SOUTH PARIS – Trends in track and field usually include a school developing a kind of specialty.

Mt. Blue, for example, has a long tradition of strong distance runners and racewalkers. Cony has been known for a long time to have a strong sprinting team, while Oxford Hills usually excels in the throws.

This season, however, the Oxford Hills boys aren’t heavy in one event, and they don’t have any athletes that could be called locks for a state title in any one discipline. That, according to coach Craig Jipson, is actually a good thing.

“There’s a lot to be said for getting many different people involved in different events,” said Jipson. “The other thing that we can be excited about besides the number of athletes we have is how young the team is.”

Last season, the Vikings qualified several freshmen and sophomores for the state meet. This season, thanks to the elimination of the regionals, there will be even more of an opportunity for younger athletes to qualify in various events.

“This isn’t just good for this year, but for the future of the program as well,” said Jipson.

Another benefit to the team concept and the apparent lack of superstars is that each athlete will have to realize his own potential.

“Last year, for example, we had Tyler Wilton who won several throwing events,” said Jipson. “If he had a sore arm or a bad day, everyone else had more pressure on them. This year, they all know that their points are going to count every time, that they will have a chance

to help the team out and that they will be able to count on every other member of the team just as much as the next person.”

The one drawback to the lack of a standout athlete might be that so many different athletes have to participate in different events. That has the potential to create a group of athletes that know how to do everything, but not well enough to score in any event.

“We’ve been hit like that in the past,” said Jipson. “But we’ve also had the situation where we had several winners but no depth. This year we have more kids in different events. The other side to that, too, is that some of the younger athletes may not know what they are best at yet, and this gives them the opportunity to find out.”

“We have a lot of people in different areas this year,” added sprinter Dan Magoon. “But this team, almost with the same people we have now, won a junior high championship together. We don’t have specialists in any one event, really, but with the variety we should do well.”

jpelletier@sunjournal.com