When Cony hosts its annual invitational meet Friday, under the lights beginning at 4:30 p.m., several of the area's top athletes will be on hand to showcase their skills.

Erskine thrower Anna Niedbala will be there. So will Cony standout Bethany Dumas. And Max HoddWells of Maranacook. And Hall-Dale's Magen Ellis and Laura Peterson.

But the highlight of the night should come in the boys distance events, particularly the mile and two-mile runs.

The two events will feature some of the top distance runners in the region, from Wade Davis (Hall-Dale), Luke Fontaine (Cony), Tor O'Brien (Winthrop) and Dan Soltan (Winthrop).

"Those races should be the feature races of the night," Cony coach Shawn Totman said.

The meet will feature Cony, Gardiner, Hall-Dale, Erskine, Winthrop and Lisbon.

"What we're really getting prepped for is Cony under the lights," Erskine coach Ben Willoughby said. "It's a great venue for a track meet. Having it under the lights makes it feel like a collegiate event. There are usually more parents there, and the kids get up for a larger crowd. It's great for the kids.

"My favorite race is the 4x400 relay. It's the last event of the meet and usually the four fastest kids from all the schools are going against each other. It's a badge of honor to be on 4x400 team."

Totman said the Rams are eager for Friday to come.

"They really, really get excited about it," he said. "You can even tell in practice, there's just a vibe about it. Some of them look forward to this as much as they do the end of year tournaments. It's signature home meet to the year. It's just a great track atmosphere."

Area teams will also get another look at Lisbon, which is fielding deep and talented squads. The Lisbon boys are coming off a victory in a six-team meet in which they scored 200.5 points. The Lisbon girls scored 143 points in a second-place finish behind Maine Central Institute.

Messalonskee coach Scott Wilson, whose Eagles saw Lisbon in that meet last Friday, says the Greyhounds are loaded.

"They are very deep," said Wilson, whose teams will compete Saturday in the Community Cup at Winslow High School. "They have strong runners in every meet. They have someone in every meet who does well. They have quite the teams."

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Speaking of Fontaine, the sophomore is enjoying what Totman says is a "breakout season." In a meet Friday against Brunswick and Lisbon, among others, Fontaine won the 1,600 and finished second in the 3,200. He won the 1,600 with a time of 4 minutes, 33.37 seconds.

"He's having an impressive season," Totman said. "He's still not where he needs to be, and he knows that. He has to work hard over the next couple of weeks. You don't want to pat yourself on the back just yet."

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After competing in three meets in 10 days, Maranacook welcomed its recent layoff with open arms. The Black Bears' last meet was last Tuesday against Oxford Hills and Skowhegan, and they won't compete again until the Cony Invitational.

"The kids were looking forward to the time off," Maranacook coach Ronn Gifford said. "It's a nice break. It gives the kids time to work on techniques."

One athlete trying to hone their skills before the end-of-year meets is Conrad Gilman, who competes in the throwing events. Gilman recently struggled in an eight-team meet that featured Brunswick, Lisbon, Mt. Blue and Cony, among others.

Gilman threw the discus 106 feet, 7 inches to finish fourth. He threw the javelin 128 feet to finish third.

"He had his worst day in the shot put, discus and javelin," Gifford said.

But Gilman returned to form in the Black Bears' last meet, throwing the javelin 133-11 and discus 118-3 in the meet against Skowhegan and Oxford Hills.

"He's gearing up for the big meets at the end of the season," Gifford said. "He's been generally consistent throughout."

Bill Stewart -- 623-3811, ext. 515

bstewart@centralmaine.com