A cool wooden plaque in the shape of the state of California.

Enough school pride to fill the Centurion's stately gymnasium.

The experience of a lifetime.

Those are the things the Saugus High girls cross country team brought home from Fresno Saturday after winning the 2006 CIF State Cross Country Division I Championship.

So, now what?

That question was answered Sunday morning when Saugus co-head coach Rene Paragas received a telephone invitation for the Santa Clarita Valley's newest sports celebrities to run at the third annual Nike Team Nationals in Portland, Ore., Saturday.

"This is just, as they say, frosting on the cake — but it was never one of our goals," Paragas said. "Our goal was to win league, win CIF, win state, and they did that in a very, very competitive year."

Paragas said it's an all-expenses-paid trip, including hotels, airfare, uniforms, warm-ups and shoes for Saugus' seven state-title holders — co-captains Shannon Murakami and Katie Dunn plus Amber Murakami, Brianna Jauregui, Keri Molt, Toccoa Kahovec and Alyssa Vaziri.

The Centurions are allowed to send along an alternate, who Paragas said would most likely be sophomore Anne Randall.

Randall, who hasn't raced since the Foothill League finals Nov. 2, was on hand at Woodward Park in Fresno Saturday just in case Vaziri's tender hip flared up.

Paragas, co-head coach Christian Standley and coach Cal Linam won't accompany the Cents to Portland this weekend, at least not in an official capacity. That's because CIF-Southern Section rules prohibit coaches from having contact with athletes outside the competition season.

Therefore, the Centurions will participate as a club team accompanied by a chaperon — Stan Murakami, father of Shannon and Amber.

The Nike Team Nationals bring together the country's top prep cross country teams for a head-to-head showdown on a custom-built course on the infield of the Portland Meadows racetrack.

In 2004 and 2005, the first two years of the event, teams from California did not fare well in Portland's inclement weather conditions. And the current extended weather forecast calls for rain showers, wind and a high of just 42 degrees on race day.

"No California team is prepared for that. It's not that we don't want to prepare for it — it's just impossible to," Paragas said. "We're always at a disadvantage when we have to race in those conditions, just as if teams from New York or the Northeast had to come and run in 95-degree weather in November at Mt. SAC."

Canyon co-head coach Paul Broneer doesn't think even inclement weather can slow down the Centurions.

"Last year when Royal went to Portland, it was horrible, rainy. The kids weren't used to it, and they folded," he said. "But Saugus doesn't know any better. They'll just run fast. They have bunch of tough girls."

Paragas said competing in Portland means the Centurions would endure one more week of rigorous workouts to maintain proper conditioning.

"That's got to be tough when you've accomplished all your goals, and then, 'Hey, there's one more and, by the way, it's going to be the toughest race all season.'"

The Centurions are currently the second-ranked team in California, according to the Nike Team Nationals rating system.

However, there is a twist. The state's No. 1-ranked team, Corona del Mar, is not running as well as Saugus is right now.

On Saturday at Woodward Park, the Sea Kings, running in Division III, captured a state title of their own, but did so in a team time that was 18 seconds behind the Centurions' team time from the Division I race.

A slight margin, to be sure. But it's enough of a margin to give Saugus, ranked No. 7 in the country by Harrier Magazine, the nod as California's top team going to Portland.

"I'm a big dreamer, so I guess you could say I hoped for this," Paragas said. "We had so many good girls coming into the season, plus you have Katie and Shannon there was always the possibility."

An additional possibility still exists for Shannon Murakami, who took fourth overall on Saturday.

She has a chance to advance to the Foot Locker Nationals at Balboa Park in San Diego Dec. 9. To qualify, she'll need to cross the finish line Saturday in the top two of the 42 competitors comprising the Western Region's six teams.

The UCLA-bound senior, who has not yet formulated her strategy for the Nike Team Nationals, said she wouldn't be taking the race lightly.

"It's a big deal. It means a lot to me as a captain and as one of the girls on this team," Murakami said. "I've never made it to Nike Team Nationals, and I've never made it to Foot Locker Nationals. Coming into this race, I'm just going to give it my all and not look back on it."

For now, though, the Centurions are maintaining a team focus — an invitation to run for a national title is rare, indeed.

Only one local cross country team has ever won a national championship.

The Hart boys team that captured back-to-back-to-back California state crowns from 1990 to 1992 ascended to a national title in 1991. The United States-shaped banner stills hangs in the Hart gym.

But unlike the past two years, Hart's national championship was decided off the race course. With no national invitational in place, it came down to Harrier Magazine's rankings. Hart got the nod in '91.

The Canyon boys team came close in 2001, finishing the season ranked No. 2 nationally by Harrier - behind a team from Texas the Cowboys defeated earlier that season.

"It would have been nice to be able to decide things on the course," Broneer said.

Saugus will get to do that in five days.

"I like their chances," Broneer said. "You can't really compare teams unless they run on the same day on the same course, and I think Saugus' chances are excellent."