The members of the girls' cross country team at North Hills High School were out for a cool-down jog following the WPIAL championships last week -- they had no idea where they had finished in the team standings.

They knew they had run well with sophomore Margo Malone finishing second and sister Shannon, a freshman, fifth. They were almost positive they had placed in the top four in the team standings and had earned a trip to the PIAA championships in Hershey, but that was about it.

"When they got back [from their run], I got them together and when I told them Butler was fourth their eyes got big," North Hills girls' coach Tom Baier said. "Then I told them North Allegheny was third and we were second and they went crazy. I don't know if they realized what they had done."

North Hills finished with 178 points in the Class AAA competition, finishing behind Norwin, which had an outstanding total of 112. North Allegheny was third with 191.

It was a nice comeback for the Indians after placing 10th the week before at the Tri-State Track Coaches Association championships on the same 3.1-mile Cooper's Lake Campground course. But Baier had a good feeling going into the WPIAL finals.

He used the Tri-State meet as incentive for his young team.

"They were disappointed in what they did at Tri-States but Shannon got sick and didn't even finish that race," Baier said. "We sat down and had a talk and I said to them, 'Look at what you're capable of doing.' There clocks were there, it was just a matter of going out and doing it."

It was a given going into the championships that no team was going to catch talented Norwin unless the Knights had a total collapse, which wasn't likely. After that, there were five or six teams, including North Hills, capable of finishing second and taking home WPIAL hardware.

Baier figured Shannon Malone would bounce back for the WPIAL meet and if everyone else on the North Hills team ran as expected, the Indians would be in the hunt for the runner-up trophy.

When he watched runners come past the 2-mile mark last Thursday Baier got more excited.

"I thought 'This is really going well,'" he said. "Margo was right there with the leaders and Shannon was running well and Emily [Enzerra] was up in there. But we had to have our No. 4 and 5 runners come through and they did."

He tried to figure out in what places his runners finished, which isn't easy when competitors start crossing the finish line three at a time. Baier knew the Indians had run well but he wasn't sure how well.

"I had an idea about our places and [North Hills boys' coach] John [Wilkie] said 'Add them up.' I said, 'I don't want to add them up,' but he said to give him a rounded up number and then John said, 'You beat North Allegheny.' I wasn't sure until they posted the results and that's when the girls were out cooling down."

Wilkie was pleased with his team as well.

The North Hills boys had three runners in the top five -- Joe Kush was third, Juris Silenieks was fourth and Zach Hebda placed fifth, and Paulson Domasky was 17th -- and also qualified for the PIAA championships with a third-place finish.

The unsung heroes for the North Hills girls are juniors Jacie Shields and Regina Sencak, the team's fourth and fifth runners. It was important for them to close the gap on Enzerra, who finished in 19 minutes, 53 seconds. Sencak was only 1:18 behind her teammate.

"If the fourth and fifth runners don't do their job, it doesn't matter what the top two or three do," Baier said. "But we've gotten contributions from everybody all season. This is a good group to work with."

It is also a young group with Enzerra and Felicia Bane the only seniors in the top seven. North Hills should have a strong team again next season with the addition of the Malone's younger sister, Mary an eighth grader at St. Teresa of Avila School in Ross. But there is still the matter of the PIAA race on the course next to the Giant Center in Hershey.

The Malone sisters have a chance to place in the top 20 in Hershey and North Hills could end up in the top 10 in the team standings with another solid effort.

Baier said it's good that the school's boys' and girls' teams will travel together to Hershey.

"The guys know the course and can give the girls some tips," he said. "The first 800 meters is a killer and you have to get out fast or you're in trouble, so we'll see what happens. It's just great that the girls have the opportunity to go out there and run."

• Quaker Valley's Sarah Miller wins Class AA girls' title; Quakers sweep team titles in Class AA.

• The PIAA cross country championships are Saturday at the Parkview course next to the Giant Center in Hershey. Race times ate 9 a.m., Class AA girls; 10 a.m., Class AAA girls; 11 a.m., Class AA boys; noon, Class AAA boys.

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.