Having all of the facts helps when looking at final scores.

Take the Tri-State Track Coaches Association cross country championships a week ago for example. At first glance, one would expect Baldwin High School runners and coaches to be upset with the results. The Highlanders were beaten, 66-78, by North Allegheny in the boys' team standings.

Baldwin has designs on winning its first WPIAL Class AAA team title since 1999 today at the championship meet, ending North Allegheny's four-year reign in the process. Because the Tri-State Coaches meet is usually a precursor of what will happen at the WPIAL finals, it would have been understandable if Baldwin folks had been displeased with the results.

Just the opposite was true.

Baldwin coaches Bunny Schmidt and Rich Wright were smiling and their runners were not disappointed when the boys' results were posted.

That's because everyone in the Baldwin camp knew the Highlanders were not 100 percent physically. Schmidt said a couple weeks ago that team members were ill on the bus returning from a meet in Virginia. Those lousy symptoms had lingered through last week.

"The stuff is going through the school," Baldwin senior Mike Cecala said. "It's tough to stay healthy."

Coaches were not sure if Cecala, who has been Baldwin's top runner this season, would even compete at the Tri-State Coaches championships on the same Cooper's Lake Campground course that will be the site of today's WPIAL meet. Cecala wasn't sure if he would run until the day of the race.

"It ran through my mind [the day before the meet]," he said when asked if he thought about not running in the Tri-State Coaches event. "We do a 2-mile warm-up [the day before a race] and I could barely move my legs. I'm saying to the guys, 'I don't know about tomorrow.' And they're saying, 'You're alright, you're alright.' After that, I kept my mouth shut."

He felt better the day of the race and, although he wasn't 100 percent, Cecala was strong enough to place 10th. Baldwin's Dennis Logan finished fourth and teammate Bobby Bishop was sixth.

Wright said he was surprised Baldwin finished second to North Allegheny in the team standings given the health of the team.

"I do feel better now ... everyone is starting to feel better," Cecala said.

"Dennis ran an amazing race for us and Bobby Bishop, the sophomore, was amazing. Paul [DeGregorio] didn't run as well [as he could] and Jeep [George Crompton] didn't run as well, so we will just focus on next week and hope for the best.

"We're looking to take down North Allegheny. Knowing how we ran today [under the circumstances], we definitely feel good about [the WPIAL championships]."

The championships are at Cooper's Lake Campground near Slippery Rock. The girls' Class AA race is at 1:45 p.m. and the girls' Class AAA race is at 2:30 p.m. The boys' Class AA race is at 3:15 p.m. with the boys' Class AAAA race at 4 p.m.

The top four teams in each race qualify for the PIAA championships Nov. 7 in Hershey. Also the top 20 finishers who are not members of one of the top four teams in each race qualify for the PIAA championships.

Cecala is expected to be among the leaders in the Class AAA boys' race today. He was happy with his time of 16 minutes, 40 seconds last week, given his situation.

"I can't say I've ever gone into a race not feeling 100 percent, so I didn't know how to take it," he said of the Tri-State Coaches meet. "I just decided to go out and run my best and however I finish, I finish. If I feel better, I feel better. I didn't know any other way to approach it.

"I didn't want to back off [the pace] just to back off. I didn't want to do that to my team."

Like most of his Baldwin teammates, Cecala has been doing everything possible to improve his health. He has been taking Vitamin C, drinking a lot of water and getting plenty of rest. He has even been using hand sanitizer while in school.

He said competing last week probably helped his situation.

"Yeah, I think it was good to go out and run, get some exercise," he said. "After a race, it tends to clear you out. So, I do feel better after racing."

And about going for the WPIAL title today.

•

AROUND THE COURSE -- Mt. Lebanon's Rad Gunzenhauser was second to North Allegheny's Ryan Gil at the Tri-State Coaches meet, setting up today's showdown for the Class AAA individual title. Gunzenhauser had beaten Gil at least twice this season. ... On the girls' side, despite not having a runner place in the top 25 Mt. Lebanon finished third in the team standings behind North Allegheny and Oakland Catholic. That's because the Blue Devils top five runners, led by freshmen Katie Walsh and Julie Kocjancic, finished within 73 seconds of each other between 27th and 83rd places. ... Peters Township's Kayla Keddal was fourth at the Tri-State meet.

Mike White's "High School Sports Edition" videos are featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.