HERSHEY - For the fourth straight year, the Northwestern Lehigh girls cross country team qualified for the PIAA Cross Country Championships.

And for the second consecutive season, the Lady Tigers came home with a fourth-place finish in the Class AA team standings.

"I'm happy with the way they ran," said Northwestern coach Chris Stitzel. "They gave it their all. We told them to go for broke and…we came up a little short of our goal, but they had a great year. And I told them no matter what happens, I'm proud of them. I'm happy for the seniors. They gave it their all and that's all I can ask for, where ever the chips fell, they fell."

In recent years, the chips have fallen the Lady Tigers' way.

Over the last four seasons, the Northwestern girls have collected four Colonial League regular season and meet championships, three District 11 Class AA titles and compiled a 102-0 duel meet record.

This year's senior class inlcludes Carly Pierce, Rachele Cerrone, Abby Kemmerer and Julie Duffy. They have not lost a regular season meet in their tenure. Pierce and Cerrone have been on varsity all four years and earned four Colonial League regular season zhampionships, four Colonial League Meet championships, three District Class AA Championships and have placed 20th (2011 in Class AAA), ninth (2012 - AA) and fourth the past two years.

Pierce ended her scholastic cross country career with a 32nd-place finish Saturday in Hershey.

"It means so much to me," said Pierce. "I wouldn't even be here without them. We've trained so hard all throughout this season together and it feels really good to finish off the year together and know that all the work we put in has come to fruition and that everything came together for us."

Teammate Rachele Cerrone, who has also competed at the varsity level all four years of her career, echoed Pierce's sentiment.

"I'm pretty happy," said Cerrone, who finished 79th. "I just wanted to go out and give it all that I had since it's my last time on the course. It's just really awesome to be able to grow with the girls each year and finish it off like this my senior year."

The sustained success and unwavering commitment of Pierce, Cerrone and all of his runners is something Stitzel doesn't take for granted.

"They gave us six years of their lives," Stitzel said. "I can't imagine the miles they put in over six years for me.

"When these kids come in they believe in our system and it's been working for all these years. When we have summer workouts, they show up. They don't have to do it. But for three mornings a week, at 8 a.m. in the heat or whatever the conditions are, they're out there. They want to do well."

That dedication becomes contagious.

"I joined in eighth grade because a couple of my friends joined, including Abby (Smith)," said junior Lauren Alden. "I didn't expect to make as many friends as I did. And now I have a lot of really close friends."

"It's definitely hard and difficult, but that makes it fun," said Smith, also a junior. "But also us being a family makes it really fun."

Despite what might seem like an enormous burden, Stitzel and the team embrace the demands that come with the success.

"It's an awesome thing," he said. "There's always pressure on us. The other teams in the league are always looking at us and everybody wants to knock us off and be that team to knock us off.

"But our girls don't want to be that team to lose so it goes hand-in-hand. The target's on our back, but we give them a challenge and they live up to it every year. I think they look forward to that. I think they look forward to the challenge."

With a talented and accomplished group of upperclassmen moving on, Stitzel knows contributions will have to come from other members of the team for the unprecedented run to continue.

"Our juniors are going to take the reigns now and it's up to them to keep it going," he said. "We have some good middle school girls coming up so we're hoping to just keep this ride going.

"Hopefully one of these years we can breakthrough and win a state title."

Even though she won't be a part of it, Pierce is optimistic the team won't slow down anytime soon.

"Every single year we have the best girls and it's kind of sad to leave them and know that I'm not going to come back to such an amazing team," she said. "I'll miss them and wish them the best. I think they're going to do well again next year. It's a good feeling to be able to leave them in a good place."

Unlike a year ago, Northwestern didn't have a boys' team qualify.

But senior Brayden Heller capped a stellar career with a 68th-place finish in the boys' Class AA race.