SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — The South Tahoe girls’ cross country team ran its way into the state meet with a strong performance Friday at the regional event.

Noosa Higgins and Maya Burkett led the Vikings to a second place team finish by finishing fourth and fifth, respectively, at the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association 3A Region Championships at Shadow Mountain Park in Sparks.

South Tahoe finished with 49 points just behind meet winner Spring Creek with 41 points.

Higgins was the quickest sophomore in a field of 47 runners and finished the 5,000-meter course in 22 minutes, 4 seconds, about 20 seconds off her personal best set a few weeks ago at the Asics Invitational in Clovis, California.

Burkett, a freshman, finished the course in 22:21, more than a minute better than the next freshman.

Also for the Viking, junior Evelyn Bennett finished 15th (23:41) and freshmen Elle Magdelano was 19th and Sasha Pickett was 20th.

For the South Tahoe boys, Max Menke qualified for the state meet with a fourth place finish. The junior finished the course in 18:08, about 17 seconds behind the winner and was 7 seconds from second place.

Senior Raymond Charley earned the last qualifying spot for individuals not on state-qualifying teams. Charley finished in 20:02.

The Vikings did not have enough boys runners to record a team score.

The state meet will be held Saturday, Nov. 6, at Shadow Mountain Park. The 3A boys will race at 11:10 a.m. and the girls will start at 1:40 p.m.