BY SCOTT MARTIN

Sports Editor

Four of the best indoor track and field athletes in Maine history have graduated, but one thing remains constant in the sport.

The Waterville Senior High School boys and girls are still loaded with talent.

While Hall-Dale's Laura Peterson, Cony's Bethany Dumas, Messalonskee's Jesse Labreck and Greely's Becky O'Brien are all preparing to compete at the collegiate level, the Purple Panthers boys and girls teams appear poised to continue their dominance of the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference's Class B division.

"We lost some very talented individuals, but we return a lot of kids that were pretty good and we have some young kids who I think can be good," Waterville coach Ian Wilson said of his girls team. "We have some questions to answer."

The Waterville girls must replace one of the top throwers in the state in Bethany Karter-O'Brien. Danielle Fossa has been in Karter-O'Brien's (not to mention Becky O'Brien's) shadow of late and is ready to step into the spotlight. Fossa finished third in the shot put at the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B meet last winter and fourth at the Class B state meet, losing out to four seniors.

"When you are in the same school and throwing at the same time as Bethany K.O., you tend to get overlooked," Wilson said.

Wilson expects Brittany Locke to contend in the throwing events.

The Panthers also feature talented multievent athlete Shelby Tuttle and Anna Thurston, a newcomer to indoor track but a talented sprinter in the spring.

Wilson thinks Lynn Flemming is poised to have a strong season.

The Waterville boys, meanwhile, return one of the top athletes in the state. Dominik Alexis won the Class B state title in the 55-meter hurdles, as well as the KVAC B title in the 55 hurdles, triple jump and high jump. Getting Alexis to preserve his energy for the championships meets will be a challenge for Wilson.

"We have to limit his jumping because he jumps with so much intensity. He tries to set a world record on every jump," Wilson said. "The kid is the best sprint hurdler in the state. As a high jumpers, long jumper and triple jumpers he is as good as anyone. And he can run the 200."

Wilson has high hopes for sophomore Isiah Spofford, who he calls the fastest sophomore he's ever had.

Across the river at Winslow, numbers are nearly double what they were last year. The Black Raiders have had a strong middle school program of late and coach Robert Morison expects to reap the benefits.

"Maybe it is just that we have a good freshman class at Winslow," Morison said, trying to explain the surge in numbers to nearly 50 athletes on the boys and girls teams. "Winslow had a very good junior high team last year and we are just getting them out for the first time."

The Winslow boys are already in a better position this winter because they will be able to field a junior team, key at the conference and state championship meets.

The Winslow girls finished fourth at the KVAC B championship last winter and return some talented athletes from that squad. Julie Riordan finished fourth in the 55, Emily Farrell third in the 800, Adrianna Welch third in the triple jump and Kathryn Fedus third in the pole vault. Those four also ran on the second place 4x200-meter relay team.

"We have a large influx of freshmen and sophomores and some underclasswomen who make us look forward to some great results and competitive meets," Morison said.

Erskine Academy has also seen an increase in numbers and returns a top distance runner in Sam Seekins. This fall, Seekins enjoyed a terrific cross country season, winning the KVAC B and Eastern B championships.

Cony High School has a talented distance runner of its own in Luke Fontaine. A junior, Fontaine excelled racing against a talented senior class last year. He finished third in the two-mile and fourth in the mile at the KVAC A championships, while finishing third in the mile at the Class A championship.

The Lawrence girls, led by seniors Molly Cooper and Abbey McQuilkin, should move up at the conference championship meet. The boys have a solid group of middle and long distance runners, led by Michael Brooks, Sebastian Peters, Chris Low and Devin Forsman.

Skowhegan's indoor track team continues to grow. The Indians have only four seniors on their roster, but have six freshman on the boys team.

Scott Martin -- 621-5618

smartin@centralmaine.com