Boys: Defending outdoor champion Bangor and indoor conquerors Brunswick are co-favorites in a loaded Class A chase. Don’t count out Scarborough, Gorham, Thornton, Cheverus or Deering from the SMAA, either.

Lewiston hopes to rebound from a tie for seventh last spring and eighth over the winter to reclaim its winning ways. With Mohamed Noor providing a possible 30 points in distances and Hossain Naji a championship threat in the hurdle events, a top-five finish is possible for the Blue Devils despite their relative lack of numbers.

Last year’s runner-up finish probably isn’t attainable for Edward Little after massive graduation losses, but Buddy Foss (sprints) and Josh Clark (pole vault, relays) give the Red Eddies two solid returning point-scorers. Mt. Blue hopes to make a leap this year thanks to its depth in the distance events, led by Eric Marceau.

Girls: Scarborough is the reigning indoor and outdoor champion. The Red Storm’s pack of pursuers includes Brunswick, Gorham, Messalonskee and Edward Little.

The Red Eddies will be even stronger in the outdoor season, thanks to the likely racewalk points from Christie Bernier and Teresa Ranucci and Katie St. Hilaire’s strength in the javelin, than they were over the winter. Emily Dodge (hurdles, jumps), Muriel Schwinn (sprints, jumps), and the middle-to-long distance group of Danielle Paul, Alicia Large and Hanna Mogensen headline one of EL’s deepest teams in recent memory.

Lewiston has a new coach, Kevin Russell, and a new resolve to emerge from the shadow of its boys’ team. Lea Morin (sprints), Toby Crispin (distances) and Kate DeAngelis (hurdles) lead the charge. Mt. Blue looks to Lauren Backman for success in the sprints, while Oxford Hills welcomes back high jumper Amelia Moore.

Class B

Boys: The Western Maine Conference tandem of Falmouth and Greely and KVAC power Waterville are the teams to watch, but don’t be surprised if Fryeburg cracks the top five. The Raiders have two returning champions in Timothy Even (800) and Orion Winkler (pole vault), not to mention Sequoyah Reynoso, one of the top sprinters in the state.

Gray-New Gloucester cracked the top 10 last spring, and the Patriots pin their hopes of a return upon sprinter Ben Miklovich, middle distance specialists Cameron Betts and Liam Kalloch and field standouts Will Rowe and Josh Levasseur.

Poland flaunts the experience of T.J. England (jumps, hurdles), Tyrus Steinman (javelin, shot put) and Nick Williams (distances). Ben Parkin could score points for Leavitt in the sprints.

Girls: Greely and Waterville are the class of the field, with Falmouth and York not far behind. Poland should push for an improvement over last year’s eighth-place showing on the strength of versatile Brittany Bell (200, 400, long jump), jumper Chelsea Bernardo and thrower Paige Piper.

Other local individuals to watch are Allison Fereshetian of Leavitt (sprints), Alyssa Neptune (sprints) and Taylor Burr (distances) of Maranacook and Coreen Hennessy (jumps, pole vault) of Fryeburg.

Class C

Boys: NYA is the defending champion, but the Panthers will face a challenge from 2007 runner-up and MVC champion Lisbon. Seniors Aaron Cloutier (distances) and Steve Michaud (jumps) are back for the Greyhounds, who also boast their usual racewalk cornerstone in junior Tyler Campbell. Cam Bubar (middle distances), Kyle Huston (sprints, jumps) and George Clement (jumps) also contributed to last year’s success.

They have different body types and they shine in a variety of other sports, but Winthrop‘s trio of Dan Soltan (distances), Larry Foster (jumps) and Brandon Kenney (throws) have something important in common: All three scored points in last year’s state meet and are back for more.

Girls: Hall-Dale and Orono have the potential to repeat their one-two finish last year, but again, watch out for Lisbon. Dean Hall enters his 30th year at the helm with a terrific senior nucleus, led by racewalkers Sara Adams and Kelley Baickle and Amanda Stevens (relays, sprints). Kelly Bourgoin, a junior, should be a force in the 1,600 and 3,200.

Winthrop‘s Anna Smithgall (jumps, shot put) and the Telstar tandem of Brianne Bailey (distances) and Jen DeNormandie (defending state champ in the 400) could lead their teams into the top five.