Coach: Todd Mercer (ninth year)

Conference/Class: WMC/Class B

Returning athletes: Boys: Seniors – Ben Garcia, Garrett Moran, Austin Cross; Sophomores – Sam Aube, Jeremiah Gendreau, Jaykob Sanborn, Andrew Peterson.

Girls: Seniors – Emily Dawkins, Tram Ho, Clara Phillips, Samantha Shampine, Olivia Giles, Scout Ray, Anna Espling; Junior – Emma MacCallum; Sophomore – Jaley Martin.

Promising newcomers: Boys: Junior – Joe Gurney; Girls: Freshmen – Madison Post, Abby Ross

Season outlook: The Patriots have some great talent among their relatively small group of upperclassmen. They could struggle to complete with bigger teams in regular-season meets. They have kids that are capable of winning events, but don’t have athletes to compete in every event. Ben Garcia is a boy to watch, while the Patriots have a quartet of talented girls’ shot-putters, and Scout Ray should compete for state championship points in the pole vault. Gray-NG has some talented underclassmen, but for the most part, they are still pretty raw. As the season moves into championship season, don’t be surprised to see Gray-NG scoring better than it did during the regular season.