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The DeMatha High School cross country team has come to expect success out of star senior Cory Puffett – a two-time Gazette-Star Runner of the Year.

But the Stags have also had their share of mystery about how the team's runners will perform.

The 2009 Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships will take place Saturday at the Lake Fairfax course in Fairfax, Va., and while Puffett is expected to win his third individual title in a row, coach Bruce Schaper understands that it will take career-best efforts from the rest of the team for the Stags to capture their first team title since 2006.

"I think the other teams are bringing in a tremendous group of kids in the race," Schaper said. "We're going to have to run a really tough race to get after them."

Schaper said he is excited at the team's progress throughout the season. In particular, Schaper said sophomores John Brewer and Jalen Robinson-McCoy and senior Connor Ford have improved. Robinson-McCoy and Brewer have learned what their roles are on the team.

"My role, I think, is to always have something to do when I get out there," Robinson-McCoy said. "When everybody else is off task, it's up to me and Cory to get everybody focused. It's serious at this point. I think we have a good chance at winning. Everybody is giving their best and pushing forward and not backwards and doing what we have to do and I think we have a good shot on Saturday. I think we improved a lot. Just from practice I can tell. "

Schaper was quick to point out that even Puffett, who has won four of five meets he's run this fall, has improved vastly.

"Sometimes you ignore [Puffett's improvement] because he's always been in the front of races," Schaper said

"I think I am a better runner than I was last year," Puffett said." I've really been working much harder than I have in any past year. Going back to my freshman and sophomore years, I was not as mature and taking all my training as seriously as I should. Last year, transitioning into that role, especially because I was hurt for much of the season, I had to get more serious to get where I needed to be. I think I'm definitely at much higher level than I've ever been."

Elizabeth Seton

Roadrunners' coach Louisa Puffett has a feeling the team will fare better than last year's sixth-place finish at the WCAC championships.

"For the first time, we have a team large enough to have a varsity A and B team," Puffett said. "The girls have not only improved during the season, but they're now serious about [the sport]."

Leading the way for the Roadrunners is sophomore Nicole Puffett, who has several top-20 finishes this fall, including ninth at the Maymont Cross Country Festival Girls' Private School 5-kilometer run.

Coach Puffett said senior Joi Johnson has had a solid season and is "stronger and more committed to running well." Junior Ciarra Walters also has contributed for Seton in her first season of cross country.

Puffett took the team to the Lake Fairfax course to help familiarize her runners with its nuances.

"Any way you look at it, the course is challenging," Puffett said. "Our main goal is to improve over what we did last year and keep working our way up. "

The lone damper on the season for the Roadrunners has been the loss of their second-best runner Meg Weihagen. After taking 15th at Maymont, Weihagen suffered a stress fracture in late September and has missed the remainder of the season.

E-mail Terron Hampton at thampton@gazette.net.