[Baltimore Sun] Baltimore Sun high school boys cross country preview: Storylines, players to watch and top 15 teams heading into 2024 season
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Here’s what you need to know for the 2024 high school boys cross country season in the Baltimore area:
Storylines to watch
How will Calvert Hall replace Cameron Davis?
Cameron Davis has held a monopoly on MIAA A Conference distance running titles. He won three straight cross county conference championships, as well as the 1,600 and 3,200-meter races at the past two conference outdoor track and field championships and last year’s indoor championships. He earned the Baltimore Sun boys cross country Runner of the Year award in 2022 and 2023. But now he’s running at Virginia Tech and coach Scott Baker must find a way to replace not only him, but four other seniors who ran as part of the Cardinals lineup. Baker believes he has great underclass talent coming up but expects his team to have a stronger pack time rather than relying on one or two superstars. However, he says to keep an eye on JD Hughes as a breakout candidate.
A duel in Anne Arundel County
Two of the best runners in the area and two potential state champions reside in Anne Arundel County. Southern’s Eric Penkala was last year’s Class 2A state champion and will be a favorite to repeat despite the promise of lining up against a highly talented field. Meanwhile, Tsedeke Jakovics was Class 4A runner-up despite running 15:44.95, a time that would’ve won any other classification. He would’ve been a favorite in 4A, but this season Old Mill drops to 3A, a class where the top four state finishers graduated. At last season’s Anne Arundel County championships, Penkala finished second and Jakovics third, but Jakovics got the best of Penkala in the track distance races. The two should have quite a battle for this year’s crown.
Class 2A features a loaded field
Speaking of Penkala and Class 2A, there will be plenty of worthy challengers coming after his crown. A year ago, Penkala won the state title by a little more than a second over Queen Anne’s Ben Marks. Both were juniors; both will be back for a rematch. But there will be more than just Marks chasing after Penkala. Seven of the top 10 finishers at last year’s state meet were underclassmen. Included in that group are Carroll County champion Ryan Hartranft from Century, last year’s fourth-place finisher and a two-time state track champion. Also, David Herzberger of state team champion Centennial, who took fifth last year and will be one of Howard County’s best this year.
Can Evan Cline lead Towson to a 3A championship repeat?
Towson was the team to beat last season. The Generals breezed through the Baltimore County championships, taking five of the top six spots, then held off Severna Park to win the 3A state crown. Kieran Mischke led the charge, but the 3A individual state champion is now running at UMBC. However, he has a clear heir-apparent in Evan Cline. Cline took fifth place at state, the highest finishing underclassman. This year he’ll move up to be the Generals’ No. 1 runner and will be charged with leading a relatively inexperienced group, as four total seniors were among Towson’s seven state runners.
There might not be much 1A competition for Liberty, but what about the county?
One hundred and six points. That’s how much separated champion Liberty (28) from second-place Catoctin (134) at last year’s 1A state meet. All seven Lions that ran finished in the top 26 individually – four of who are returning underclassmen, including state champion Gregory Schellberg. Unless there’s some massive time drops or new runners emerge, there might not be much of a challenge for the Lions at the state level. At the local level however, the Lions are looking to add the missing piece from last season. They lost the Carroll County championship by two points to Manchester Valley and both teams will be well stocked again. And then there’s Century, led by Hartranft and Thomas Sewell that should also be in the running for a county crown.
Players to watch
Evan Cline, Towson, senior
Cline will be a leader for a Generals team aiming to duplicate last season’s successes. He finished top 10 in every race he ran, including fifth at the 3A state championship.
Jemmel Green, Gilman, senior
Green could have the best shot at breaking up the Calvert Hall hold on the top of the MIAA A Conference. He finished eighth at last year’s conference meet in a personal-best 16:12.
Ryan Hartranft, Century, senior
Hartranft won last season’s Carroll County championship, was 2A West Region champion and finished fourth at the 2A state meet. He won the 2A 1,600 state title the past two years in outdoor track season.
David Herzberger, Centennial, senior
Herzberger led Centennial’s 2A state championship last year with a fifth-place individual finish. He was also Howard County runner-up and the highest-finishing underclassmen at the county meet.
JD Hughes, Calvert Hall, sophomore
Coach Scott Baker pointed to the sophomore as someone with superstar potential. Though he didn’t race much last cross country season, his distance track time (9:30 in the 3,200) gives reasons for optimism.
Tsedeke Jakovics, Old Mill, senior
Jakovics is another state track champion (last year’s outdoor 4A 800 meters) looking to earn his first cross country gold. He was last year’s 4A runner-up with a time (15.44.95) that was second-fastest out of all classes.
Caden Lazzor, Severna Park, senior
Lazzor was the Falcons’ No. 2 runner a year ago and top returner. He finished 11th at the state meet and fifth at the Anne Arundel County championships.
