The Freeport boys track and field team has not lost a section meet in the past three seasons and is now a two-time defending WPIAL Class AA champion.

Karns City hasn't dropped a Keystone Shortway meet since 2001 and has a string of 43 consecutive dual wins.

Whether those streaks continue will be one of the big questions of the upcoming season:

Can Butler rebound after seeing its streak of six consecutive section titles end last year?

Can Mars make a push to the top with its slew of underclassmen that gained valuable experience last year?

After a winning record last year, can Knoch now attempt to do the same in the section?

The Gremlins, though, looked poised to keep things going.

"Karns City just looks above everyone else," said Union boys coach Denny Stewart, now in his 31st season at the helm. "(Coach) Donny (Black) has a lot of kids there."

Coach:Rick Schontz, 4th yearLast season:5-2 in the section for third place, seventh at PIAA championshipsTop returners:Seniors Luke Renwick (sprints), Bobby Ridley (sprints), John Strutt (middle distance), James Rogerson (distance), George Wardle (javelin), Bryan Banner (jumps); juniors Adam Monday (sprints), Nolan Brink (throws); Junior Dunn (javelin), Ryan McCandless (jumps); sophomore Doug Moran (sprints)Strengths:Sprints, middle distanceWeaknesses:Jumps, throws; loss of sprinter Fred Pinto for season to hip injuryCoach's comment:"We have people who can step in most of the events. Our philosophy is to get better individually and as a team. We have some really good young athletes, and, the first month, we'll be finding the best events for the young guys."

Coach:Wayne Roccia, 29th seasonLast season:7-3 overallTop returners:Strengths:Jumps, distanceWeaknesses:Lost several key sprinters and hurdlers; lack of experience in most eventsCoach's comment:"We took a beating to graduation. We lost a ton. We have 92 boys out but, again, do we have the talent? It's too early to tell. We hope we have a program that can overcome a lot of things. We try to stay consistent. Our philosophy is if there's enough kids, at least one will work out."

Coach:Wess Brahler, 2nd yearLast season:6-3-1 overallTop returners:Seniors Kory Bottles (jumps, sprints), Dave Rickard (sprints), Matt Friday (sprints), Frankie Moxie (distance), Scott Wetzel (distance), Eric Nebel (distance); juniors Artie Black (distance), Josh Lark (thrower); sophomores Ben Hutterer (distance), Steve Carson (high jump)Strengths:Distance, jumps, sprints, depth in all areasWeaknesses:Throws, hurdlesCoach's comment:"Our big team goal is we are five wins shy of 300 for our program. We want to accomplish that this year. We could do it in two years, but we want to set the bar high this year."

Coach:Joe Cioc, 14th yearLast season:6-2, third in the sectionTop returners:Seniors Brian Juda (throws), Ian Mundy (jumps); junior Logan Giger (hurdles, pole vault); sophomores Cody Kier (distance, Steve Jackson (middle distance), Alec Mundy (jumps)Strengths:Relays, middle distanceWeaknesses:Sprints, shot putCoach's comment:"We have five seniors and five juniors, but close to 20 sophomores and 10 freshmen. The one good thing was last year's freshmen had more points than our seniors, juniors and sophomores combined. Obviously, you like having that good young class. The core of our scoring will come from the sophomores."

Coach:Bill Dillen, 12th yearLast season:14-0, section and WPIAL Class AA championsTop returners:Seniors Kiel Conjack (hurdles), Carl Bowser (sprints), Ian Kaminski (middle distance), Shane Sarver (distance), Brendan Reilly (distance), Mike Bergstrom (pole vault); sophomore Shawn Visnesky (distance)Strengths:Distance, middle distance, hurdlesWeaknesses:Jumps, sprintsCoach's comment:"We've got a good freshman class from last season. Hopefully, they'll be able to step up and contribute. It'll be a tough section."

Coach:Brandon Savochka, 6th yearLast season:3-6 overallKey performers:Seniors Calvin Love (sprints, jumps), Sultan Johnson (sprints), Earl Zarpeler (sprints, jumps); juniors Luis Gomez (middle distance), James Abney (hurdles, 400); sophomores Jerome Butler (hurdles, jumps), Fred McDuffie (middle distance), Lamar Evans (distance), Sabu Clayton (distance), Leon Montgomery (middle distance)Strengths:Sprints, jumps, middle distanceWeaknesses:Distance, inexperience in most positionsCoach's comment:"We have a pretty strong core to improve our record. We could finish in the top two in our section. The ultimate goal is to have a positive experience through athletics."

