Manheim Township head cross-country coach Terry Lee admits that his style of coaching may be a bit unorthodox. It's hard to argue with the results, though.

Lee stresses unity, discipline and the team concept to his charges. He stopped giving individual recognition at the year-end cross-country banquet about eight years ago by his estimation in an effort to draw the focus back to the team.

"We aim for strength in terms of ability and character," Lee said. "Our team unity is enhancing our potential."

Lee compared the team to a sculptor at work with the chisel.

"It's like a block of granite," he said. "You chip away the factors that aren't conducive to team success."

The Blue Streak girls' team grasped the concept well in 2009, going 20-1 in the dual-meet season. The top seven finishers at the L-L League Championships all ran within 51 seconds of each other, evidence of the team model preached by Lee. They also went on to finish fifth at the District 3 meet and 17th at the PIAA Championships.

Of those seven runners, all of whom finished in the top 31 in the L-L meet, five are back on the squad this season, including junior Kayla Robertson, who finished ninth. The Streaks also get two welcome additions to the team for 2010.

Junior Caitlin Clooney was 11th in the state in the 1,600 last spring after missing the 2009 cross-country season due to injury, and Clooney's classmate Kasey Mann enters her first season of competitive fall running on the heels of a fifth-place finish in the PIAA 1,600.

 Lee has high hopes for this season.

"Our expectations are to always be contending in every race we go into," he said. "We can contend for first in the league, be in contention for the top places in districts and perform well at states."

Still, Lee realizes that he will have competition from his neighboring districts, Hempfield and Warwick.

Hempfield returns nearly all of its top seven from last year's fourth-place team that finished 19-2. Head coach Terry Newman, who also coached the Hempfield boys to a 21-0 record in 2009, sees the parallels between last year's boys and this year's girls.

"We are very similar to what the boys had last year," Newman said. "Many of these girls are in their third or fourth year of varsity running."

The top returnee for Hempfield is also the league's top returning medalist from last year's L-L meet. Senior Natasha Henderson, who will try to build off of her fifth-place finish in 2009, is one of five seniors who were in the Knights' top seven last year. Sophomore newcomer Mackenzie Nolan will also contend for a spot in the top five.

Newman knows that other schools have strong teams this year but believes in his girls as well.

"They understand what they are capable of," Newman said. "They have the confidence that they can run with anybody."

Warwick had a dream season in 2009, going undefeated in dual meets and then winning both the league and district team titles. A historically deep squad, Warwick will need added depth this year after losing four of their top seven runners, all league medalists.

Emily Cameron was second at the L-L Championships as a freshman in 2009, followed directly by Alli Mannon and in 11th position by Kristine Gutshall. Mannon and Gutshall have since graduated, and Cameron, one of the nation's best scholastic swimmers, is spending her fall season in the pool.

Despite the losses, Warwick returns senior Emily Gruber, the seventh-place finisher at leagues in 2009. Junior Kristi Reidenbaugh (10th) and senior Alicia O'Donel (21st) also return for the Warriors.

Coach Matt Reber, in his first season with the varsity after seven years coaching the middle school cross-country team at Warwick, is optimistic that last year's senior class left a lasting impression on this year's squad.

"Winning breeds winning," Reber said. "We have a solid nucleus, but the biggest question will be who we get to step up."

Solanco lost one of the best runners in the county in Taylor Ludman to graduation, yet they return four sophomores who finished 35th or better in the league meet as freshmen. Coach Scott Weaver will rely on having a good pack of runners because he realizes that "a few other teams may be stronger up front." Solanco faces off against Manheim Township in their opening meets Tuesday, in what will be a good test for the Mares.

Cocalico returns its entire top seven from their seventh-place squad, including eighth-place individual finisher junior Leah Wallace.

Garden Spot returns six of its scorers on a team that was eighth a year ago, led by senior Emily Martin, who finished sixth last year and is one of the favorites to garner gold in what is shaping up to be a relatively wide-open competition for the individual championship.

Other top returnees are Elizabethtown sophomore Olivia Esbenshade (12th in 2009), Manheim Township senior Lindsay High (16th) and Northern Lebanon sophomore Brianna Hetrick (20th).

Another potential candidate to contend with the likes of the returning medalists is Conestoga Valley junior Brianna Heikkinen. Heikkinen is new to the school district after her family moved to the county from Missouri, where she finished 30th in the state Class 4 cross-country meet as a sophomore.