The Parkland girls cross country team continued a fine season with a third-place finish last Tuesday at the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference cross country championship at DeSales University.

The Trojans finished with 73 points, behind first-place Emmaus and second-place Easton in the 111-girl field.

“The girls ran a great race as a team,” Parkland coach Stephen Ott said. “They have continued to improve throughout the season. The third-place team finish was a positive. Emmaus has a very strong team. Easton has been better than us a few times this year, but our team definitely narrowed the gap at EPCs.”

Lana Hurwitz led the way for Parkland with a 19:47 third-place finish. Next up with a 14th ranking was Elena Wenger, who clocked in at 20:53. Gracie Trexler claimed 17th in 21:03, while Lucy Tobia finished 24th at 21:36.30.

Talia Zurinskas earned 27th place in 21:49, while Homare Yamashita was 38th at 22:29. Marley Boyle and Ava Lundy finished respectively 42nd and 43rd, and Abbey Bender finished 50th.

The season reaches its culmination at districts, when everything is on the line.

“We know that we can and need to run better next week at districts if we want to qualify for the PIAA state race,” Ott said. “The momentum is building and so is the belief that the girls have in each other. Our staff is looking forward to watching them succeed.”

The District 11 championship is scheduled for Oct. 26 at DeSales University.