LA QUINTA — Seven years ago, the La Quinta High School girls' cross country team needed to find motivation and inspiration at the same time.

The Blackhawks had never won a Desert Valley League meet and new coach Joann Monachello-Prahl began to build the program.

Just three years later, La Quinta broke into the win column. Since then, the Blackhawks haven't lost a DVL race. They're hoping to finish this season by winning their 12th consecutive DVL meet and fourth title in a row.

“I had to be innovative to get this team going, so I borrowed ideas from every cross country coach I met over the last seven years,” said Prahl. “We have little sisters, big sisters, secret sisters, beads, lead pack shirts, team dinners, DVL quotes and cards, power pellets (M&M's), anything I can think of to reward every little achievement on our team.”

The girls love it.

They say it's hard work combined with Prahl's spirited coaching style that keeps the team moving fast forward. The incentives are a bonus.

“We get beads for special things we do,” said Breah Stewart, who posts a personal best time of 20 minutes and 50 seconds. “It's been a real team-building thing. Brittany (La Quinta grad Brittany Reimer, now running at UC Riverside) gave us a glimpse of what it's like to be a good team and we wanted to stay there. We worked hard to do better and better. Even within the top seven, we work off of each other, push each other. They new girls come in and they push us. It goes on and on.”

When Reimer, the Desert Sun's Athlete of the Year in 2006 and 2007, first joined the team as a junior, she was the leader that helped snap La Quinta's downward spiral. Reimer went on to excel in track and was awarded a scholarship, but her team has taken her lead.

“Brittany Reimer got us started and Samantha Dougherty and Tisa Barrios-Wilson helped us continue with our success,” said Prahl. “Now it's Hayley's (junior Hayley Musashi) turn to carry the torch. But it takes more than one girl in the lead to win a DVL meet. We are fortunate that we have a lot of other girls who put forth the same effort as the girls in the lead. They are witnessing the results of hard work. They know everybody has a part and everybody is needed.”

With school record-holder Musashi leading this year's group, the Blackhawks also feature Emily Ziomek, Stewart, Cara Bonafede, Alyssa Mozzillo, Brigette Cochran and Renee De La Parra.

Others often cracking the top 10 are seniors Lindsay Musashi, Lillian Orlett, Shannon Pickering and Jazmin Furtado.

“At the beginning of the year, it was hard to tell what talent you have, then then you play it out week by week,” said Bonafede, who boasts a personal best of 19:40. “Anything can happen week-to-week and you have to take it one at a time. It's exciting to see what happens and how far the team will get.

As the season progresses, almost everything was commemorated with a bead, T-shirt or other prize. One time before a meet, Prahl splashed each runner's shoes with glitter and called it “fairy dust” to make them fly.

There are various sizes and colors for the beads, which all began at the start of the season to fill an empty chain. Ask any runner to explain what each one signifies and they know exactly.

“We get one per meet to recognize we ran in the meet and red could mean on that day we were ‘red hot,'” said Bonafede. “It isn't whether you get first place, (their T-shirts signify 1-10 for each race position) it's personal achievements, the improvements from meet-to-meet.”

When the runners began this year, each was given a bead with a peace sign because Prahl said running brings you peace.

The next bead could be the number 12. That's what the Blackhawks are running toward and it could lead to a fourth DVL championship.