CMC Girls XC Preview

Photo by Autumn Hoffman

The CMC Championships give Frederick County teams a chance to race each other before their own county championships, which could provide a matchup between three of the best teams in the state this fall. Urbana, Oakdale and Middletown were the top three teams at last year's CMC and Frederick County championships and things may only tighten up even more this fall. All three teams rank in the top 30 in the statewide returning composite rankings.

CMC Girls Preview: By The Numbers

Photo by Craig Amoss

The Middletown girls were one of the youngest teams in the state - all five of their top runners were underclassmen - and they still finished fourth at the 2A State Championships. Sophomore Eleanor Stafford (above) and freshman Campbell Caldwell led the charge, finishing 11th and 12th, respectively. With Stafford and Campbell leading the charge the Knights sit just five points behind Urbana in the virtual meet (based on returning three mile times).

Photo by Dasam Gill

The defending champions from Urbana also have something no other team in the CMC can boast: the defending individual champion. Sara Jarman won both the CMC and Frederick County titles last year and owns the 14th-fastest returning three mile mark in the state. Along with track star Ella Auderset (who will run cross country for the first time in 2019) and the McDonnell sisters, the Urbana girls are still set as the team to beat in the CMC this fall.

Photo by John Roemer

The third team in the mix, Oakdale, was the only team of the three to make the podium at last fall's state meet. Led by a pair of top-15 finishers in sophomores Hayley Ross and Aubrey Schaffer, they enter 2019 as one of the top contenders for the 2A state title. In fact, along with Middletown and the following team, the CMC Championships could serve as a month-in-advance preview of the 2A state title race on the girls' side.

Photo by Craig Amoss

Winners of four straight 1A state titles, the Boonsboro girls will be moving to the 2A classification next year to join Oakdale and Middletown. Rising senior Kayla Aufdem Brinke (middle) led the team throughout most of the year, but it was rising junior Samantha Agostini who came up big at the state meet. She finished second after not having finished higher than fourth at any meet in the season. They fare well in the conference's composite rankings, rating as the fourth-highest returning team.

Photo by Dasam Gill

North Hagerstown's Phoebe Meehan is one of the top returning runners from Western Maryland this season. She won the Washington County title last year, finished second at the CMC Championships and 3A West Regionals and was a top-20 finisher at the state championships.