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A year ago in Parkton, the Patriots' top runner collapsed from exhaustion on the final hill of the course and was unable to complete the race.

On Saturday, Rubin's time of 19 minutes, 48 seconds was 31 ticks clear of the field. The victory also completed her sweep of the county, regional and state meets.

"I kind of became a new runner in outdoor track," said Rubin, who also earned the 3200-meter state title in May. "That new runner that I found in myself ... carried over to this season."

Her effort helped the Patriots (130 points) finish fourth as a team. Classmate Andrea Maxwell (20:45) placed sixth.

Meanwhile, on the boys side, Whitman senior Andrew Palmer spent most of his final high school cross country in the same place he has been for most of his prep career: well in front of the pack.

The Syracuse (N.Y.) University commit finished 19 seconds ahead of the field to capture his second individual 4A title in 16:48.

Palmer had his sights set on breaking the state record (15:43, by former Sherwood star Solomon Haile last year), but soaked course conditions prevented any realistic assault.

"I was just trying not to fall," Palmer said. "My coach and I were still trying to go after the record. But the parts of the course which are flat that we were really planning on me hammering were just so slick, that just took away from it."

The Vikings placed fourth (160 points).

Team success

With Alex Willett (17:15), Ishan Dey (17:20) and Nick Regan (17:43) placing third, fourth and 11th, respectively, the Walter Johnson boys repeated as team champions in 4A. Their 73 points edged Churchill, which finished runner-up with 89 points.

Will Conway (17:26, seventh) and Tarek Elhage (17:31) paced the Bulldogs.

In 3A, the Damascus boys won their first state title since 1965.

Led by the Arias brothers, Thomas (17:49, ninth) and Alex (18:08, 15th), the Swarmin' Hornets accumulated 117 points to top Quince Orchard's 141, which was good enough for second place.

Evan Laratta's fifth-place finish (17:30) led the Cougars.

The Walter Johnson girls were the county's best team in 4A. Anna Bosse, the 2009 state champion, placed third (20:22) and Jenna Willet was fifth (20:44) to help the Wildcats take third overall (111 points).

Notables

Despite placing no boy higher than 19th, Richard Montgomery finished fifth in 4A. ... Junior Chris Miller (17:25, sixth) guided the Northwest boys to sixth while Britt Eckerstrom (20:56, eighth) helped the girls to fifth. ... Magruder's Nicolas Escobar placed eighth (17:28) while Sherwood's Jackson Reams was fifth (17:22). ... 3A West Region girls champ, Quince Orchard senior Stephanie Joson, placed fourth (21:08). ... The Poolesville boys placed fifth in 2A. ... Good Counsel's Kyle Graves took second (15:59) at the MD/DC Private Schools Championship while Landon's Jack Strabo placed sixth (16: