Nothing much has changed in Carroll County track and field circles since last spring.
The Francis Scott Key girls are still the most celebrated team in the county, and the Westminster boys still can blow away the opposition with sheer numbers.
The mere mention of the Ryer twins (Carrie and Laurie), Stacey Greene, Ali Jones and Jen Moorman returning to the Key girls squad is enough to conjure up memories of the 1A Eagles blitzing the 4A Owls, 123-88, in the county championships last season.
Those five athletes are ready to pick up where they left off, and Lisa Turner and Christine Harner are back to join Moorman and Jones on the 1A state champion 3,200 relay team.
They all were part of a Key drive to a second-place finish in the state 1A championships last season, and now they are poised for a run at No. 1 in the state.
There is so much talent on the Key girls team that most observers say the Eagles can overcome the departure of coach Tom Hill, who is now assistant principal at Sykesville Middle School.
Hill was the Girls Coach of the Year in Carroll County last season. He has been replaced by Angie Green, who was an outstanding sprinter at Key in her junior and senior years.
The Westminster girls had a huge turnout of 70, but the Owls do not appear to have the talent to climb back to the top spot in the county.
Like Key, the Owls girls will have a new coach.
Shirl Dorsey replaces Dale Fogelsanger as head coach. Dorsey holds the Westminster High and county girls record in the shot (44 feet, 3 inches) and she held the state record in the discus (147-9) from 1986 to 1993.
South Carroll, Liberty and North Carroll will continue to chase Key and Westminster.
In the boys county championship competition, Westminster is favored to make it 17 straight county titles even though the Owls have lost All-County performers Matt Knights, Kenny Roe and Steve Kahler.
Westminster has junior standout distance runner Mike Recek back, along with senior middle distance runner Nate Shank.
Recek was a first-team All-County choice last spring and he won the state 4A cross country championship race last fall. Shank finished sixth in the state 4A 800 run last spring and was a honorable-mention All-County track and field choice.
Owls' coach Jim Shank likes his team's depth but does not see the squad having enough top performers to challenge for the state 4A title. Westminster was tied for eighth with Suitland last spring.
Shank said Westminster's run of seven straight Central Maryland Conference championships is in jeopardy. He sees Linganore and Frederick as the favorites for the CMC title.
Francis Scott Key, with first-team All-County choices Steve Wright and Bobby Bollinger back, looks like a solid second-place squad in the county.
The Eagles could close a little ground on Westminster, which finished 79 points ahead of Key last year, but they still figure to be far back.
South Carroll has lost Haven Barnes (Boys Performer of the Year in Carroll County last year) to graduation but still should have enough talent to take third place, leaving Liberty and North Carroll to battle for fourth.
Liberty has been hurt by senior distance runner Joe Ledda's decision not to run.
"Joe was almost a guaranteed first-place finisher in the two-mile run," said Lions coach Dan Jones.
Here's a closer look at each team:
Francis Scott Key
Boys -- Wright, a senior, is the defending state 1A high jump champion with a leap of 6-6, and Bollinger, a sophomore, won the county shot put championship last year and finished fourth in the 1A regionals with a throw of 47-3.
The Eagles took fourth in the state 1A championships last year. Gone from that squad are first-team All-County selections Josh Crone and Jason McCarley.
Crone was a two-time state 1A pole vault champion and McCarley was the state 1A runner-up in the 300 hurdles last year.
Top members back are seniors Damon Battaglia (distance), David Lookingbill (distance) and John Shorb (middle distance) and sophomore Casey Norris (middle distance).
The most intriguing newcomer is senior football and basketball standout Chris Richardson, who will be a sprinter and jumper.
Juniors Cortney Howard and Cortney Woodyard will compete in the hurdles and middle-distance events, and junior Tony Cahoon is set for the pole vault.
Five freshmen are expected to help the Key cause. They are Brett Ebersole (distance), David Higgs (distance), Sean Deal (distance), Aaron Howard (middle distance) and Chet Brownley (distance).
Girls -- The only important member missing from last year's state 1A second-place team is distance runner Shannon Hugg.
The Carroll County Girls Performers of the Year, the Ryer twins, are back. Carrie and Laurie each won four gold medals in the county meet last season and combined to win three silver medals in the state meet.
Carrie took a silver in the triple jump, Laurie a silver in long jump, and they both ran on the second-place 400 relay team.
Greene, Jones, Moorman, Turner and Harner were All-County performers last season. Greene won three golds and a silver in the county meet last year, took fourth in the state 100 hurdles and ran the third leg on Key's 400 relay team that finished second in the state.
Jones took two golds in the county and one gold in the state and finished third in the state 400 run. Moorman will run the 800 and 1,600 in addition to running the second leg on the 3,200 relay team.
