The biggest question facing teams at the fifth annual Community Cup is the same one they faced at the fourth annual meet. And the third. And the second.

Who can dethrone Waterville?

The meet gets under way at 3 p.m. Friday at Lawrence High School.

"Waterville is by far the team to beat," Lawrence coach Tim Alberts said. "But this will really give the kids who don't have a championship meet one of their own. Waterville may out-point everybody, but there will be a smattering of kids who will do something. There will be some times and distances that will put them in good light."

The meet features Winslow, Waterville, Messalonskee, Lawrence and Skowhegan.

"We haven't seen Skowhegan and Winslow yet, so that gives us some newness of who we'll be looking at," Alberts said.

Waterville coach Ian Wilson will get his first look at Winslow this spring as well.

"At this time of the year there are only two meets we concentrate on: The KVACs and states," he said. "We're just trying to make an advancement, just to get a little bit better. But you do like to keep track of what teams have."

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Messalonskee senior Erik Anderson is coming off an impressive meet Friday at Erskine. Anderson ran the 100 with a time of 11.22, breaking his own school record of 11.24. He also won the 200 in 22.96.

"He likes to run against good competition," Messalonskee coach Scott Wilson said. "Some kids shy away from it, but not him."

Anderson and the Eagles will compete Friday in the 5th annual Community Cup at Lawrence High School. Anderson is a member of the All-State Chorus team and will be at a rehearsal Friday in Gorham.

"We're working on getting him there to the meet," Wilson said.

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Meghan Hughes added to her school records at Maine Central Institute recently.

The sophomore recently threw the shot put 29 feet, 3 inches in a meet Friday at Erskine to break the MCI school record of 28-8. Hughes is already the school record-holder in the discus.

"She's been strong for us," MCI coach Jason Allen said. "She's been consistent, too."

She's competing in an interesting assortment of events. Aside from the shot put and javelin, Hughes competes in the 100-meter hurdles and 300-meter hurdles.

"It's definitely an interesting combination," Allen said. "You don't see too many hurdlers do the shot put and disc.

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Lindsey Bailey broke a Nokomis long jump record when she cleared 15-5 recently. Bailey, a senior, already owns the school record in the 200, which she set her sophomore year.

"She's getting stronger," Nokomis coach John White said. "She tried the long jump for the first time this year. She's just got faster. She did the high jump but the long jump just suits her better."

White has also received a strong season from Laura Lyford, who threw 92 feet in the javelin Thursday at Winslow to qualify for the KVAC B meet.

"She's a good, strong kid," White said. "She's really coming along."

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Waterville senior Danielle Fossa, one of the top throwers in the state, is out with a shoulder injury.

Coach Wilson said he doesn't know when Fossa, who won the Class B state shot put during the indoor season, could return.

"She pulled a muscle in the shoulder," he said. "It all depends on how fast she can heal. We're not going to rush her. I certainly won't let her compete unless I know she is 100 percent. Nobody really knows when she will be back."

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Skowhegan coach Soren Siren says several of his athletes are on the cusp of qualifying for the KVAC and state meet.

Throwers Les Mercier (shot put), Ray Berube (shot put), Jared Herrin (shot put), Cam Dionne (discus), Jacob Weese (discus) and Henry Bonneau (discus) have enjoyed strong seasons and will look for a strong showing at the Community Cup.

"It's something we're striving for," Siren said.

Garrett Nelson leads the Skowhegan boys. He won the 100 and triple jump and was second in the long jump at a five-team meet last week. "He seems to be our standout," Siren said.

On the girls side, Angie Camillo and Gabrielle Martineau have already qualified for the league meet in the javelin and high jump, respectively.

Bill Stewart -- 623-3811, ext. 515

bstewart@centralmaine.com