Coach:Mike Kish, 26th yearLast season:0-9 overallTop returners:Seniors Clint Orloski (distance), Seth Wimer (sprints, jumps), Ryan Beilstein (distance), Robert Whitt (distance), Nate Capello (throws), Sean Scheibel (pole vault, sprints); sophomores Chase Conti (distance), Dan Dillman (shot), Doug Orloski (javelin), Paul McConnell (utility)Strengths:Distance, middle distanceWeaknesses:Inexperience in hurdles, jumps, sprintsCoach's comment:"We're looking for improvement. We've got some young guys who like to work but don't have that physical stature yet. We lost only three letterwinners."

Coach:Dave Gatewood, 1st yearLast season:N/ATop returners:Seniors Jim Jaskowak (throws), Kent Uber (throws), Matt Turek (throws), Bill McCormick (jumps, relays), Mike Morley (sprints, middle distance), Derek McGraff (hurdles, middle distance), Zach Fox (jumps), Tim Gruber (throws), Nick Gonchar (distance), Matt McCarl (jumps); junior Tom Lilly (distance)Strengths:ThrowsWeaknesses:Sprints, distanceCoach's comment:"It's very touch and go this season. We don't really know what we have. It's just a matter of what we can put together."

Coach:Don Black, 18th yearLast season:13-0, KSAC championsTop returners:Seniors David Black (sprints), Travis Fiscus (distance), Chris Prokay (distance), Josh Fiscus (javelin), Tyler Callihan (jumps), Nathan Knox (jumps); juniors Mark Ferguson (hurdles), Andrew Harmon (distance), Evan Crawford (distance), Dale Grimm (distance), Steve Black (pole vault), Jeremy Bowser (javelin), Kory Kusick (throws); sophomore Travis Hendell (distance)Strengths:Middle distance, distance, sprints, hurdlesWeaknesses:Depth in throwing eventsCoach's comment:"I think we lost about four or five seniors, so we've got a majority of the kids back."

Coach:Mark Kosick, 22nd yearLast season:6-2 in the KSACTop returners:Seniors Eric Hilliard (jumps, sprints), Neil Hartshorne (pole vault), Vance Farren (Hurdles), Kevin Harding (hurdles), Ed Miller (sprints); juniors Matt Schandelmeier (throws), Ryan Protzman (throws), Zach Thompson (hurdles), Chris Switzer (distance), Mike Pope (sprints), David Rumbaugh (middle distance, jumps), Clay Campbell (throws)Strengths:Throws, hurdles, distanceWeaknesses:JumpsCoach's comment:"We have a pretty good group coming back. We have 35 kids out, which is about what we'd normally get. It's not a big number, but what we have is pretty good."

Coach:Denny Stewart, 31st yearLast season:7-2, tied for second place in the KSACTop returners:Seniors Nate Carmichael (sprints), Todd Culbertson (hurdles), Josh Custer (distance), Adam Milanovich (sprints), Mike Peters (distance), Damien Pezzuti (throws); juniors Chris Beichner (distance), Toby Best (sprints), Mike Brothers (distance), Colton Davis (throws) Kyle Hilliard (jumps); sophomore Brett Moore (distance)Strengths:Numbers, depth in most events; throws, jumpsWeaknesses:Need to replace strong senior classCoach's comment:"We just want to be, like every year, competitive with most of the teams. We usually have quite a few people for a small school. We want to try and get as many kids qualified (for the District 9 meet) as we can."

Coach:Luke LaVan, 2nd yearLast season:N/ATop returners:Seniors Nathan Bowser (hurdles), John Dunkerley (distance); junior Ted Marron (jumps); sophomores Rob Linamen (middle distance, relays), Kevin Ortz (middle distance)Strengths:Hurdles, jumpsWeaknesses:Depth at every position, lack of numbersCoach's comment:"Every year we're looking for a building year. We just don't have the numbers. We're hoping to get people out. There seems to be a lot of good attitudes. They seem willing to work harder this year."