Paige Thomas finished third at the final Desert Valley League cross country meet of the year Wednesday — her highest finish of the season.

The first two meets were characterized by a neck-and-neck finish of Melina Hernandez of Indio and Hayley Musashi of La Quinta, followed by everybody else nearly two minutes later. Thomas had been part of that crowd up until Wednesday.

This week Hernandez separated herself from everyone else and Thomas managed to come close to Musashi in the newly created second tier.

“It wasn't my best time, 21:01, but it was my best finish, that's what counts,” Thomas said after the race. “This course was slower than I thought, no one was setting their best times.”

Musashi finished second with a time of 20:33.

“I guess that's pretty good,” Thomas said of finishing less than 30 seconds behind Musashi. “I saw her for most of the race, but a lot of that depends on the course — this course is pretty open.”

The Palm Springs girls finished third overall in the DVL, which means the entire team will now head to the postseason to run at Mt. SAC on Nov. 14.

It will be the fourth time there for Thomas, who is a senior.

“The last time at Mt. SAC I got my best time,” Thomas said. “I think I'm ready for it, it's going to be my fourth time so I've got it down. Of course, I'm always nervous, but I'm ready for it.”