also added a fifth-place finish in the --. He also took first in the high jump at both the Maryland National Guard Scholastic Games and the Diamond State Invitational and was fourth at Virginia Tech, despite clearing a personal best 6-6. At the state meet, Johnson ran on the Patriots' 800 relay team, which Marcus believes negatively affected his performance in the high jump. "He was looking for what would benefit the team," said Marcus. "He could have squawked about running in the 800 [relay at states] but he made the sacrifice for the team."
* Chris Long, Old Mill, Sr. -- At regions, Long won the 3,200 run and was runner-up in the 1,600, but it was his second-place finish in the 800 run, an event that he was not scheduled to run, that helped the Patriots sweep their fifth straight region title. He was runner-up in the 1,600 and 3,200 at the county meet and was second in the 1,600 and fifth in the 3,200 at states. "He started off real slow and really came along in time for regions," said Marcus.
* Adrian Newman, South River, Sr. -- Newman didn't have to wait until spring to prove that he could win a state title in the shot put. He capped his final indoor track season by becoming Class 1A-2A state champion with a toss of 50-feet, 1/2 -inch on his final throw. The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder also won the shot put at the county and region meets and was fifth at the National Guard Games. "He attained the goals we set for him," said Seahawks coach Keith Bigelow. "He wanted to break the school record [49-4], break the 50-foot mark and win the states and he did all three, but he really made us sweat it out."
* Ryan Stevens, Chesapeake, Sr. -- Stevens earned a state title in the 1,600 and had enough energy left to finish as runner-up in the 3,200. At regions, he won the 1,600 in 4:34.9 and was third in the 3,200 at the county meet. "Our indoor program has gone downhill in recent years, but Ryan has worked out on his own and that's a credit to him," said Cougars coach John Gray. "He had no running partner that could keep up with him so he had to carry everything on his own shoulders."
* Eric Voss, Old Mill, Sr. -- This pole vaulter won the county title but was runner-up at regions and third in states behind Dave Russell of Perry Hall, who cleared 14-7 at the Class 4A state meet. Voss also took third in the pole vault at National Guard Games with a vault of 12-0. "He was always overshadowed by Jimmy Greer in the past but he turned out to be the man this season," said Marcus. "He was real consistent. He could jump 12 feet looking great or ugly, but you could always count on him."
GIRLS PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
* Martise Moore, Old Mill, Sr. -- Moore, a straight-A student, captured her third state hurdles title -- second indoors -- and helped lead Old Mill to its 10th consecutive county title and 16th region championship. A member of the Patriots' indoor and outdoor track teams since her freshman year, Moore capped her final indoor season by taking first in the 55-meter hurdles at the county, region and state meets. She was also a member of the Pats' 800 relay team, which had the metro area's fastest time (1 minute, 52.5 seconds) and was part of Old Mill's county champion 800 relay team with Jenny Porter, Jen Mazzola and Erica Davis. "Martise doesn't have great leg speed, but she is a great technician and very gutsy," said coach Mike Marcus. "She is a winner and winners always come through when you need them to."
THE GIRLS TEAM AT A GLANCE
* Kenda Johnson, North County, Sr. -- Johnson established herself as the county's premier female sprinter as she won the 55 -- at both the county and region meets. At regions, Johnson added a third-place finish in the 300 and she was second in the 300 at the county championships. She injured her knee shortly after regions and only ran in the relays at the state meet. "She is our spiritual leader," said coach Ed Harte. "She was the real reason we had success on the girls side. We had 15 underclassmen on the girls team and no female coach and she really helped us motivate the girls. She was a good, positive role model for them."
* Tamiko Mack, North County, Sr. -- Mack was the only athlete to win three individual events at the county meet. There, she broke the record set last season by Chesapeake's Tanieka Middleton when she finished the 300 -- in 42.5 and also won the 500 and 800. She won the 300 and 500 at regions before settling for fourth in the 300 and 500 at the Class 4A state meet. "She really improved her short speed, which was a big surprise to me," said Harte.
* Christy Nichols, Arundel, Jr. -- Nichols, who was hampered by a sore knee most of the season, finished the year strong as she placed second behind Jost in the 3,200 at the 4A state meet. At the county championships, she was runner-up to Kristen Nicolini in both the 1,600 and 3,200. Last season Nichols emerged as a two-time state champion indoors in the 1,600 and 3,200 and was named Female Performer of the Year.
* Kristen Nicolini, Annapolis, Sr. -- After finishing fifth in the 3,200 at Milrose, Nicolini set her sights on nationals this season and did not participate in the 1,600 or 3,200 at the region or state meets. She did, however, run the 800 and did it exceptionally well, setting a state meet record of 2:14.5. That same day, Nicolini ran the anchor leg of Panthers' state champion 3,200 relay team that fell one-tenth of a second shy of the record it established at last year's state meet.
* Cathy Porter, Old Mill, Jr. -- Battling back problems all season, Porter, the defending state champ in the shot put, won the regions and was runner-up at the county and state meets. At the county meet, she was second to teammate Renita Collins and her personal best throw of 36-2 1/2 at states fell just an inch and a half short of the champion from High Point. "She had an up-and-down season, but she peaked at the right time," said Marcus. "It was a struggle for her the whole way. It didn't come easy."
* Alison Ross, Annapolis, Soph. -- This talented underclassman teamed up with Nicolini, Lisa Jewell and Becky Morris to win the state 3,200 relay in 9:50.6. The winning time narrowly missed the record that Nicolini and Ross helped set last year with Susan deWolff and Lila Dodge passing them the baton. In addition to the state title, the Panthers' 3,200 relay team won the region and county titles. She also helped her team set two meet records at the Anne Arundel County Relay Championships.
* Kristin Wimbrow, Old Mill, Sr. -- Wimbrow, last year's outdoor state champion in the high jump, emerged as county, region and state champion indoors. Her best jump of the season came at the county meet where she cleared the bar at 5-5 to hold off teammate and runner-up Sarah Kirby. Wimbrow also took second in an invitational at Virginia Tech. "Kristin has been the jumper to beat since her sophomore year and she finally came up large in her last three indoor meets," said Marcus. "She matured a lot and faced a lot of competition this year, especially from Michelle June [Meade] and she handled the pressure well."
COACH OF THE YEAR
Ed Harte, North County -- Harte was all excited by his team's turnout this season and he was even more excited when his boys team tallied 42 points to tie rival Old Mill for third at the Class 4A state meet. "We knew our quality would hold up, it always does," said Harte, a permanent substitute teacher at the Linthicum school. For the first time in North County's five-year history, the Knights needed two buses to transport their indoor track team to and from the Fifth Regiment Armory. Harte's 70-plus member squad was not only big, but talented, and the program should continue to improve with its new facilities. "This is the first time we really had the team concept of scoring," said Harte, whose boys and girls both finished second at the region meet. "In the past, all I was concerned about was individuals, but now we have the numbers to compete for the team titles. The numbers really help."
PICKING THE TEAM
The Baltimore Sun All-Anne Arundel County Indoor Track and Field team was selected by Steven Kivinski after consultation with staff writers and area coaches.