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With the state's cross country season set to culminate Saturday at Hereford High in Parkton, there are plenty of story lines following Montgomery County runners and teams.

Class 4A

After capturing the state crown as a sophomore, Whitman's Andrew Palmer looks to return to the top of the podium. Following a runner-up performance to former Sherwood star Solomon Haile last year, the Syracuse (N.Y.) University-bound senior is one of the top distance runners in the country and the prohibitive favorite.

Palmer will look to become just the third athlete in state history to break the 16-minute mark on Hereford's course. Atholton's Graham Bazell ran 15:50 there last year, while Haile owns the course record of 15:43.

When asked how he wanted to end his tenure in Columbia blue, the county and region champion simply grinned and said, "Win. I love it."

Wootton's Jessie Rubin has been just as dominant on the girls side. The senior will look to wrap up a stellar career with a second state championship, after claiming the 3200-meter outdoor track title in the spring.

"It's so hard to judge other runners on times because the races and courses are so different," said Rubin, who also won the region and county races. "I'm more concerned with places. ... There's not much I can do about them. I'm just going to run my race."

On the team front, the Walter Johnson boys will look to repeat as state champions with Sean O'Leary, Ishan Dey and Alex Willet leading the way. The Wildcat girls, who also captured counties and regionals, are led by last year's surprising state champ, Anna Bosse.

The Northwest girls are legitimate title contenders, as well. Led by Britt Eckerstrom, the Jaguars finished just behind Walter Johnson at counties and regionals. Two of their top five, including county runner-up Alyssa Henshaw, did not run Thursday.

Other individuals to watch: Jackson Reams, Sherwood; Nicolas Escobar, Magruder; Chris Miller, Abby Spitler, Gaithersburg; Anna Ryba, Whitman.

Class 3A

Pack running has been a religion at Damascus the past two years. The girls edged Quince Orchard at regionals by just two points, 42-44. They took fourth (Alex Carroll), fifth (Emily McIvried), eighth (Karly Najaka), 11th (Kylee Patton) and 14th (Lakayja Alston), all within 1:37.

The boys put their top five within 50 seconds of each other: Thomas Arias (second), Charlie Ramirez (seventh), Alex Arias (13th), Ben Constantinides (14th) and Lorenzo Acosta (19th).

Reproducing those efforts at the state championships will be even more challenging for the Swarmin' Hornets.

"It is harder at states," Damascus coach Robert Youngblood said. "We're trying to enforce that we have three No. 5 runners. Those three's job is to run together and stay ahead of other people's No. 5 runners. That's fewer points for the other teams' No. 5."

Quince Orchard's Stephanie Joson, who captured her first major championship at regionals, is amongst the favorites for the girls individual title. Also keep an eye on Clarksburg's Abby Daley, who finished ahead of Joson at counties.

Class 2A

The Poolesville boys qualified, as did three individuals from Rockville: Nathan Austin, Kathryn Nagiel and Amy Ferro.

Note: Saturday's races begin at 10 a.m.