Rhys Burgett

Severna Park, senior

Last year, Burgett helped the Falcons win their first state championship, beating Walter Johnson, 47-93, in the tough Class 4A. He finished 10th in the state meet (16 minutes, 58.4 seconds) and should give Severna Park a boost this year.

Adolfo Carvalho

Dulaney, junior

After running the 1,600-meter race in 4:36.36 at the Class 4A North regional meet in track and field last spring, Carvalho should help a stronger Dulaney team make some noise in cross country this season.

Pat Dunk

Calvert Hall, senior

Dunk ran well last year, taking third place (16:24.4) in the MIAA championship meet on a cold and windy day at Oregon Ridge Park. He should be one of the area’s best runners again as the Cardinals try to unseat four-time defending champion Loyola.

Alec Font

Centennial, senior

The leader of a talented group of Eagles seniors, Font placed eighth (16:36.0) at the Class 3A state meet and third in the Howard County championship last fall. He’ll be key as Centennial looks to repeat as county champs and take the next step for a state title after a third-place finish in 2012.

Ryan Forsyth

Severna Park, senior

Forsyth finished second in the Class 4A state championship meet last fall with a time of 16:27.8 as the Falcons won the team title. He’ll combine with Burgett to lead Severna Prk in the quest for a second straight state championship.

Chris Heydrick

River Hill, junior

One of the area’s top underclassmen in cross country and track and field last year, Heydrick placed 14th in the Class 3A cross country state championship race with a time of 17:12.3. He also finished fourth in the Howard County meet.

John Mead

Century, senior

Thanks to Mead’s fourth-place finish (16:54.3) in last year’s Class 2A state championship meet, the Knights placed fifth in the team standings. He also led Century to its first Carroll County championship after taking second place at the event.

Mikey Singer

McDonogh, junior

Singer finished second (16:10.1) in the MIAA championship meet last fall before winning the 1,600 in indoor and outdoor track. He should challenge Loyola’s Tyler Spear and others to be the conference’s best runner this fall.

Tyler Spear

Loyola, senior

Spear won the MIAA championship last year (15:58.4) as the Dons continued their recent dominance with a fourth straight team title. As one of the area’s top runners, he’ll look to maintain that success as he tries for a second straight MIAA championship.

Michael Wegner

Loyola, junior

After running unattached for a period as a sophomore, Wegner returned to the Dons in the spring. He’ll give a strong Loyola team even more depth this year, something MIAA opponents won’t want to see as the Dons go for a fifth straight championship.

Other notables

Jake Arnold, Manchester Valley

Kirubel Asfaw, Catonsville

Tom Brumbaugh, Oakland Mills

Chris Busick, North Harford

Dillon Cooley, Severna Park

Grant Dell, North Carroll

Marshall Demaree, River Hill

Brad Ensor, C.Milton Wright

Nick Fransham, North Harford

Jack Hamed, St. Paul’s

Corey Hamilton, Mount Hebron

Dylan Kirby, Towson

Theo Leasca, Gilman

Frankie Legambi, Loyola

Andrew Michelson, McDonogh

Brent Musselman, South River

Joey Pickens, Glenelg Country

Doug Pickett, South Carroll

Owen Pochettino, Reservoir

Eddie Quinn, Atholton

Chad Sussman, Liberty

Terry Tossman, River Hill

Eric Walz, Dulaney

Kevin Wegner, Loyola

Ben Weinstein, Mount Hebron