Chris Novak, Patterson Mill, junior
Novak’s eighth-place finishes at last year’s 1A state meet and UCBAC championships were actually his lowest placings of the season. He showed his potential winning the 1A East Region championship.
Eric Penkala, Southern, senior
Between cross country and track, Penkala has amassed quite a collection of state championship medals and the defending 2A champ is a favorite for another. He’s also looking to improve on his Anne Arundel runner-up finish.
Gregory Schellberg, Liberty, senior
Schellberg won last year’s 1A state title running 16:35, 26 seconds clear of the second-place finisher. He took fourth at the Carroll County championships and finished no worse than fifth at any meet last season.
Preseason Top 15 teams
1. Severna Park
Coach: Josh Alcombright
Last season: No. 3
Postseason: Class 3A runner-up
Outlook: The Falcons graduated their top runner, but return everyone else from its Anne Arundel County champion team. They were edged out by Towson for the state title.
2. Calvert Hall
Coach: Scott Baker
Last season: No. 2
Postseason: MIAA A Conference champion
Outlook: The Cardinals suffered heavy graduation losses, but Baker has a stable of runners that were simply waiting for their turn. Look for new stars to emerge this season.
3. Liberty
Coach: Trent Rose
Last season: No. 8
Postseason: Class 1A champion
Outlook: Individual state champion Schellberg leads a strong returning group that cruised to the state title and was barely beaten out by Manchester Valley for the county crown.
4. Centennial
Coach: Kevin McCoy
Last season: No. 6
Postseason: Class 2A champion
Outlook: The Eagles return five of the top seven, including top runner Herzberger, from its state championship team. They’ll also be out to avenge a one-point loss to Howard at last year’s county championships.
5. Gilman
Coach: Joe Duncan
Last season: No. 12
Postseason: Third place in MIAA A Conference
Outlook: The Greyhounds might have the most experienced group back in the A Conference with Green leading a group that has four of last year’s top five runners back.
6. Towson
Coach: Gil Stange
Last season: No. 1
Postseason: Class 3A champion
Outlook: A repeat won’t be easy with the quantity and quality of runners lost, but having Cline back is a strong starting point to build a new championship group.
7. Crofton
Coach: Adam McGuire
Last season: No. 10
Postseason: Sixth in Class 4A
Outlook: No. 1 runner London Layton has graduated, but everyone else is back as the Cardinals looked poised to challenge for county and state titles this year.
8. Manchester Valley
Coach: Jim MacDonald
Last season: No. 7
Postseason: Sixth in Class 3A
Outlook: The Mavericks return their top two runners from the team that edged Liberty for the county championship, but will need underclassmen to step up to compete in 3A.
9. Howard
Coach: Ed Wilson
Last season: No. 4
Postseason: Third in 3A
Outlook: Replacing a runner like state runner-up Joey Ensor isn’t easy, but Rayyan Dheini and Om Maryankandy and ready to grab the torch and defend the Howard County championship.
10. Loyola Blakefield
Coach: Jose Albornoz Jr.
Last season: No. 5
Postseason: MIAA A Conference runner-up
Outlook: The Dons lose their top three finishers from last year’s MIAA runner-up team, but have a strong underclass corps ready to step up and challenge for the conference title.
11. Century
Coach: Doug Fleming
Last season: No. 13
Postseason: Fourth in Class 2A
Outlook: Hartranft and Thomas Sewell will just about always give the Knights a low score to start from in just about any meet they run. The development of those filling out the lineup behind them will determine how far the team goes.
12. Wilde Lake
Coach: Eric Meyers
Last season: No. 9
Postseason: Class 2A runner-up
Outlook: The Wildecats lose Henry Hopper, last year’s Bull Run champion and third place state finisher, but five of the seven state runners are back including Colin McGuinness who took fifth at the Howard County championships.
13. South River
Coach: Caleb Foster
Last season: Not ranked
Postseason: 10th in Class 3A
Outlook: The Seahawks could make a push this season, returning all its scorers from its fourth-place county finish, and only losing one (the No. 7 runner) from its state meet lineup.
14. Catonsville
Coach: Ben Fusco
Last season: Not ranked
Postseason: 13th in 3A
Outlook: Coaches in Baltimore County are looking at the Comets as a dark horse for a county title. They finished fourth a year ago at counties and return six of their top seven runners.
15. Fallston
Coach: Karin Walker
Last season: Not ranked
Postseason: 13th in Class 2A
Outlook: The Cougars have the strongest returning group in the UCBAC and will be a team to watch for at both the county and state levels.
Others considered: Broadneck, C. Milton Wright, Mount St. Joseph, Old Mill, River Hill
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