Here’s what you need to know for the 2024 high school girls cross country season in the Baltimore area:

Storylines to watch

McDonogh embarks on a season of change:McDonogh has claimed the past three Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference titles but its quest for a fourth will have a new look. Phil Turner, who coached the Eagles since 2017 and was at Mount Saint Joseph for five years before that, stepped down and now lives and works in Wisconsin. Vincent Crisp will take over the coaching duties, but his first task will be finding a replacement for Mary Gorsky, last year’s IAAM A Conference champion and a top-four finisher at every league meet since 2021. Crisp will look to Olivia Vassar, McDonogh’s No. 2 runner a year ago and 10th-place finisher in the league, as a new leader.

What will Taylor Colson do for an encore?Colson couldn’t have had a better freshman year. The Century standout won five races and finished as a runner-up in two others last season. She won the Carroll County championship by nearly 90 seconds over her closest challenger and captured the Class 2A state crown on her way to being named All-Metro Runner of the Year. All that as a freshman. So what can we expect from her sophomore season? The offseason triathlete will be a favorite in just about every race. But the season likely won’t be a breeze. Hereford’s Sylvia Snider, who finished just over three seconds behind Colson at last year’s state meet, will be gunning for the top spot this time around.Can we expect another nail-biter in Class 2A? Last year’s Class 2A state championship was decided by roughly two-and-a-half seconds. That was the margin Hereford’s fifth scorer, Ridley Lentz, finished ahead of Centennial’s fifth, Allison Crumley — the difference for the Bulls, who edged Centennial by two points (65 to 67). Both return six of their top seven runners, setting up a potential rematch, although Hereford does have to replace third-place overall finisher Rebekka Hillier. And then throw in Colson’s Century Knights, who return their top three runners and five of their top seven, and the 2A competition will be fun to watch.

Will anyone stand in the way of a Severna Park three-peat?If there ever was a year for a school to chase down Severna Park it would’ve been 2023. The Falcons’ top three runners were two sophomores and a freshman. But no one did. So the eight-time overall and two-time defending state champions are poised to keep their title run going again. With juniors Kathryn Murphy and Jocelyn DiAngelo and sophomore Josephine Kamas another year more experienced, the Falcons will be tough for anyone in Anne Arundel County or Class 3A to catch.

Will we see more of Emma Patrick this year? One of the best races in the area last season was Severn sophomore Emma Patrick’s performance at the IAAM championships. Patrick finished in 18 minutes, 14 seconds to win the B Conference title with a time that was 45 seconds better than anyone else who ran that day. However, according to Athletic.net, that was her only race of the season. Patrick later ran at the NXR Southeast Regional and finished 16th in 17:46.3. Her times and ability would have her among the area’s best. But will we get to see her in direct competition with the region’s other top runners?

Runners to watch

Taylor Colson, Century, sophomore:The All-Metro girls Runner of the Year dominated Carroll County and claimed the Class 2A state championship. Her personal best time was 18:43 to win last year’s Frank Keyer Invitational.

Isabel DeVos, Harford Tech, senior:DeVos returns for another shot at a state championship after finishing third at last year’s Class 1A state championship race. She led the Cobras to a runner-up team finish after she won the 1A East Region crown.

Riley Herdson, Centennial, senior:Centennial nearly won a state title last year based on a strong pack, but at the head of it was Herdson. She was fifth at the Class 2A state meet and third at the Howard County championships.

Josephine Kamas, Severna Park, sophomore: Kamas finished third behind two teammates at last year’s Anne Arundel County championships, but topped both and finished fourth at the Class 3A state meet.

Gabi Murphy, Fallson, junior:Murphy ran a personal best 18:17 to finish second at last year’s UCBAC championships. She followed that up with a second-place finish in the Class 2A East Region and a sixth-place finish at the 2A state meet.

Fiona Santos, Bryn Mawr, senior:Santos was the IAAM A Conference runner-up last season and will lead a Mawrtians team looking to unseat McDonogh as conference champions.

Claire Sivitz, Howard, sophomore: Sivitz burst on the scene a year ago, winning the Howard County and 3A South Region championships and finishing as state runner-up in Class 3A.

Sylvia Snider, Hereford, senior:Snider has been runner-up at the past two Class 2A state championship races. She’s won each of the past two Baltimore County championships but would love to end her high school career with a state gold.

Cecilia Van Lierop, Towson, senior:If anyone can break the Hereford stranglehold on Baltimore County, it’s Van Lierop. She finished third at the league championships last year and was runner-up at the Class 3A East Regional, leading to a top-10 state finish.

Brielle Whitworth, Edgewood, senior: Whitworth was the Class 3A North Region champion and finished eighth at states. Her confidence, though, is sure to be high after winning two track state championships in distance races.

Preseason Top 15 teams

1. Severna Park

Coach: Josh Alcombright

Last season: No. 1 ranking

Postseason: Class 3A state champion

2. Centennial

Coach: Kevin McCoy

Last season: No. 6

Postseason: Class 2A state runner-up

3. Hereford

Coach: Adam Hittner

Last season: No. 2

Postseason: Class 2A state champion

4. McDonogh

Coach: Vincent Crisp

Last season: No. 3

Postseason: IAAM A Conference champion

5. Century

Coach: Chris Mead

Last season: No. 9

Postseason: Third in Class 2A

6. Bryn Mawr

Coach: Sarah Feiss

Last season: No. 5

Postseason: IAAM A Conference runner-up

7. Towson

Coach: Richard Malloy

Last season: No. 10

Postseason: Fifth in Class 3A

8. Dulaney

Coach: Emily Kachik

Last season: No. 8

Postseason: Fourth in Class 3A

9. Notre Dame Prep

Coach: Jim Lancaster

Last season: No. 7

Postseason: Third in IAAM A Conference

10. Howard

Coach: Tammy Liu Hermstein

Last season: No. 4

Postseason: Class 3A runner-up

11. North Harford

Coach: Laura O’Leary

Last season: No. 12

Postseason: Eighth in Class 2A

12. Harford Tech

Coach: Darrell Diamond

Last season: No. 15

Postseason: Class 1A runner-up

13. South River

Coach: Caleb Foster

Last season: No. 14

Postseason: 10th in Class 3A

14. Glenelg

Coach: Phillip Johnson

Last season: Not ranked

Postseason: Seventh in Class 2A

15. Atholton

Coach: Earl Lauer

Last season: No. 11

Postseason: Ninth in Class 3A

Others considered: Arundel, C. Milton Wright, River Hill,Spalding, Westminster