Anna Demaree puts her head down, smiles and speaks in a tone barely above a whisper.

Her answer is short and to the point, not necessarily because she doesn't want to talk, but rather because that's all she feels she needs to get her point across. She's shy, however, that shouldn't be mistaken for unconfident.

It's just obvious that at this moment for the River Hill freshman, who just minutes earlier had won her second individual county championship by crossing the line first in the 1,600, a handful of words are plenty.

"Coming in, I felt like I could get first in everything," said Demaree, letting her smile grow a little bit and then quickly adding, "I guess I just have the 800 left. I should be able to do it."

A little less than 90 minutes later, Demaree did indeed do it, winning the half-mile race in 2 minutes, 23.39 seconds for her fourth gold medal of the county meet. In addition to the individual first place efforts in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200, Demaree also had helped the Hawks' 4x800 relay squad emerge victorious.

And, just like that, everyone began to realize what River Hill coach Earl Lauer had known for quite awhile -- Demaree was a star.

"We've known about her for a long time, having been a Junior Strider that did very well. It was just a matter of time and her being able to settle into her element," said Lauer, who also added after that county meet that Demaree has the potential to be one of the best ever to come out of the county.

Demaree's county championship performance set the stage for a tremendous post season that featured a pair of regional championships and then personal best times in each of her three individual races at states. Now because of those efforts, she also has been named the Columbia Flier/Howard County Times girls outdoor track Athlete of the Year.

There were flashes of potential stardom from Demaree during cross country last fall, where she finished third at regionals, and then even more of a glimpse during indoor, where she won the county championship in the 500-meter dash. But, the big breakthrough, according to her came before outdoor when she decided to focus more on the distance events.

"During indoor I was more focused on sprinting, like the 500, and that wasn't really working out the way I wanted," she said. "I felt like the longer distance events were better for me. I definitely felt a lot more comfortable during outdoor compared to indoor."

The improved comfort level was evident in a couple tri-meets during the regular season, but wasn't on full display until counties, when she actually had to outrun her teammate, Katie Harman, to come out on top. Demaree beat Harman by three seconds in the 3,200 and then by less than a second in the 1,600.

"Katie has helped me a lot this year and it was nice knowing that at least one of us was going to win," said Demaree, who combined with Harman for 52 individual points at the county meet to help River Hill on its way to the team title.

At regionals, Demaree came in second to Harman in the 3,200 before capturing titles in the 800 (2:22.18) and 1,600 (5:17.82).

There were no first-place efforts the following week at states, but it was her times that told the real story. Demaree set personal records in the 800 (2:19.76), 1,600 (5:07.70) and 3,200 (11:20.06) en route to finishing second, second and third, respectively, at that state championship meet at Morgan State University, in Baltimore.

"The times are what matter, and they were all good," said Demaree afterward. "I still got three medals."

This summer, Demaree says she's going to stick with the distance theme to get ready for cross country, where she hopes to build on the success of this past spring.

"She's still only 14, so a lot can happen, but she's off to a great start," Lauer said. "And I will say this, as far as freshmen go, she's as good and probably better than any I've coached."

Named to the all-county first team are:

Funmi Alabi, Long Reach junior. Alabi owned the 100-meter dash the entire postseason and was nearly just as tough in the 200. Her times in the 100 of 12.09 seconds (counties), 11.85 (regionals) and 11.81 (states) not only steadily improved but also earned her a gold medal each time. She also was first in the 200 at the county championship (25.72), before finishing second and third respectively at regionals (24.99) and states (24.57). As part of the Lightning 4x100 and 4x200 relay squads, Alabi also won gold in both those events at counties and regionals.

Gabrielle Barnes, Oakland Mills senior. It was a great start to the postseason for Barnes, who finished first in the long jump (16-11.5) and second in the triple jump (34-6 1/4) at the county championships. The following week at regionals, her distances were similar, although she only ended up finishing third (35-0 1/2) in the triple jump and fifth (16-10) in the long jump.

