The Lions wrapped up the toughest September in the history of the Newton South program. The girls’ cross-country squad faced two nationally ranked teams, four of the Top 15 squads in New England, and six teams ranked in the state’s top 10.

Newton emerged ranked second in the state, second in the Northeast Region, and 19th in the country.

“What a month,’’ said head coach Steven McChesney. “We have gone into our two biggest meets shorthanded,’’ he said, with Mel Fineman missing the Hartford Invitational event, and Kayla Burton and Elizabeth Reed out against Lincoln-Sudbury Regional, one of those nationally ranked teams and a perennial Dual County League nemesis. “So it has been one huge test after another. But we have come through it all pretty well.’’

Facing just Boston Latin on Wednesday, after Waltham High forfeited out of the scheduled three-team meet, South rolled to a 19-42 win, giving up just two of the top 10 spots. Kathy O’Keefe led the way, finishing the 3.08-mile course in 18 minutes, 47 seconds. Anna Laurence finished second (19:26) and Jenny Epstein was third (19:35).

First-time varsity-runners Hannah Freidman (20:29) and Abby Pressberg (20:41) took sixth and seventh, respectively, followed by Katie Sandson (eighth, 20:50), Zuzana Skvarkova (ninth, 21:11) and Lauren Gabriel (10th, 21:53).

“I do not want to go into such a loaded meet shorthanded again,’’ said McChesney. “So we will race in the CMI meet at Franklin Park. That meet will be a nice prep’’ for the Dual County League and Eastern Massachusetts meets, which are run on the Franklin Park course.

A leader on the girls’ varsity hockey team in the winter and the spring track team, Reed is “gutsy, positive and very joyful about sports,’’ said McChesney.

“Madeleine is a true leader wherever she goes. She values all that sport teaches and can make everyone around her better in any setting. It may be the steeplechase she takes off in in the future. It takes a certain kind of confidence to even want to try that race and in my mind, it’s the toughest event in track and field and Madeleine just attacks it. She’s the kind of kid every coach loves to have on their team.’’

She took the Waltham meet off to rest before gearing up for the season’s final run to the postseason, where McChesney expects her to have another strong performance.

“She’s always placed at individual meets and has run a bunch of national meets,’’ he said. “She’s been a huge plus for the team and always looks forward to the tougher meets, so this is her favorite time of year.’’

“With experience, you will get to know your limits. Simply, pay attention to your body any time that you run. If you have overdone it a bit in a prior workout or run, you may gain knowledge of how best to approach your next outing by listening to what the body is telling you. There are many small signs that your body will give you if you learn to tune in. At the elite level, all of the racers in a marathon are constantly reading their bodies, emotions and mind on so many levels the entire way.

“At any level a runner can start to tune in and learn about how the body reacts to certain stresses, such as a faster pace or a longer run. You can also learn to monitor your thoughts in terms of how you approach your running.

“Running alone sometimes is a very valuable experience. It is a time to use as you wish.

“When I was fit I often preferred to run alone because I could have a part of my day that was a total reward. The run itself was my treat to myself.’’

Sapna Pathak can be reached at sportsgalsp@globe.com