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Thurmont -- Shortly after the season started, Stephanie Bryan noticed something pretty cool was happening around her. When the Thomas Johnson cross country team went for runs, whether it be practice or a meet, Bryan, the clear front-runner for the Patriots, had some company. "It was great," she said. "We've always been a pretty tight pack, but this year we've been even closer. Everyone is running about a minute faster than they were last year." No further proof was needed than the finish of Saturday's Frederick County championships, which also doubled as the MVAL Piedmont meet for every school except Brunswick and the host, Catoctin. Bryan, a senior, finished first in 20 minutes, 19.48 seconds to claim her first county title after finishing as the runner-up last year. But right behind her was junior teammate Savanna Plombon, who finished second in 20:26.19. In fact, the Patriots had six of the top eight placers overall and seven of the top 22, confirming pre-race speculation that they were going to dominate the meet. TJ won with 21 points, 31 more than second-place Urbana and 69 more than third-place Walkersville . After Bryan and Plombon, senior Kristin Luttrell was fifth in 22:04.18, junior Annie Powell placed sixth in 22:05.14, senior Kelsey Igo was seventh in 22:16.35, junior Kristen Galligan finished eighth in 22:19.72 and junior Eileen Donoghue placed 22nd in 24:48.53. Only Linganore 's Bridget Nolan, who finished third in 21:18.36, and Urbana 's Sarah Askine, who was fourth in 21:39.52, were able to break up the lead pack for the Patriots. "The county championship is always a big deal, but we are trying to focus on counties as just one part of three big championships with regionals and states to come," TJ coach Chris Lewis said. Bryan had no trouble keeping her perfect record intact in the county this season. She led the race wire-to-wire on the hilly and muddy course that was recently put together by Catoctin coach Terri Gibbons. "It was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be," Bryan said of the course. "We came up here and ran it on Thursday and it didn't seem so bad. But then we got out here today and I was like, 'It wasn't this tough the other day.'" The day wasn't entirely giddy for TJ. Powell twisted her ankle badly on the course yet still managed to finish the race. She seemed to be in substantial pain after it was over and even had to be carted up the hill from the finish line to join the rest of her team. Lewis called it a "significant" loss. He is hoping Powell will be able to run in the regional and state meets. Walkersville was the only other school to place a runner in the top 10 overall, as Erin Hub placed ninth in 22:34.30. She was followed by Kyra Smith of Urbana , who was 10th in 22:53.95.
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