Madison Depry has been one of the state's best sprinters and high jumpers for two years. Will this be the year she captures her first state title? (Photo by Brandon Miles)
We continue our indoor preview by highlighting some of the top returning girls individuals in the 4A classification
*Note: outdoor performances are only taken into consideration if the athlete also participated during indoor track.
Sprints
K.C. Ashiogwu (Senior, Gaithersburg) - 1:18.23 500, 58.12 400, 4'8 HJ
In her first season of indoor track Ashiogwu took to the 500 meters, running under 1:19 multiple times. Her personal best came at the 4A West regional where she finished second and qualified for the state meet. Ashiogwu is also one of the top returning horizontal jumpers in the state, which unfortunately won't matter on the state level during the winter.
Ella Auderset (Junior, Urbana) - 41.42 300, 1:15.39 500, 12.71 100, 25.90 200, 56.35 400, 2:11.80 800, 5:12.33 1600
Auderset can do it all on the track and was perhaps the biggest factor on the Hawks' state title squad last season. She won the indoor 500 meter title and finished third in the 300 meter dash, and won the outdoor 800 meter championship. Auderset leads all 4A returning runners in the 500 and 800 meters and ranks in the top six in the 300, 400 and 1600 meters.
Caia Gelli (Junior, Richard Montgomery) - 7.33 55, 40.72 300, 24.81 200, 55.96 400
Although Gelli finished fifth in the state at the 2018 outdoor state meet in the 200 meter dash as a freshman, last indoor season was Gelli's true breakout. Gelli swept counties, regionals and states in the 300 meter dash, and also finished third in the 55 meter dash. She was the only 4A runner last winter to run sub-41 in the 300, and she also leads all 4A returners in the 400 meter dash.
Piper Jons (Senior, Urbana) - 7.59 55, 42.59 300, 12.24 100, 25.28 200, 58.54 400
Jons specialized in the 300 meter dash last winter, when she finished fourth in the event at counties and regionals and was one spot away from scoring at the state meet. She scored major points for the state-champion Hawks during the spring, including regional titles in the 100 and 200 meter dashes and a fourth-place finish in the 200 meter dash at states.
Dianna Koger (Junior, Bowie) - 7.60 55, 42.24 300, 12.36 100, 24.71 200, 59.59 400
Koger didn't qualify for the indoor state meet last season, although she does have the fifth-fastest returning time in the 300 meter dash among 4A girls. However, her sophomore track season was a breakout as she finished second at counties, regionals and states in the 200 meter dash. Her 24.71 returning time in the event is second among 4A returners behind only Madison Depry.
Kyra Lyles (Senior, Quince Orchard) - 41.43 300, 1:18.84 500, 12.95 100, 25.11 200, 56.48 400
Lyles transitioned from primarily running the 300 to the 500 as a junior last winter. She ran under 1:20 three times in the event, including a personal best at the state meet where she finished sixth. Lyles really found her stride last spring in the 400; even though she didn't win the event at any major meet before states, she won the final race of the year for her first state title.
Jordan Mozie (Junior, Henry A. Wise) - 1:16.49 500, 56.46 400, 2:12.89 800, 5:19.76 1600, 12:09.22 3200
Mozie shone last year in the mid-distance events for the Pumas and even expanded her range of events during the spring. She finished in the top four at the state level in four different events last year (400, 500 and indoor and outdoor 800 meters), and perhaps her biggest accomplishment was sweeping everything from the 400 to the 3200 at the PG County championships.
Lydia Robling (Senior, Urbana) - 1:17.82 500, 2:22.72 800, 5:47.21 1600
Last indoor season Robling specialized in the 500 meter dash; Urbana went 1-5 in the event at the 4A state championships as Robling ran a 1:17.82 personal best. She has the fifth-fastest returning time in the event among 4A girls.
