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If it seems that Morgan Bingham has been doing some fancy footwork on the cross country course this season, let it be known she started her athletic career as a dancer.

Now she's part of a Siuslaw Vikings girls team that may by waltzing to a 4A state title Saturday at Lane Community College in Eugene.

Think barn dancing, if you're not into a waltz.

"Coach (Chris) Johnson says the hay is in the barn, and we are ready," Bingham said of the top-ranked Viking girls. "There's nothing we can do at this point.

"We have a plan, and coach Johnson says if we stick to it, we should be fine."

Morgan and her brother, Murray, weren't part of the plan as Johnson entered his 20th season as head coach of the highly successful Vikings cross country team. But they have been game-changers from the get-go.

The siblings transferred to Siuslaw during the summer, then immediately got with the program. Murray, a freshman, has been the boys' top performer all season, while Morgan has been a consistent high-scoring No. 2 to fellow junior Celie Mans on the girls' team.

Tuesday, Coast Radio honored Morgan as its athlete of the week for her third-place showing at the recent Far West League championships at Tugman State Park.

The Viking girls easily won the team title and firmly established themselves as the team to beat at the state meet.

"Her athletic ability was apparent from Day 1," Johnson said. "That was probably just half of it. Her attitude, she just fit in from the first second she walked around on campus.

"Chemistry really matters in a sport like this. She's been a great asset to the team."

Morgan, who took up the sport as a freshman in Utah and ran track last spring at Hidden Valley in Grants Pass, is just as effusive about her coach.

"This is the best running program I've been involved in," Morgan said. "I think coach Johnson is a big part of that. He knows what he's doing. He helps us a lot, and he has a good workout plan."

It's Johnson plan that impresses her most.

"I've had a history of being injured, and he's made sure that hasn't happened," Morgan said. "I really like coach Johnson's workout plans for me. He knows and he helps us to learn our abilities, and he doesn't push it.

"He knows when we're ready, and he lets us know when we're ready."

The Vikings are ready to toe the line Saturday with the same seven girls who won the district title and the same seven boys who emerged as a state-qualifying second place.

Had the boys not qualified for state, Murray still would have gone as one of the top five individual finishers at Tugman, running his first sub-17-minute 5,000-meter race (16:43) to place fourth.

Morgan ran a personal-best 19:30 as the Siuslaw girls totaled 33 points to win by a wide margin over state-qualifying South Umpqua, which had 50.

Joining Mans and Bingham on the girls team are seniors Sierra Potter and Mikaela Siegel, junior Destinie Tatum and freshmen Kaeli and Trinity Ramos.

Murray is joined on the boys team by sophomores Isaac Griffes and Kyle King, juniors Jack Pickell, Andrew Rannow and Sean Burns and senior Tyler Williams.

Griffes was seventh and Pickell 10th overall as the boys totaled 59 points, two short of first-place Brookings-Harbor. North Bend was six points back of Siuslaw and Marshfield nine back as the top four teams finished within 11 points of each other.

"I feel confident in this team, especially on the girls side," Johnson said. "We have experience, we have front-runners, and we have some seniors who are hungry to finish off the right way."

And no one exudes that confidence more than Morgan, who, like her brother, has bought into the Vikings cross-country program and culture.

"Trust me, running is more than just a sport," she said. "It's a way of life. My family supports the running program, full on.

"The team has been awesome. The coaches have been great. What motivates me is to keep doing better, and to see my teammates and coaches by me and through it."