Maryland Boys XC Preseason Team Rankings: #4 Dulaney

No. 4: Dulaney High School

2016 is going to be a year of transition for the Dulaney boys, who are coming off an incredible 2015 season. They will be defending their state championship without their top five runners from last season, including the 2015 state champion Eric Walz. Rising junior Matt Owens is their top returner; he finished 20th overall at the 4A State Championships and ran 9:58.95 in the 3200 during the spring. Beyond him, their next five returners all come ran between 16:52 and 17:19 last year, and their times on the track suggest they could improve those significantly this year: Drew Persinger (10:23.70 3200), Connor Martin (10:19.64 3200), Alex Ozbolt (4:35.09 1600), Jacob Plasse (10:22.90 3200) and Brendan O'Brien (9:58.16 3200). They're still the favorite to win their fourth straight Baltimore County Championship, and their battle with Howard at the 4A North Regionals will be one to watch. It's going to be interesting to see the new-look Lions on the course this year without all of the familiar faces from the past few years, but the Dulaney boys will still be a strong contender for this year's state championship.