Javon Watts (Senior, C.H. Flowers) - 42.50 300, 1:17.48 500, 26.80 200, 57.40 400, 2:18.84 800, 5:29.20 1600, 11:57.35 3200
Watts can rival Auderset in terms of event range, stretching all the way from the eighth-fastest 4A returning time in the 300 meter dash to the 22nd-best 4A returning time in the 3200 meter run. Watts finished in the top six in four different events at the 2019 indoor and outdoor state meets and will be looking to break into the top three in an event at states for the first time this winter.
JahMei Wyatt (Junior, Clarksburg) - 43.80 300, 1:19.41 500, 2:21.74 800, 6:09.84 1600
Wyatt qualified for the state championships for the first time last winter and she did not disappoint. After finishing eighth in the 500 meter dash, she came back not long thereafter and placed third (and ran a personal best) in the 800 meter run. Her personal best in the event ranks sixth among 4A returners.
Distance
Amanda Eliker (Senior, Howard) - 2:19.46 800, 5:02.86 1600, 11:05.98 3200
Eliker finished fifth at the XC state meet as a junior and seventh in the 1600 at last year's indoor state meet, but it was during the spring that Eliker truly became one of the state's top distance runners. She finished second at the outdoor state meet in both the 1600 and 3200, and this past fall she won both Howard County and 4A East regional titles before placing fourth at states.
Mollie Fenn (Sophomore, Broadneck) - 2:23.93 800, 5:11.13 1600, 10:59.35 3200
Aside from Juliette Whittaker, Fenn was the state's top freshman distance runner last year. She placed second at the indoor state meet in the 3200, then became the only girl in the state last season to break 11 minutes in the event at the outdoor state meet. Fenn will be looking to get back on track this track season after missing a big chunk of this past cross country season.
Ella Gaul (Junior, Walter Johnson) - 2:19.50 800, 5:06.06 1600, 11:23.42 3200
Gaul and her teammate Jenna Goldberg formed one of the state's better distance tandems last track season. Gaul finished third in the state in the 1600 at both the indoor and outdoor state championships, while also qualifying for the 3200 indoors and 800 outdoors. Gaul is also coming off her best cross country season, when she ran 18:45 and finished ninth at the state meet.
Jenna Goldberg (Senior, Walter Johnson) - 2:37.44 800, 5:21.29 1600, 11:08.06 3200
Even entering this cross country season during which she set numerous records and qualified for Foot Locker Nationals, Goldberg wasn't the can't-miss, clear-cut top distance runner in the state. She did finish third at both the indoor and outdoor state meets in the 3200, and she owns the fifth-fastest returning time in the event in the entire state, but her cross country performance suggests she could blow her personal bests out of the water on the track this year.
Anna Janke (Senior, Broadneck) - 2:21.55 800, 5:08.47 1600, 11:24.16 3200
Janke is one of just two returning runners who ran sub-5:10 in the 1600 last indoor season, when she finished fourth at states in the event. She also finished fourth in both the 1600 and 3200 at the state meet in May, giving her eight different top-seven state meet finishes since the fall of 2017.
Parker O'Brien (Sophomore, Leonardtown) - 2:28.80 800, 5:22.24 1600, 11:38.94 3200
As a freshman last winter O'Brien had the fifth- and seventh-fastest freshman times in the 3200 and 1600 meters, respectively. Her indoor season concluded with an 11th-place effort at the 4A state meet. O'Brien is also coming off her best cross country season to date, when she finished second at the SMAC Championships and 12th at the state meet.
Nelle Ray (Junior, Leonardtown) - 2:23.35 800, 5:20.76 1600, 11:17.96 3200
In her first season of indoor track last year Ray won her first regional track title in the 3200. Ray is one of just three girls, along with Juliette Whittaker and Hannah Mack, who return having run under 11:20 in the event last winter.
Niya Torres (Senior, Arundel) - 2:35.28 800, 5:41.76 1600
Torres was the breakout star of the fall, dropping over two and a half minutes in the 5K and improving her state meet finish from 67th to 3rd. Torres finished 14th at last year's 4A East outdoor regional in the 1600 meter run, her highest finish at a regional track meet, but her 18:50 5K personal best and Anne Arundel County title from this past fall suggest she could be well on her way to competing at states on the track.
