A team for the ages.

That aptly describes the Seneca Valley boys cross country team from 1983.

In November of that year, the Raiders captured the PIAA Class AAA team title, the first team state title in the history of the school.

SV’s performance was led by senior Gus Nicoll, who won the individual title with a time of 15 minutes, 20.1 seconds.

The squad also included Matt Barron, Mark Barron, Terry Estes, Tony Neibar, Glenn Rhines, John Yates and Jeff Miller.

“Being from Western Pennsylvania, we trained on hills all the time,” Nicoll said. “I think that was an advantage for us over teams from the east.”

The entire team will be honored with induction into the SV Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday.

“We got quite a bit of recognition at the time, including a (state title) banner at the school,” said Denny Stewart, who coached the Raiders from 1976-84. “But it’s still great to see the team going into the Hall of Fame.”

“For me, this is a celebration of what eight individuals did under inspired leadership,” said Nicoll. “Coach Stewart built that team quietly and with humility. I’m so happy that he is now being recognized.”

For Stewart, the 1983 campaign left nothing to be desired.

“We went undefeated, winning our section, the WPIAL team title and then the state title,” he said. “Cross country may not be viewed as a team sport, but we were a true team.

“If one of our runners was hurting during a race, he could have said, ‘I’m not going to push myself and it’s only going to affect me,’” he added. “None of our guys did that because they knew that their performance meant something to the team. They ran for not only themselves, but also each other.”

Stewart described SV’s 1982 effort as “fair,” but also had high hopes entering the following season.

“We had a good nucleus back and our goal was to be a strong team.”

Nicoll finished runner-up to Penn Hills’ Eric Carter at the WPIAL final in late October, but rebounded by besting the defending state champ in the PIAA event, held at Lehigh University.

“I got spanked in the WPIAL meet,” admitted Nicoll. “I knew I had one opportunity to redeem myself and that was at the state championship.”

Also scoring for the Raiders were Matt Barron (20th, 16:14.2), Neibar (36th, 16:30), Mark Barron (45th, 16:36.4) and Rhines (48th, 16:37.9). The supporting effort was so good that the Raiders would still have been crowned champions even without Nicoll’s individual title.

State College placed second with 326 points, an astounding 176 points behind the Raiders.

“Everybody on our team ran their best time that day and that’s hard to do,” said Stewart. “We won the WPIAL title and knew we had a good team, but going into the state championship, you never know what’s on the other side of the state.”

“For me personally, it would have been a disappointment if we had not won the state title,” said Neibar. “We felt if we all ran the race we were capable of, we would win.”

Many of the 1983 team members have not seen each other in years. That will change with this weekend’s festivities.

“It’s hard for me to believe that it’s been 30 years,” said Nicoll. “I’m excited about seeing my old teammates.”

Also included in this year’s class are five individuals. They include:

Joan (Sherman) Trach (Class of 1975) — Earned 11 varsity letters at SV (four in swimming and track and three in basketball). ... In track, aided in the Raiders’ 800 relay team placing fifth and third in the state in 1974 and 1975, respectively. ... Led SV’s girls basketball team in scoring, assists and steals for three straight years.

Toni (Riley) Kisling (1980) — Became the first female swimmer from Seneca Valley to qualify for the state championship meet, swimming the 50 freestyle in March 1977. ... Earned a spot in the WPIAL meet all four years of high school and graduated from SV with every individual record, except for the 100 breaststroke.

Brian Buerkle (1988) — Graduated as the SV football program’s all-time leading rusher with 2,314 yards, a standard that stood for 25 years. ... Also held the school’s single-game record with 220 yards rushing against Kittanning in 1986 and the standard for career touchdowns scored with 20. ... Earned three varsity letters in track and field.

Zach Jackson (2001) — Graduated from SV with a 25-4 record as a pitcher for the varsity baseball team. ... Totaled 17 wins in two seasons for the University of Louisville before transferring to Texas A&M, for which he pitched a no-hitter in 2004. ... Was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round of the 2004 amateur draft (32nd overall). ... Pitched in 22 games for the Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Indians from 2006-09, including four wins and 63 strikeouts.

Stacie (Safritt) Anderson (2005) — Was part of the SV girls swimming quartet that won the 200 medley relay state title in March 2005. ... Also earned a total of five WPIAL gold medals, two as an individual (50 and 100 freestyles) and three in relays (200 medley twice, 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle). ... Starred in the pool for the University of Pittsburgh’s women’s team and swam the 50 freestyle at the Olympic Trials in 2008.