Photo by Travis Pratt Urbana's Jimmy Miller nears the finish line at Catoctin High School, Saturday morning in Thurmont.

With Linganore 's Braden Bruning hot on his heels as the finish line neared in Saturday's Frederick County Cross Country championships at Catoctin High School, the Urbana senior kicked it in another gear to win the title for the second year in a row.

Miller's winning time on what he called the "hardest course" he has run all season due to muddy and hilly terrain was 17 minutes, 27.27 seconds.

Bruning was right behind him in 17:42.18, a second-place result that helped the Lancers claim their first county team title since 2001.

Linganore placed six runners in the top 20 overall and finished with 55 points, eight more than second-place Walkersville and almost 20 more than third-place Urbana .

After Bruning, freshman Patrick Duboyce finished seventh (18:24.34), senior Adam Rudy placed 12th (18:51.38), freshman Garet Fanning came in 15th (18:53.70), senior Erik Woytowitz was 17th (18:58.41) and junior Keegan Rankin placed 20th (19:10.20).

"Big win," Linganore 's first-year coach Andres Wright said. "I really believed it was going to be a close (race) and, on a different course, who knew what was going to happen? They showed up on county championship day and gave it their best."

After Miller established his customary front-running position, Bruning caught him around the two-mile mark.

"I was like, 'Whoa. Where did he come from?'" Miller said.

Bruning beat Miller earlier in the season at Boonsboro and was the only county competitor to finish ahead of him during the year.

"I think Jimmy knew that if he left Braden anywhere near him, he could have been inviting trouble," Wright said.

So, just as Bruning closed the gap, Miller found a burst of energy and pushed in front for good.

"I put my heart into the race," Miller said. "I just kicked up the hill into the woods and just pushed hard to the finish."

Although he never fell during the race, Miller said he lost his footing a few times on the muddy course.

"The mud was awful," he said. "It's hard to keep running your race when you have to concentrate on the mud so much. But, obviously, that was a factor for everybody."

Miller was able to push through it, just like he did when his legs got tired midway through the season and just like he hopes to due in the upcoming regional and state meets. He's hoping for a top five finish in both.

"I think he's had a fantastic season," Urbana coach Craig Coleman said. "He's trained hard. He went out for track in the spring. That helped his speed. He just focused on running. He trained very hard all summer and, you can see, it's all paying off."

After Miller and Bruning, the rest of the top five was Tuscarora's Tyree Smith, who finished third in 18:05.23, Walkersville 's Stephen Keith, who was fourth in 18:16.20, and Tuscarora's Logan Jones, who placed fifth in 18:21.85.

The race also served as the MVAL Piedmont Championship for every school except Brunswick and Catoctin.