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In 2009, Montgomery County boys cross country was a race for second place. The year before that, it was a race for third.

After two years of dominance by Whitman's Andrew Palmer, plus the 2008 phenomenon that was Solomon Haile, the path to first through the chute is clear.

Or it would be, but for a giant pack of potential heirs to the throne.

"They'll all be thinking, ‘I can do this,' not, ‘I can do this if so-and-so falls down,' " Walter Johnson coach Tom Martin said. "Someone is going to catch fire because of this, someone might set themselves apart before states. But as it stands now, there's no clear favorite."

Martin said there might be as many as 10 runners who could break the county championship tape at Gaithersburg on Oct. 23. Einstein coach Eric DaSilva put the number at 15.

"It's going to come down to how a kid feels and the course breaks down," DaSilva said. "If you start looking at it, there were a lot of kids at about the same level by the end of last [year]. We'll see what happens when the races start, see if someone has separated themselves from the rest of that group."

The gaggle at the top trickles down to the team races, though the picture is a little clearer there. Defending Class 4A state champion Walter Johnson, Churchill and Quince Orchard each boast two runners in the group at the top.

How those six runners shake out will shape the county race as much as the depth behind him. When regionals and states roll around, the Wildcats and Bulldogs will go at it again.

"WJ is the defending champion two years in a row, so it will be tough," Churchill coach Steve Bettis said.

"Churchill looks pretty tough, that's the one you should give all the pressure to," Martin said.

If there is an early individual favorite among the coaches, it appears to be Northwest senior Chris Miller. If the Jaguars can fill in behind Miller ("I adore that kid," coach Beth Muehl said) they will be in the mix.

Sherwood also has a rock-solid top two in seniors Jackson Reams and Kyle Tockman, but is "gappy" after that, according to coach Dan Reeks. Bethesda-Chevy Chase and Wootton lack individual standouts, but like their depth in the top five.

Depth is the reason Einstein is the county's hot sleeper. The Titans return three of the top 12 finishers at last year's 3A West Region meet, plus two runners it was missing late last season.

DaSilva believes seniors Andrew Ciruzzi, who had a breakout spring track season, and Milo Johnson, who was sick for last year's championship meets, have the potential to contend for top individual honors. Junior Alex Hevey and sophomores Nick Simpson and Benjamin Whitlow will score plenty of points, as well.

In the private school ranks, stud Kyle Graves graduated from Good Counsel, but the Falcons return the rest of last year's squad.

"At this point, I will say our veteran guys seem like some pretty intelligent runners," coach Tom Arnold said. "We just ran our best team trial ever without our No. 4 and No. 7 runners."

jwehmueller@gazette.net

Will Conway, Eric Holmstead, Evan Laratta, Chris Miller, Jackson Reams, Nick Regan, Conor Spaulding, Shane Stepek, Zach

Weinstein, Alex Willett