No team has higher hopes than Lebanon’s girls, who took second place a year ago at the NHIAA Division II state meet. Cornell-bound Corinne Kennedy once again leads the charge in three different events, with Kim and Kath Merchant and Hartford transfer Grace Furlong potentially providing valuable secondary points. Oxbow’s girls have title hopes of their own thanks to a return of Hannah Giesing, who took the winter indoor season off. Girls teams from South Royalton, Thetford, Whitcomb and Woodstock could all place in the top five of their divisions.

Stevens head coach Matt Baird-Torney hopes to ride the wave of success Cardinal athletics has enjoyed since September, with Parker Smith once again providing a solid foundation. Abayomi Lowe and the Hartford boys will try to take another step toward cracking the top five, with Lowe emerging as one of the top sprinters in Vermont. South Royalton’s boys lost two top hurdlers but brought plenty back after a second-place finish last spring. Jon Puffer and Jake Stimson will be the featured athletes on an Oxbow boys team that placed third a year ago.

As always, individuals will also make an impact. Hanover’s Kyle Doucette has had a monster start to the spring season after a mediocre winter, and Woodstock’s Anna Dieffenbach has plenty to work with after wins in the high jump, long jump and 100 meter hurdles.

Hanover

Coach: Steve McConnell (4).

Last Year: Girls placed ninth. Hannah Wittmann won pole vault, and the girls 4x800 relay team placed fifth at the state meet. Boys took 16th overall as Sam Ives placed fifth in the 200 meter dash and Morgan Baughman took fifth in the 3,200.

League: NHIAA Division II.

Boys Returnees: Seniors — Charles Chen, Marcus Helble, Sam Ives, Henry Lang, Henry MacKall, Ben Sobel. Juniors — Morgan Baughman, Josh Burnham, Jonah Felde, Malachy Flynn, Justin Hybels, Jake Licht, James Napier, Daniel Pinigin, Sam Pych, Tahquiy Smith, David Wilson. Sophomores — Liam Collins, Christo Dragnev, Matt Fenner, Juan Bautista Gallino, Ben Hoffer, Henry Kuvin, Deveon Martin, Hagin Onyango, Jack Robey, Colm Seigne, Brian Turkington.

Girls Returnees: Seniors — Anna Dickson, Leah Tanny, Alessandro Vecchi, Hannah Wittmann. Juniors — Sophie Dunn, Elisabeth Nordstrom. Sophomores — Emily Bregou, Shira Hoffer, Sara Kleber, Quinn Renshaw, Leila Trummel.

Boys Newcomers: Freshmen — Daniel Bandler, Peter Burnham, Andrew Chen, Kyle Doucette, Ivan Hacker, Jackson Tolliday,

Girls Newcomers: Freshmen — Christine Aman, Aimee Borell, Kyla Bouchard, Isabel Bray, Hannah Chipman, Molly French, Alice Garner, Lucy Glueck, Lillian Hall, Kate Henggeler, Pepper Joseph, Quincy McBride, Anna Stafford, Peiper Thomas, Abigail Wilson.

Analysis: Distance specialists Morgan Baughman and Hannah Wittmann return once again on a Marauder team that has balance. Sam Ives gives Hanover some flexibility in short distances, and freshman Kyle Doucette could turn into fourth-year head coach Steve McConnell’s four-event star in the coming years.

“We’ve got about 60 athletes coming out this season. It’s exciting,” McConnell said. “They’re working really hard. If we continue to get bigger and stronger, we’ll be in good shape.”

McConnell has been impressed by his up-and-coming girls team, which he said should be strong with some grooming. Anna Stafford (sprints) and Kate Henggeler (shot put) front that group. Alessandro Vecchi is showing potential for the boys in discus.

Hartford

Coach: Mike Perry (19).

Last Year: Boys finished eighth at state meet. Deveon Martin took third in the boys 100, Abayomi Lowe placed third in the 400 and Matt Phipps was fifth in the 1500. The girls placed ninth overall. Ileana Sirois was second in the girls 110 hurdles and fourth in the long jump.

League: VPA Division II.

Boys Returnees: Senior — Keith Illingworth. Juniors — Riley Kehoe, Andrew Lamb, Callum Brittain. Sophomores — Hunter Noyes, Abayomi Lowe, Busara Hall, Lucas Benson.

Girls Returnees: Seniors — Kristin Burlew, Thea Cole, Sarah Jones, Isabella Leister, Lyndsie Rice, Abigail Robbins. Juniors — Ileana Sirois, Shaelyn West, Morgan White, Clare Posner, Elizabeth Robbins. Sophomore — Jasmine Roden.

Boys Newcomers: Junior — Anthony Scelza. Sophomore — Thomas Kasten. Freshmen — Brent Chandler, Hunter Hamel, Ezra King, Aaron Mitchell, Matthew Robbins.

Girls Newcomers: Junior — Maya Bolger-Chen. Freshmen — Angie Anderson, Kennedy Mullen, Jessica Patterson, Anna Marie Schneller.

