The prospects excite North Hills High School cross country coach John Wilkie.

His boys' team finished 7-1 in Section 3-AAA this season, with the loss coming against powerful North Allegheny. At the Central Catholic Invitational this past Saturday in Schenley Park, the Indians were fifth among the 24 teams that competed in the Varsity A division.

All of that, and guess what? Wilkie has not had all of his best runners healthy for any one race.

"The first time we'll have all of our big guns together will probably be Tri-State," he said, referring to the Tri-State Track and Field Coaches Association championships a week from today at Cooper's Lake Campground. "It'll be interesting to see what we do there."

It will be interesting to see what North Hills does the rest of this season and the next three years. That's because the Indians are as young as papooses.

When healthy, North Hills' top two runners are freshmen Juris Silenieks and Joe Kush. Another ninth-grader, Troy Zangaro, has been in Wilkie's top five, and sophomore Paulson Domasky has moved in as the sixth man.

Kush has been slowed by a foot injury and didn't run at the Central Catholic Invitational. Silenieks did participate and placed eighth with a time of 16 minutes, 35 seconds. That wasn't too far behind winner David Adley of Baldwin, who finished in 16:04.

Wilkie said Kush and Silenieks are the second- and third-fastest North Hills freshmen in the 35-year history of the school's home course at Riverview Park. And this is a school that has produced such outstanding distance runners as Ian Fitzgerald, Steve Brown and Tom Tobin.

"We saw how good they were last cross country season in junior high, and asked them if they would be willing to train with the varsity guys in December and over the winter into last spring," Wilkie said. "They did that and I think they have been able to transition into the varsity a little easier because of that.

"Joe has a little more speed and will probably be a 1,600-, 800-meter runner in track. Juris seems to have a little more endurance and will probably be a 1,600-, 3,200-meter guy in track. And Tony [Zangaro] isn't too far behind either of them."

Add senior Dan Carey, who has been North Hills' No. 1 runner at times this season, juniors Mike Vlah and Adam Brown, and seniors Brian Clark and Greg Sencak, and the Indians are a challenger for one of the WPIAL's four team spots in Class AAA at the PIAA championships.

"That's the team goal, to qualify for states," Wilkie said. "I think we have a shot at that fourth spot.

"I'd say North Allegheny, Seneca Valley and Mt. Lebanon are locks to take the first three, but we are in there with a number of other teams for that other place."

If North Hills should miss out on that, it has four runners in Kush, Silenieks, Vlah and Carey, who has been slowed by an illness recently, who have a good shot of qualifying for the PIAA meet as individuals.

Still, Wilkie wants to take the team to Hershey Nov. 3 for the PIAA championships. He wants to lay the groundwork for the next couple of years.

With such a young team and such talented freshmen, Wilkie believes North Hills could take a shot at the WPIAL Class AAA title next year. And after that, who knows?

"How we do at the WPIAL championships will depend on our No. 5 runner," Wilkie said. "We've struggled a little bit there, but then we haven't had everybody totally healthy for a race."

What Wilkie likes about his freshmen is they are fearless. There have been talented ninth-grade runners in the past who have backed off in varsity competitions when going against a senior or junior. Not the young Indians.

"When we ran [against] Butler in the section, I told Joe [Kush] to see what he could do against Ben Porter," Wilkie said. "So he goes out and, with about a quarter-mile to go, he's leading the race. And Porter is a very good runner who finished eighth in the WPIAL last year.

"That gives you an idea of where these guys are."

AROUND THE COURSE: Seneca Valley won the boys' Varsity A team title at the Central Catholic Invitational with Cam Stauffer and Chris Cipro finishing second and third, respectively. ... Northgate's Tim Gillingham won the boys' Varsity B race in 17:20 and the Flames were third in the team standings. ... Knoch's Jolene Kunkel won the girls' Varsity A race with a time of 19:28. Pine-Richland's Emily Wobb was second. ... Quaker Valley won the girls' Varsity B team title. ... Shady Side Academy's Katrina Jueng was second in the girls' Varsity B race.