Sophia Zell (Senior, Severna Park) - 2:18.57 800, 5:14.47 1600, 11:23.81 3200
Zell cut major time off her previous personal bests in all three distance events last spring. Along with helping the Falcons win the 4x800 state title she finished fifth at states in the 3200 and third in the 800. Her outdoor personal bests in the 800 and 3200 rank third and fourth, respectively, among 4A returners heading into this year.
Hurdles/Field
Sarah Adams (Senior, Severna Park) - 11'0 PV, 9.37 55H, 16.30 100H
After two different second-place finishes in the pole vault before last spring, Adams finally broke through and won her first state title in the event last spring. Her 11'0 personal best in the event is two feet better than any other returning 4A competitor.
Alice Adarkwa (Senior, Northwest) - 5'3 HJ
Adarkwa finished second at both the indoor and outdoor 4A West regional meets in the high jump last year as a junior. She is one of five returning 4A girls who have cleared 5'3 in the high jump entering 2020.
Madison Depry (Senior, Wheaton) - 5'8 HJ, 7.29 55, 12.13 100, 24.54 200
Depry is still looking for her first individual state title, but she has been a mainstay in the state's top tier of sprinters and high jumpers for the past two years. Last spring she finished second at the 4A state meet in the 100 meter dash and third in both the 200 meter dash and high jump. She was also the indoor runner-up in the 55 meter dash. She is the only returning girl in the state of Maryland who has cleared even 5'6 in the high jump.
Kaya Rae Dunbar (Senior, Paint Branch) - 8.09 55H, 14.21 100H, 5'0 HJ
Dunbar won her first two state titles last year in the 55 and 100 meter hurdles at the indoor and outdoor state meets, respectively. She leads all non-Bullis Maryland returners in the 55 hurdles and all 4A returners in the 100 hurdles.
Tatianna Elliott (Junior, Henry A. Wise) - 38'4 SP, 8.91 55H, 15.64 100H
Elliott can put up points for Wise in just about every hurdle and field event. Last indoor season she finished third at the 4A state championships in the shot put and seventh in the 55 meter hurdles. She scored at the outdoor state meet in the shot put and discus while also placing 11th in the triple jump. Her 38'4 outdoor personal best in the shot put is third best by any Maryland returner and best among 4A girls.
Kamille Graham (Senior, Henry A. Wise) - 5'3 HJ, 34'10 SP
Graham turned in her top two finishes at the state meet in the high jump both in the indoor (ninth) and outdoor (sixth) state meets. She is one of 11 returning girls in the state to have cleared 5'3 in the high jump, and she also finished ninth at the outdoor state meet in the shot put.
Nhyona Hall (Junior, DuVal) - 8.79 55H, 15.09 100H
As a sophomore Hall qualified for both the indoor and outdoor state meets in the hurdles, and scored in both. Among 4A returners her 8.79 personal best in the 55 meter hurdles ranks second and her 15.09 personal best in the 100 meter hurdles ranks third.
Arie McIlwain (Junior, C.H. Flowers) - 8.84 55H, 15.07 100H
McIlwain emerged as a sophomore scorer for the Jaguars in 2019; after placing sixth at the 4A East indoor regional meet and qualifying for states, she was even better in the spring, scoring in both the 100 (fourth) and 300 (seventh) hurdles. McIlwain's positions among 4A returners are the inverse of Nhyona Hall's - second in the 100 meter hurdles and third in the 55 meter hurdles.
Oni Scott (Senior, Urbana) - 5'4 HJ, 34'1 SP
Scott registered her highest finish at states in the high jump last spring when she was the 4A runner-up. Madison Depry and Ariane Bikim are the only other 4A returners who cleared 5'4 in the high jump last outdoor season. Scott also qualified for states in the shot put in each of the last two track seasons, scoring a point for the Hawks last winter in the event.
Paris Stanton (Junior, Meade) - 36'5.50 SP
Stanton finished fourth at both the indoor and outdoor 4A state championships as a sophomore in 2019. She could be set for an even bigger jump up the rankings as a junior as she has the second-best returning indoor shot put mark in 4A.