By Steve Brand, Special to the U-T 7:43 P.M.NOV. 23, 2013

Tal Braude could have been running to prove something to everyone who doubted him a year ago. He could have been running to chase away the demons of an 11th-place finish in the San Diego Section Division I cross country championships in 2012.

Instead, the Torrey Pines senior simply went out and scorched a 15-minute, 46-second time to win the title Saturday by a whopping 33 seconds over Morley Field’s challenging 3.04-mile course.

Braude led a parade of 10 individual and team champions who not only captured crowns but earned berths in the State Championships next weekend at Fresno’s Woodward Park.