Elyse Borisko, Howard junior. The Lions' established distance runner didn't earn any first place finishes during her final three meets this spring, although there were plenty of top finishes scattered between the 1,600- and 3,200-meter races. Borisko was third in each of those races at the county championships, before taking second in each at regionals. Then at states, she closed things up by finishing fourth in the 3,200 with a post-season best time of 11:27.25.

Dorehn Coleman, River Hill sophomore. Coleman scored at least one point in the 100, 200 and 400 at each of her final three meets this spring, however, the regional championships were without a doubt the sophomore's coming out party. She placed first in each of her individual races at that meet, crossing the line in 12.58 seconds in the 100, 25.58 in the 200 and 58.74 in the 400. Each of those times were either the fastest or equaled the fastest time of the postseason for her. Coleman was coming off second place efforts in the 200 and 400 at the county championships.

Eryn Donaldson, Mt. Hebron sophomore. Before a disappointing finish at states, Donaldson had already firmly established herself as the county's best high jumper. Her height of 5-2 at the county championships earned her first place and her effort of 5-1 at regionals placed her second.

Danielle Gibson, Atholton senior. With a distance of 34-10 at the county championships, Gibson won gold in the triple jump and began a three-week stretch that saw her add a second place finish at regionals and a sixth at states. Her distance of 35-03 at regions was her best of the post-season.

Ali Green, Marriotts Ridge freshman. Specializing in the 300 hurdles, the Mustangs' first-year athlete quickly established herself as one of the county's best this spring. At the county championships, Green finished first in 47.52 seconds. The following week at regionals she was even faster (46.10) en route to finishing third and then closed the year by taking fourth at states in a time of 47.17.

Katie Harman, River Hill junior. Harman often found herself finishing second this spring behind teammate Anna Demaree, but it still was an awfully successful year. At the county championships, she took third in the 800, second in the 1,600 and second in the 3,200, while also helping the team's 4x800 relay squad finish first. Then at regionals she won the 3,200 in a time of 11:16.14 (her fastest time of post-season) and finished second in the 800 and 1,600. Finally, at states she was second in the 3,200 and third in the 1,600.

Jocelyn Henline, Marriotts Ridge senior. Henline finished her senior year in a very familiar position -- as the county's top pole vaulter. For the second straight post-season she earned a perfect sweep of the pole vault at her final three meets, capping things off with a height of 10-0 at the state championships. She had cleared 9-9 at the county championship and 9-0 at regionals.

Christina Johnson, Wilde Lake senior. A sprinting specialist, Johnson put her talents on full display at the county championships by finishing first in the 100-meter hurdles (15.54 seconds) and second in the 100-meter dash (12.76). Her times in the hurdles kept improving week to week, as she finished third at both regionals (15.43) and states (14.88). She also threw in a time of 12.67 in the 100 dash at regionals to place fifth.

Tatyana McFadden, Atholton senior. Practically having to race against herself for most of the spring, McFadden still managed to put up some very strong times once again this season. Her best effort of the post-season in the 200 wheelchair came at states, where she posted a time of 29.62, and her best time in the 400 came at counties (56.96 seconds). Her legacy includes earning other wheelchair athletes the right to participate with their teams in the future.

Meredith Mill, Howard sophomore. Mill burst onto the scene this spring, turning heads at the county meet by placing second in the 800, fourth in the 1,600 and fifth in the 3,200. She kept the momentum going by capturing a regional title in the 800 (2:23.24), and then finishing third in the 1,600 and fourth in the 3,200 at that same 3A East regional. Then at states, she was third in the 1,600 (5:18.51), fifth in the 800 and sixth in the 3,200 (11:44.59).

Aneesha Scott, Long Reach freshman. With teammate Funmi Alabi already a force in the short sprints, Scott provided the Lightning with the other half of a great one-two punch by winning the 400 at the county championships. Her time of 59.46 seconds in that race was less than a half second ahead of River Hill's Coleman. Scott also played a big role in the Lightning 4x200 relay squad winning first at both the county and regional meets.

Shianna Smith, Wilde Lake senior. Smith was one of only three county girls to win more than one event at this year's county championships. She finished first in the shot put with a throw of 32-11 and then was first in the discus as well with a distance of 106-10. She followed that up at regionals by winning the discus (117-5) and placing fourth in the shot put (33-2).

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