For John Wilkie, the search has begun.

He hopes it will lead to a WPIAL cross country championship in 2010.

Wilkie's North Hills High School boys' team had three runners place in the top 27 in the Class AAA race at the PIAA championships this past Saturday in Hershey. He is quick to point out that after the first 43 runners had finished, North Hills held a 20-point lead against West Chester Henderson.

West Chester Henderson went on to win the Class AAA team title, edging surprising North Allegheny, 119-128. North Hills faded to eighth place with 263 points.

"We thought we could get into the top 10," Wilkie said. "So, finishing eighth wasn't too bad."

With his top three runners -- Joe Kush, Juris Silenieks and Zach Hebda -- returning next season, Wilkie has the makings of a talented team. But he thought the same thing before this season and then defections and injuries cut into the Indians.

Kush finished fifth on the 3.1-mile Parkview course in 16 minutes, 10 seconds, while Silenieks placed 13th in 16:27. Hebda finished 27th in 16:45 and just missed getting a medal. The top 20 finishers in all the races at the championships received awards.

When asked when he would start looking for runners to join the team next season, Wilkie responded with a quick, "Now."

There are a couple of reasons why that makes sense. First, cross country runners, at least good ones, don't just happen. It wouldn't be unreasonable for an individual who wanted to be a good distance runner next fall to start putting in some miles now.

Second, Wilkie wants to make sure he doesn't get caught short of bodies next season, which is what happen this year.

Wilkie believes his top three will be even better next year. Kush has developed into one of the top distance runners in the WPIAL. Silenieks isn't too far behind, considering he had surgery on both calf muscles last spring and didn't have much of a track season.

"I think he'll be right there with Joe, and Zach is a pretty good runner, too," Wilkie said. "I think all three will be better next year."

It's a formidable trio but to go after a WPIAL or PIAA title, a team needs at least five solid runners and most coaches prefer to have seven.

Wilkie had four with senior Paulson Domasky in the mix, but had a tough time finding fifth and sixth runners who could shorten the gap between them and the top three.

Jake Campbell could step in. A wrestler at North Hills, he showed some promise before being sidelined with sore legs.

"[Campbell] came out late and I tried to get him ready a little bit too quickly and it just didn't work out," Wilkie said. "But he could be good and we'll see how that goes.

"I've also talked to a couple others [about the possibility] of running, but whether they will follow through, I don't know. And I've got my eye on a couple of individuals who will be freshmen next year. I'm hoping they will come out."

North Allegheny coach John Neff was something of a prognosticator about the Tigers' chances at the PIAA championships. After North Allegheny won its fifth consecutive WPIAL title he said, "We've been focusing on this [WPIAL] race, but I think the guys will be fired up and I think we'll do OK out there [Hershey]."

The second-place finish proves he was right about the fired up part. Junior Ryan Gil was third overall.

What was perhaps even more impressive was the North Allegheny girls' fourth-place finish. Impressive because the squad's seven runners consisted of four juniors, two freshmen and a sophomore.

The North Hills girls, with Margo and Shannon Malone leading the way, were ninth in the team standings with just two seniors in its top seven. Margo Malone, a sophomore, was fifth overall.

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