Runners come and go at the San Ramon Valley High School boys cross country program, but year in and year out the Wolves remain in the running for North Coast Section titles.

And individual titles -- as when Scott Bauhs, now making an impact at Chico State, won the NCS title in 2003.

The Wolves' talented runners of the early 2000s -- Bauhs, Tristin Blair, Dallin Rosdahl, Anthony Gladstein, Justin Arnold to name just a few -- have moved on. These days, seniors such as Keir Forester and Jason Silva are the new kids on the trail.

Forester, whose second-place finish was key to the Wolves capturing the Monte Vista Invitational title at Oak Hill Park on Sept. 4, said keeping the program's winning tradition going is a matter of putting in the time.

"It's a lot of determination and coaching. We have a great tradition of getting the summer (running) mileage up," Forester said. "That's been the whole secret."

"It's great having a set of (athletes) set such an example for us," Silva added. "You just want to be like them. The older people set the standard."

But the running gods help those who help themselves. This summer, the Wolves hit the road to the tune of up to 500 miles each. They'd meet at San Ramon Valley and often jog to Monte Vista before hitting the hills behind the schools and returning home.

For his part, coach Tim Hunter, now in his 12th season as Wolves head coach, would touch bases with his kids about twice a week throughout the summer. He said he never laid out a summer program for his runners, but would drop in on them and be available to answer questions.

"This summer was very much them," Hunter said. "I'd talk with them maybe twice a week, when I was finishing up my run."

Wonderfully, Hunter had 20 to 30 students putting in time on running trails this summer. That's a big pool to draw from as the school season began.

"How we train is we run together," Silva said. "That's just the way it worked out; we didn't plan it."

When the Wolves were competing for NCS titles two and more years ago, they often ran as a pack. They didn't plan it that way, either. But there they'd be, running second, third, fourth and sixth -- a long green and gold line heading into the chutes.

Scary to think the team might be on the same trail this fall.

Forester said: "It has to do with coach Hunter saying to stay together, 'You don't want to split off.'"

At the Monte Vista Invitational, Forester ran the 2-mile course in 10:56.47, good for second. Silva was fifth in 11:09.95.

The team's next challenge is when the Wolves head to the De La Salle/Carondelet Nike Invitational at Newhall Park on Sept. 15. The Stanford Invitational follows Sept. 29, followed by the East Bay Athletic League's first Center Meet at Shadow Cliffs in Pleasanton on Oct. 3.