In his six years at the helm, coach Wess Brahler has been building the Knoch cross country team into a successful program - a process that continues with each meet this season.

The Knights are rattling off a series of firsts this year and still haven't scratched the surface.

Consider:

After Wednesday's section wins against Pine-Richland and Shaler, the Knights improved to 4-1 in the section, guaranteeing a winning section record for the first time in the program's 18-year history.

In a section meet against section power North Allegheny Sept. 13, the Knights lost 19-42 but marked the first time three Knoch runners cracked the top 10 against the Tigers.

On Sept. 20, the Knights defeated Butler 26-31 and North Hills 28-29, the first time the squad has defeated either team.

Last Saturday, the Knights placed third out of 25 teams at the Central Catholic Invitational, competing in the larger Division A race. Senior Artie Black finished second overall.

With the wins Wednesday, the Knights improved to 13-1 overall, already equaling last year's win total (13-9).

"We weren't sure what our potential was, but we knew we'd be better than last year," said Black. "We want to improve our place at the WPIAL meet."

Another team goal set at the start of the season was to be the best team in Butler County.

"The only way to gauge that is to run every team and we only have Seneca Valley left," said Brahler. "If we beat them, then we're the best in the county. I don't know how some would perceive that."

The Knights attracted more runners under Brahler's tenure - more than 20 just this year - including an influx of track runners, who Brahler also coaches.

"It's been a combination of things," said Brahler. "It was the same approach I had at Moniteau. You show kids that they can be very good runners if they work hard over the summer and that the hard work will pay off in the end.

"I never stressed winning and losing, just perform, perform, perform," Brahler added.

The top seven runners for the Knights are Black, Kyle Reeping, Ben Hutterer, Chris Recio, Cory Steinhagen, C.J. Burns and Brian Tackett.

"(Black and Reeping) are a strong 1-2 punch with confidence," said Brahler. "Having those guys together makes everyone else want to run well. With us third at Central Catholic, that makes us one of the top teams in the WPIAL.

"Artie has a great work ethic. He's kind of like an assistant coach out there. With three weeks left in his sophomore season, he had a stress fracture. From that point on, he dedicated himself as a runner," Brahler added.

As a junior, Black qualified for states in cross country (26th in the WPIAL meet) as well as in track (3,200 run).

"After qualifying for states (in cross country), he did a lot of training and did a lot of little things to get where he is now," Brahler added.

At the Central Catholic Invitational, which North Allegheny while the host was second, the race served as a good barometer for the team.

"What we were thinking was top five," said Brahler. "Once we got into the race and got halfway, the kids kept getting stronger and stronger. Our guys were flying to the finish line.

"Our No. 4 and 5 guys ran so well," Brahler added.

"Most of the better teams were there," said Black. "Norwin was the only one that wasn't. We knew there would be a big pack with us, Baldwin, North Hills and Mt. Lebanon. We wanted to see how we would do versus them."

The top four Class AAA teams at the WPIAL Championships qualify for the state meet.

North Allegheny and Central Catholic seem to be the runaway teams, so that leaves two spots.

"We're definitely one of those teams," said Brahler. "There's still some unfinished business. On Tuesday, if we beat Hampton and Seneca Valley, we'd be runners-up in the section.

"If we're clicking on all cylinders, we can qualify for states. The boys want to do that so bad," Brahler added.

The Knights' top finish at the WPIAL Championships was 24th back in 2003. Last year they fell to 26th.

"In five years, I wanted a team that could contend for the WPIAL championship and challenge for states, and that's what's happening," said Brahler.

"I said 'Why can't we beat some of these teams if we train harder, run smarter and run with confidence?' We've done the work and now we're reaping the benefits."