Photo by Mike Piotrowski
Heading into last fall it seemed that both Towson and Hereford could both give Dulaney its strongest battle at the county championships since Dulaney's title streak began back in 2013. Dulaney responded by putting six in the top 12 at the county meet, led by seniors Zak Audia and Cooper Giesler and the emergence of freshman Tyler Dailey. One thing the Lions didn't have, however, was the individual county champion. Junior Peter Sorensen ran away from the field in what was one of the most dominant individual performances at the county meet in recent history: his 27 second margin of victory was the meet's largest since 2014, and his 15:54 time was the 15-fastest of the decade at Dulaney.
Baltimore County Boys XC Preview: By the Numbers
Photo by Craig Amoss
Still want to bet against Dulaney after seven straight Baltimore County titles? Since 2013 the most points they have scored at the county championships was 30 back in 2016. Losing six of their top nine runners from last year's county meet will certainly have its effect, and the absence of an outdoor track season means there aren't any breakout candidates to point to returning this fall. However, last year's group of underclassmen was one of the state's strongest, led by freshman Tyler Dailey, who placed 18th at the state meet. After a senior-laden 2019 team stepped up to the task and kept the streak alive, that task will likely fall to one of Dulaney's youngest groups in years.
Photo by John Roemer
Speaking of underclassmen, both Pikesville's Kaleb Berhanu and Carver A&T's Evan Calderon will still only be juniors this fall - and both are among the top ten in the county when ranked by 5K season best. Both also ran nearly identical times in their respective races at the state meet: Berhanu ran 17:36.10, finishing ninth in the 1A race, while Calderon ran 17:37.60, placing 33rd in 2A. Both also won their respective regional races last fall, and Berhanu captured his first state title in the 1600 over the winter.
Photo by Erik Cloyd
While Dulaney's team will likely lean toward the younger side this fall, Towson's varsity squad will probably feature the same class of runners that debuted as freshmen back in the fall of 2017. Behind Sorensen, the Generals feature six more runners who ran between 16:46 and 17:50 last fall, and four of them will be seniors. Taking down the team that spent the better part of the decade dominating Baltimore County won't be easy, but the 2020 cross country season will have been four years in the making for the Generals and possibly one of their best teams in school history.
Photo by John Roemer
Four of Hereford's varsity seven from the 2019 team have since graduated, and the remaining three will be the senior leaders for the 2020 team. Jacob Robertson (number 159 above) clocked the county's sixth-fastest 1600 time among returners this indoor season, and owns the team's top returning 5K time at 17:36. Meanwhile, Jacinto Matias (number 157) was a welcome addition to the Bulls' team last year as a junior; he was the team's third-fastest runner at the 3A state meet, behind seniors Duncan Troy and William Holbrook.