Kaitlyn Shea and Michael McCoy ran as expected Saturday for Helias, claiming individual all-state honors.
The team hopes for the Crusaders and Lady Crusaders were going to be decided by how the pack for each team finished in the Class 3 Cross Country Championships at the Oak Hills Golf Center.
The lack of a pack was evident, as the Lady Crusaders were 12th and the Crusaders 16th.
"What can I say?" Helias coach Mary Haskamp said. "The boys weren't sure where they were going to end up. The girls, a couple of them had good races, but some of them didn't for various reasons."
Shea capped an outstanding freshman season by taking 14th Saturday in 20:16. Shea was a bit out of the top 25 midway through the race when Haskamp provided her with some inspiration.
"She looked like she was a little scared," Haskamp said. "I told her she was where she needed to be and to keep improving. She had enough left for a kick to get into the top 15."
Shea became the highest-finishing Lady Crusader freshman at state since Becca Miller took 11th in 2000.
The Lady Crusaders had two other runners finish in the top 90 - sophomore Amanda Patino (84th, 22:02) and junior Joni Reinkemeyer (89th, 22:07).
The Lady Crusaders finished with 268 points. Kearney claimed team honors with 53 and had the top two individual finishers in freshman Olivia Franklin (19:22) and sophomore Jasmine Edwards (19:33).
On the boys side, McCoy used a strong late surge to gain spots late to take 19th. It is the second all-state performance for the junior, who was 18th last year.
"Michael has an awesome, awesome kick," Haskamp said.
McCoy was biding his time for the early part of the race before getting instructions to go.
"I was counting and it got past 25, so I knew he was hanging around a little behind them," Haskamp said. "He was about four or five back and when I saw him I yelled, "Orange shirt,' to let him know who to go after."
McCoy, who battled injuries throughout the preseason as well as during the season, finished with a time of 17:31. Helias' next finisher was freshman Thomas Asmar (122nd, 19:09). Warrensburg took the team title with 72 points. Drew White of Festus was the individual champion. The senior finished in 16:05.