Varsity cross country tied Ramona Convent in the Sunshine League finals meet Nov. 3. That gave allowed the team to recapture the league championship because it also won all its head-to-head meets during the season.

At the finals, Katherine Tercek ’12 came in first overall, followed by team captain Danielle Van De Sande ’10.

The team advanced to the CIF Southern Section preliminaries after press time on Saturday, running in a hot heat against La Reina and Harvard Westlake, ranked first and second, respectively, in CIF-SS Division IV.

After a season of losses last year, the team has regained momentum, leading an undefeated season, which has boosted the team’s hope for upcoming meets.

“We are going to dominate at CIF,” Alexa Beyer ’11 said.

Van De Sande said the team is stronger this year due to a combination of veteran leadership and a foundation of young runners.

“We have a younger group that’s really stepping it up this year,” Van de Sande said.

Head coach Jimmie Grant said his goals for the team were to win league, as well as be a competitor in CIF-SS finals.

“We have the talent to do it, the talent just has to be up for the challenge,” Grant said about his prospects for the team’s competitiveness at the CIF-SS finals.

“If we step our game up, we may have a chance [at the CIF-SS title],” Grant said.

There are a number of tenth graders as well as first year seniors on the team this year.

“Trying to keep everyone motivated has been a challenge,” Grant said.

The top scorers on the team have consistently been Tercek, Van De Sande, and freshman Jade Harvey.  These runners, as well as Alexa Beyer ’11, Caitlyn Gold ’12, Lauren Gutches ’12, and Taylor Phillips ’12 represented Marlborough at CIF-SS preliminaries.

All of the team’s top qualifiers ran at the prestigious Mt. Sac Invitational. Tercek placed twelfth followed by Van De Sande in fourteenth in a Division IV and V heat.

Grant said since the team is growing and will only lose one senior next year, he sees promise for the future.