The Helias Crusaders were knocking on the door last season.
They want to go through it this season.
"We're a year older, a year wiser," Helias golf coach Dan Campbell said as the Crusaders prepared to start the season today in a quad at Eldon. "The kids have been working hard for it."
Helias advanced four individuals out of districts last year and finished fifth as a team in the sectional. With five lettermen returning, the goals are to improve on those finishes this year.
"We just have to get better in a couple of spots and we're right there," Campbell said. "I think we can improve enough to get there."
Jack Rundle, a sophomore, enters the season at the No. 1 spot for Helias.
Rundle finished fourth at the district tournament last season and missed out on advancing to state by two shots in the sectional.
"He got a taste of the pressure situation and can grow from that," Campbell said.
Nick Alexander, a senior who will start at the No. 2 spot, also missed a trip to state by two shots last season in the sectional after tying for 17th at districts.
"We're counting on Nick to be one of our team leaders this season," Campbell said. "He's been playing well."
Dalton Roark, a junior, sophomore Cole Higgins and junior Curtis Campbell will round out the varsity roster. Those three were on last year's district team along with Rundle and Alexander.
Ethan Johnson, a freshman, has been impressive in the preseason.
"Right now, those six have the best scoring averages and they're going to get the varsity spots to start," Dan Campbell said.
If the short game is the key to scoring, the Crusaders are ahead of the game.
"We've got a couple of kids who can really bomb it, but I think everybody is pretty good around and on the greens," Campbell said. "We've done a good job in practice at scrambling to get up and down for pars and bogeys and that's what you have to do score well."
Campbell has been preaching about course management in practice.
"Getting the ball in the fairway is key," he said. "You aren't going to birdie a hole off the tee but you can surely get a double-bogey with a bad tee shot by hitting in the woods or out of bounds.
"You have to stay away from the bad hole, it can really hurt any momentum you have and make it hard to hit that reset button."
Helias will open its home schedule with a dual Wednesday against Hickman. Two of the big tournaments come late in the season - the Helias Invitational on April 18 and the Capital City Invitational on April 25. Both will be played at Meadow Lake Acres Country Club.
"We should be prepared for the postseason when it rolls around," Campbell said.
The Crusaders will play in districts at Eldon and the sectional at Moberly. The state tournament is scheduled to be played at Rivercut in Bolivar.