Neither the Waterville Senior High School girls or boys indoor track teams have the depth they had last season.

Still, the Purple Panthers will be the favorites to capture team titles at the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference meet today at Bowdoin College's Farley Fieldhouse.

Both Waterville teams should contend in Class B, along with Erskine and Winslow. In Class A, the Brunswick boys are favored, along with the Brunswick and Mt. Ararat girls.

"If our kids go in and perform the way they're capable of, we stand a real good chance," Waterville coach Ian Wilson said. "We'll probably need some kids to take the 10 point first places. We'll rely on fewer kids to have better days."

Waterville's strength this season is in the field events. Bethany Karter-O'Brien and Danielle Fossa are among the favorites in the girls shot put, along with Erskine's Anna Niedbala. In Class A, Deborah Juarez of Cony and Abbey McQuikin of Lawrence are contenders.

"(Waterville) has the best throwers in the state, no question," Winslow coach Shawn Carey said.

Carey has one of the top boys shot throwers in Don Clark, the defending outdoor state champion. Matt Linnell of Lawrence and John Carll of Cony are also among the top throwers in the conference.

Messalonskee's Jesse Labreck is the favorite in a handful of events, including the 55-meter hurdles, high jump and triple jump. Labreck, who signed her letter of intent to attend the University of Maine earlier this week, holds the state indoor record in the 55 hurdles (8.35 seconds) and triple jump (36 feet, 11 1/4 inches).

Cony's Bethany Dumas should have little competition in the pole vault. Dumas' seed vault of 11-3 is more than two feet higher than her nearest opponent, Brunswick's Emily Hartzell. Waterville's Jess Lefebvre and Winslow's Kathryn Fedus will contend in the Class B vault. On the boys side, Brad Loomis of Waterville and Corey Jones of Winslow are among the favorites.

Ci'ara Williams of Waterville is the top seed in the Class B girls long jump. Her teammate Josh Sirois is the top seed on the boys side, while Sirois and Isaiah Spofford could pick up points for the Panthers in the triple jump. With a jump of 6-4, Waterville's Dominic Alexis is the only boy in the high jump with a seed over 6-feet.

Amanda Asaro of Maine Central Institute is the favorite in the girls two-mile run, while Luke Fontaine of Cony and David Currier of Messalonskee have a chance in the boys race. Jake Rollins, Sam Seekins and Sean Hutchinson should pick up points for Erskine in the 800. In the 400, Erskine's Steven Morissette and Zach Jordan of Waterville are among the favorites in Class B.

Seekins, Fontaine and Currier also will run the mile, along with Waterville's Mike Nelson and Sam Wood, and Eric Marceau and Jason Jones of Mt. Blue. In the girls' mile, Asaro, Waterville's Kate Croswell, Cony's Morgan Beede and Taylor Burr of Maranacook each have a seed time under six minutes.

Top sprinters from the region include Cory Bezanson of Winslow, Kyle Sanborn and Nick Sterling of Lawrence, and Messalonskee's Eric Anderson. Top girls sprinters include Cony's Victoria Fowler, Molly Cooper of Lawrence and Ashley Perry of Waterville.

Travis Lazarczyk -- 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com