Other top members of the Key girls team are senior Autumn Hinkle (hurdler), junior Jaime Baile (thrower), sophomores Shane Myers (thrower), Natasha Brooks (sprinter) and Paige Bradley (sprinter), and freshman Heather Abel (thrower).
Liberty
Boys -- The decision by Ledda to concentrate on his job as a physical therapist in Eldersburg instead of running track was a surprise, taking more points away from a team that had lost All-County first-team choice Ted Sanders (110 hurdles) to graduation.
But the Lions will be fairly strong in the distance runs and relays, with seniors Justin Combs and Vince Novak and junior Ken Fischer leading the way.
Also scoring points for the Lions will be junior Jim Redding (discus/shot put) and seniors Aric Dietrich (200/400), Brian Field (sprinter), Chris Morrison (200/400/800), Brandon Vickery (shot/discus), Ben Walsh (hurdler/sprinter/pole vaulter) and Brian Crell (sprinter).
Other members of the Liberty team are juniors Scott Taylor (sprinter/jumper) and Eric Musgrave (sprinter) and sophomore Josh Dennis (sprinter).
Girls -- One thing is virtually certain for Liberty -- junior Vicki Osinga will score points consistently in the high jump.
Osinga, a first-team All-County choice as a sophomore, won the state 2A high jump championship last season with a leap of 5-0. She twice has jumped 5-2 and holds the school record. Osinga also will compete in the triple and long jump and hopes to qualify for the states in those events.
Seniors Carie Bean (distance), Megan Dunham (sprinter) and Kim Eng (jumper/distance) are expected to join Osinga as the top point-getters.
Juniors Shawna Brophy (jumper) and Jess Foreman (shot/discus) will be key members of the team along with sophomores Regan Hughes (distance) and Jill Ondercin (distance) and freshmen Kelly Knutson (sprinter/hurdler), April Michaels (sprinter/hurdler) and Erica Gordon (sprinter/distance).
Coach Dan Jones likes the numbers he has but the Lions still are a fairly inexperienced team and not ready to challenge Key for first or Westminster for second.
North Carroll
Boys -- Seniors Jeff Williams and Bryan Gunning are back for their fourth year on the varsity and hope to help the Panthers gain respect.
Williams qualified for the states in the triple jump last year and also will compete in the long jump this season. Gunning qualified for the regionals in the 3,200 run last year.
"I look for Westminster and F.S. Key to be up at the top. We can hold our own with Liberty," said coach Bill Rumbaugh. "And on a good day we could be up there with South Carroll. We'll be improved over last year."
Junior Eric Giffi (200/400) and senior Eddie Ward (hurdler) are other top performers.
Seniors Jeremy Britton (thrower), Bill Gill (thrower), Jason Sims (thrower/pole vault), Mike Dalton (distance) and Jon Niles (distance) are back and provide some depth.
The top newcomers are sophomore Rob King (hurdlers) and Jeremy Cuno (distance).
Girls -- Senior Patsy Shaffer, an All-Carroll County first-team selection last year, is the leader of this young team. She won the county shot put championship last season and took second in the 2A regionals.
Shaffer also will compete in the discus and is hoping to place in the states.
North Carroll will be hurt by the loss of versatile junior Julie Baker, an honorable-mention All-County choice last season. Baker has transferred to McDonogh.
Senior Carrie Cook (distance) is expected to consistently score points, and sophomore Melissa Forster (hurdler) is one of the top performers. Forster was also a member of the 800 relay team that qualified for the 2A states last season.
Junior Kristin Finch and sophomore Carrie Frederick are back to run on the 800 relay squad with Forster. Competing for the fourth spot are sophomore Cindy Loynaz and freshman Shelly Warfel.
The Panthers received a boost when sophomore twins Jackie and Jamie Nave (throwers) opted to come out for track for the first time. The Naves are good athletes, having played basketball and volleyball.
Junior Angie Vasquez (400) and freshman Kristina Thompson (400) should help.
South Carroll
Boys -- Senior Tom Lapato will be expected to score some of the points the team will be missing with the loss of Barnes.
Lapato can run the sprints and middle distance and is in his fourth year. Coach Rob Pennington believes Lapato can have a super senior season if he works hard.
Senior sprinter Brad Mattson is another talented member of the Cavaliers, having phenomenal ability according to Pennington.
"Brad needs to be focused," said Pennington. "If we keep our heads screwed on straight, we'll have a good year. Our whole team doesn't know what it is capable of doing."
Seniors Tim Olesniewicz (jumper/shot), Nick Rider (hurdler/jumper), Greg Vlahos (hurdler, pole vault) and Greg Kessler (shot/discus/400/mile relay) are important cogs.
Other key members are junior Bob Coffman (distance) and sophomores Pat Chittchang, Sean Rayford, Eric Parks, Jason Roden and David Bly.