Analysis: It’s hard to go wrong when athletes like Ileana Sirois and Abayomi Lowe are anchoring your team. If Hartford is lacking anything it’s distance talent, leaving veteran coach Mike Perry with slim pickings for any race longer than 800 meters. But that means sprints and field events are stacked with Canes, and Perry hopes that depth can level the playing field when the races matter most.

Lowe, who was hurt for much of last spring, is coming off an incredible indoor season this past winter, where he set a new state record in the D-II 55-meter dash. Perry said he’s grooming sophomore Dylan Tucker to be Lowe’s wingman in the 100, 200, long jump and relay events. Riley Kehoe should place relatively high in hurdles events, and sophomore Seth Elifritz, as well as freshmen Brent Chandler and Hunter Hamel, will be given the throwing reins this spring.

Perry is also high on freshman Kennedy Mullen, who he said he’s grooming for the 200, 400, long jump and triple jump this spring. Freshmen Jasmine Roden and Anna Marie Schneller will get a chance at shot put and discus as well.

Lebanon

Coach: Kevin Lozeau (4).

Last Year: Girls placed second at state championship meet, 17.5 points behind D-II champion Milford. Corinne Kennedy won the 400, 100 and 300 hurdles. Kath Merchant won the shot put, discus throw and javelin. Boys placed ninth. Ryan Milliken took third in the 100.

League: NHIAA Division II.

Boys Returnees: Seniors — Davis Cole, Raphael Harriman, Joseph Hurford, Ryan Milliken, Spenser Molloy. Juniors — Jaret Armstrong, Edward Bieszczad, Jonathan Brennan, Joseph Kibbie, Peter Maslan, Zach Petrin, Marcus Roper, Donald Willeman. Sophomores — Nate Cole, Michael Downs, Zachariah Herndon, Ben Lammert, Ryan Sullivan, William Tanski, Noel Vorachak, Austin Whitcomb.

Girls Returnees: Seniors — Emily Ball, Catherine Gavell, Corinne Kennedy, Tori Wright. Juniors — Samantha Brady, Grace Furlong, Shelby Hanks, Kath Merchant, Kim Merchant, Sophia Miller, Chloe Wadlinger. Sophomores — Sarah Ball, Hannah Falcone, Mackenzie Greger, Kaitlyn Merrihew.

Boys Newcomers: Freshmen — Nathaniel Brown, Than Carter, Cody Davis, Will Forman, Brandan Freeman, Keenan Leuthauser, Peter Ogrinc, Benjamin Tichner, Michael Weeks, Michael Weeks.

Girls Newcomers: Freshmen — Anna Bieszczad, Allison Carl, Emma Doyle, Maria Goodwin, Emma Herndon, Abigail Kibbie, Olivia Lammert, Claudia Simione, Abigail Snow, Irina Stan, Madeline Wolfe.

Analysis: The Raider girls are built to win now, led by the ever-stable presence of Corinne Kennedy, who has lifted Lebanon track and field to new heights during her relentless reign over New Hampshire sprints and hurdles. The question for fourth-year head coach Kevin Lozeau, however, is whether the team around Kennedy can win a championship. Kim and Kath Merchant will help, as will Hartford transfer and distance specialist Grace Furlong.

The boys took ninth last year and should be very competitive this spring as well. All-around athlete Ryan Milliken will make noise in the sprinting events. Marcus Roper could make progress in shot put, and Ryan Sullivan will be one of the top jumpers in the state.

Mascoma

Coach: Tom Warner (11).

Last Year: Boys placed 23rd at states. Sheldon Farnsworth placed fifth in the boys long jump and Ben Jones took ninth in both 1,600 and 3,200. Haley Bissonnette took seventh in the shot put for Mascoma’s girls, who didn’t score team points at states.

League: NHIAA Division III.

Boys Returnees: Seniors — Tristan Williams, Josh Simoneau, Karmin Reed, Evan Peck, Cameron Holmes, Sheldon Farnsworth. Juniors — Hunter Whyte, Spencer Stebbins, Ben Shields, Owen Schneider, Jordan Peck, Torey Newman, Chris Gill, James Disbrow, Collin Cacciatore. Sophomores — Christian Rochay, Dakota Decocq, Henry Clough, Justin Andrew.

Girls Returnees: Seniors — Haley Bissonnette, Amy Labrecque. Juniors — Bridget Darling, Kaelyn Gelinas, Zoe Grodan, Elizabeth Jones, Madison Merrihew, Paxton Morley, Olivia Salamy, Tori Sweet, Sydney Thompson, Miavictoria Velez. Sophomores — Gracie Keyser, Natasha Lockwood.

Boys Newcomers: Freshmen — Alek Connolly, Brandon Straker.

Girls Newcomers: Seniors — Layla Meyveagaci, Justine Martin. Freshmen — Olivia Bean, Kira Emery, Laura Henry, Chase Johnson, Lindsay McDonald, Lily Poloian, Samantha Rizzo, Nicole Williams, Amelia Wilson.

Analysis: Ben Jones is now a long jumper at Colby-Sawyer College, leaving Sheldon Farnsworth as Mascoma’s standout on the boys team. Farnsworth should compete in the 200, shot put and long jump, backed by Jordan Peck in the long jump. Haley Bissonnette returns to shot put in her senior season.