Lourdes is tired of coming home from the state tournament empty-handed.

Five years removed from its glory days when they won four consecutive girls' cross-country championships from 2001 to '04, the Bobcats are starting to have the look of a team that can bring home the gold this season.

On Wednesday afternoon at Larry and Penny Thompson Park, Lourdes routed the rest of the field to win the District 8-4A championship, finishing 76 points ahead of runner-up South Dade.

On the boys' side, Columbus' Armando Del Valle continued to better his times as he prepares for a run at a state championship.

Del Valle ran a 15:36.18, and looked barely tired doing it, as he led Columbus to the team title with 29 points. Ferguson finished second with 65. Mark Gulesian followed Del Valle with a time of 16:10.64.

Junior Alessandra Valdes led Lourdes by winning the girls' individual title in 19:10.50 -- a victory that edged Ferguson's Natalie Concepcion (19:18.20).

Lourdes showed its dominance by placing the next four runners. Freshman Courtney Filliben finished third (19:33.46), senior Cristina Brea finished fourth (19:41.93), sophomore Victoria Villarnovo finished fifth (19:59.43) and senior Stephanie Padron finished sixth (20:49.01).

Lourdes, which finished third at state last year after three consecutive second-place finishes, entered the meet ranked No. 3 in the state in Class 4A by Flrunners.com behind Melbourne and Winter Park.

``We've grown stronger after four years together as a group,'' Valdes said. ``I think we're more motivated than we've ever been since I've been running here.''

Valdes credited the addition of freshman Courtney Filliben as a big factor for the team's improvement. Filliben has been a consistent top performer at every major race this season.

``It's always Alessandra or Courtney coming in first,'' Lourdes coach Rebecca Rodriguez-Michalak said. ``She's a workhorse and has a determination to win that has rubbed off on every other runner on the team.''

RESULTS

• District 8-4A boys -- 1. Columbus 29; 2. Ferguson 65; 3. Coral Reef 93; 4. Sunset 112; 5. Palmetto 172; 6. Varela 190: 1. Armando Del Valle (COL) 15:36.18; 2. Mark Gulesian (COL) 16:10.64; 3. Dylan Cook (CR) 16:11.94; 4. Jose Estevez (FER) 16:12.86; 5. Joshua Estrada (FER) 16:16.58; 6. Wesley George (CG) 16:29.60; 7. Andrew Shaheen (COL) 16:32.34; 8. David Ramirez (CR) 16:35.80; 9. Dominick Cabrera (COL) 16:39.70; 10. Eduardo Arechebala (COL) 16:57.83; 11. Fernando Salazar (FER) 16:59.90; 12. Moises Perez (COL) 17:15.56; 13. Dylan Ricke (PAL) 17:18.32; 14. Geoffrey Zelek (COL) 17:22.36; 15. Roy Orozco (CR) 17:28.44.

• District 8-4A girls -- 1. Lourdes 19; 2. South Dade 95; 3. Sunset 99; 4. Killian 112; 5. Coral Reef 132; 6. Ferguson 140: 1. Alessandra Valdes (LOU) 19:10.50; 2. Natalie Concepcion (FER) 19:18.20; 3. Courtney Filliben (LOU) 19:33.46; 4. Cristina Brea (LOU) 19:41.93; 5. Victoria Villarnovo (LOU) 19:59.43; 6. Stephanie Padron (LOU) 20:49.01; 7. Alexa Rangel (KIL) 20:54.31; 8. Stephanie Espinosa (VAR) 21:01.94; 9. Samara Taylor (CR) 21:06.05; 10. Kali Benavides (KIL) 21:07.88; 11. Barbara Vilson (SD) 21:10.23; 12. Jillian Roberts (CR) 21:10.68; 13. Camila Ramon (SUN) 21:12.64; 14. Tianeisha Bogan (SD) 21:16.11; 15. Catherine Ventura (LOU) 21:21.48.

• District 7-4A boys -- 1. Hialeah-Miami Lakes 21; 2. Miami Beach 84; 3. Central 146; 4. Krop 152; 5. North Miami Beach 154; 6. North Miami 174: 1. Gary Pierre-Louis (CEN) 16:31.83; 2. Osdaniel Hernandez (HML) 16:44.36; 3. Jesus Rivas (HML) 16:55.58; 4. Jermaine Thompson (HML) 17:45.39; 5. Michael Vidal (HML) 18:00.38; 6. Emmanuel Heredia-pa (NMB) 18:11.44; 7. Ismael Rodriguez (HML) 18:17.49; 8. Brian Lombardi (MB) 18:35.76; 9. Javier Lara (AM) 18:40.12; 10. Jordan Vandiver (HML) 18:44.25; 11. Miguel Cardenas (GOL) 18:56.09; 12. Randell Smith (NMB) 19:00.84; 13. Dayvis Ocampo (MHS) 19:16.79; 14. Ruesta Paul (MB) 19:24.91; 15. Christopher Mato (GOL) 19:32.42.

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