Girls -- Seniors Sarah McGinley (middle distance), Jaime Moyer (hurdler/jumper) and Stacy Heffernan (hurdler/mile relay) should be the leaders of the Cavaliers.
Juniors Stephanie Linton (distance/two-mile relay), Erin White (100/200 relays), Erin O'Neill (long jump/sprint) and Katie Watkins (shot/discus) have hopes of scoring points.
But some of the younger members of the team might break through in a big way.
Sophomore distance runner Carrie Braun and versatile freshman Amy Martinez are two of them. Pennington said Martinez is probably the best athlete on the team.
Martinez can run the 100, 200 and 400 and is the top high jumper and long jumper.
The other promising underclassmen are sophomores Becky Alvarez (400/three relay teams) and Elisha Perez (shot/discus) and freshmen Alicia Marcum (hurdler/relays), Jill Krebs (800) and Ashlee McDonald (hurdles, 1,600).
Westminster
Boys -- Recek, Nate Shank, junior Chris Boundry (1,600/3,200 relay) and sopho- more Corey LaPrade (sprinter/long jump) are almost givens to win firsts in the Carroll County championship meet.
They will get a lot of help from senior W.C. Knight (3,200) and juniors Josh Smith (sprints), Will Woolford (400), Shane Martin (distance), David Reazin (hurdles), Brett Freyman (high jump), Joe Rodek (long and triple jump) and Chris Wainwright (shot).
Other important performers for the Owls are seniors Sean Garber (distance), Tim Long (high jump), Doug Reese (pole vault), Jason DuVall (pole vault), Mat Farley (hurdles), Ryan McKinney (long and triple jump), Mat Mathias (shot), Jim Reese (shot), Matt Study (discus), Jason Safley (relays), Brad Wagner (discus) and Fred Bitzel (discus).
Also capable of scoring points will be sophomores Dante Partelow (sprints/middle distance/long jump), Dan Carter (distance), Mike Merker (hurdles) and Jay Webb (long jumper).
Girls -- The Owls aren't used to being second best to anybody in Carroll County, but they find themselves chasing Francis Scott Key for a second straight season.
Sophomore Jill Ibex (high jump/hurdles) returns as one of the top point scorers, having finished sixth in the state 4A meet with a leap of 5-0 in the high jump.
Seniors Cassandra Conklin (800), Emily Jones (distance), Becky Riegert (distance), April Owings (sprints) and Elise LaPrade (sprints) and freshman Becky Towns should provide a lot of points.
Other top threats are sophomores Kim Spencer (sprinter) and Laurie Henze (middle distance), junior Sherri Esposito (middle distance), and freshmen Thea Bailey (sprints, relays) and Jessica Detrow (distance).
Also hoping to score points are sophomores Selena Brewer (400), Camille Read (400), Shannon Wynne (400), Amanda Huver (distance), Jessie Stickles (hurdles), Dawn Drumgole (thrower) and Bridget Baker (jumper).
Other members of the team are senior Toni Mucciarone (thrower), juniors Jessie Clay (jumper), Carla Phillips (jumper), Lisa Kent (thrower), Anna Smith (jumper) and Gail Hildebrand (thrower), and freshmen Lauren Daniel (thrower), Stephanie Roth distance) and Cindy Reese (jumper).
TRACK AND FIELD DAY-BY-DAY SCHEDULE
Tuesday
Liberty, North Carroll, Frederick at Thomas Johnson, 4
Wednesday
Middletown at Francis Scott Key, 4
Old Mill at Westminster, 3:30
Tuesday, April 4
Linganore, South Carroll at North Carroll, 4
Wednesday, April 5
Francis Scott Key at Brunswick, 4
Thursday, April 6
Liberty at Mount Hebron, 4
Friday, April 7
North Carroll, South Carroll at Westminster Invitational, 4
Tuesday, April 11
Liberty, Francis Scott Key at North Hagerstown, 4
Wednesday, April 12
Westminster, Thomas Johnson at South Carroll, 4
Saturday, April 15
South Carroll at Glenn Smith Invitational, TBA
Tuesday, April 18
Thomas Johnson, Westminster at North Carroll, 4
Wednesday, April 19
Walkersville, Smithsburg at Francis Scott Key, 4
South Carroll at Liberty, 4
Tuesday, April 25
Liberty, North Carroll at Linganore, 4
Saturday, April 29
Francis Scott Key at MVAL Championships, 11
South Carroll at Blue Ridge Invitational, 11
Westminster at Frederick, 11
Thursday, May 4
Central Maryland Conference Championship Meet at Liberty, 3
Saturday, May 6
Francis Scott Key at Zimmerman Invitational, 1
Wednesday, May 10
Carroll County Championship Meet at Western Maryland, TBA