Track heating up across the city

District track and field competitions begin in earnest this week, and several Houston-area athletes will be firmly focused on collecting state titles and earning national acclaim. Athletes to watch: Sprinters Boys Sheroid Evans Soph., Dulles - He's only a sophomore, but he is already making his presence felt on the local track scene. Evans has the No. 3 time in the state in the 200-meter dash (21.71 seconds) and the seventh-best time in the 400-meter dash (48.56 seconds). Girls Franchelle Hill Jr., Hightower - Hill, left, has been one of the area's best sprinters since her sophomore season. Her 11.66-second 100-meter dash in the preliminaries at the Texas Relays is the second best mark in the state at that distance. She's also sixth in the 200 (24.72) Jumpers Boys DeAndrew White Jr., North Shore - When he's not carving up opposing defenses as a wide receiver, White is hitting the dirt feet first. His best long jump of 23-91/2 is fourth-best in the state and his best triple jump (47-51/2) is 14th. Girls Whitney Rose Sr., Pearland - Rose, left, splashed onto the scene late last year and pulled out a state title in the triple jump. Now she looks to repeat. She's tops in the state in the event (40-83/4), and she also is third in the long jump (19-3). Throwers Boys Matt Kosecki Sr., Humble - Kosecki, right, won the 5A state title in the discus as a junior (193-09) but he's back and even better this year. Kosecki's top throw of 201-8 is second in the state and best among 5A throwers this year. Girls Jennifer Edwards Sr., Fort Bend Austin - The senior was sixth at state last year in the shot put (40-111/2) and she ranks second in the state this year with a throw of 45-6. She's also 19th in the state in the discus (131-7). Distance runners Boys Drew Butler Sr., The Woodlands - It seems as if Butler, right, was born to run middle distances. He is tops in the state in the 800-meter run (1:51.10) and in the 1,600-meter run (4:08.18). He'll likely be the favorite to win district, regional and perhaps state titles in both events. Girls Sarah Andrews Jr., The Woodlands - Andrews is the defending state champion in the 3,200-meter run, and she was the state 5A girls cross country champion in the fall. Only Dallas Greenhill's Chelsey Sveinsson has a better time than Andrews (10:21.34) in the 3,200. Hurdlers Boys Cameron LaCour Sr., Dayton - LaCour may have proved himself to be the state's best short-distance hurdler, regardless of classification, with his nation's-best 13.48 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles at Texas Relays. He's the favorite to win the 4A state title in the event. Girls Kathryn Lupton Sr., Kingwood - Lupton, left, will be gunning for a Region III-5A title in both the 100-meter hurdles and the 300 hurdles. She has top 10 times in the state in both — 14.27 seconds (fifth) in the 100 hurdles and 44.14 (seventh) in the 300 hurdles. Relay teams Boys Westfield Mustangs District 13-5A - Dasmond Montgomery, Jordan Sampson, Adam Watson and Terrell Guidry, right, make up the nation's top-ranked 400-meter relay squad (40.86 seconds). They hope to contend for state titles in all three relays but the 400 is their best. Girls Fort Bend Marshall District 23-5A - Jazmine Armstrong, Jhorden Hunter, Daijonae Miles, Shahira Ehiemua, Briyanni Thomas and Myranda Hearn have combined to put the Buffalos in the top 10 in the state in all three relays. Their best is the 400 (46.67 seconds for No. 2).