Photo by John Roemer
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It must have been strange for fans at Saturday's Baltimore County Championships to see a runner other than Eric Walz sprinting to the finish. For the first time since 2012 someone other than the former Dulaney standout captured the individual county title. This year it was Towson senior Jonathan Ellis who outdueled Dulaney's Matt Owens; Ellis' final time of 16:03.30 is the third-fastest at the county meet since 2008 behind Walz and his old teammate Elijah Hawkins.
The race played out almost exactly as one could have predicted, with Ellis improving to 4-0 head-to-head against the Dulaney junior this season. However, while they weren't as dominant as they have been in past seasons, the Dulaney boys got the last laugh by capturing their fourth straight team title.
It was the second straight year that a Hereford girl won the Baltimore County individual title. Senior Kelly Wesolowski entered the race as a heavy favorite and left no doubt on Saturday, winning the race by over a minute. Her final time of 18:06.14 blew the previous since-2008 meet record of 18:25 out of the water. The Hereford girls went 1-2 in the race with sophomore Emily Konkus finishing in 19:12.77.
Once again, though, Dulaney showed that you don't need an individual champion to win the team title. By placing five runners in the top 12 they were able to score a mini-upset over Hereford, winning by one point (35-36). The Hereford girls had beaten Dulaney at both the Barnhart and Spiked Shoe invitationals, so Dulaney's victory certainly was certainly a bit of a surprise. It was the second time in the past three seasons that both the Dulaney girls and boys won the Baltimore County Championships.