The Helias Crusaders may have entered the Class 3 cross country championships under the radar.
That likely won't happen again in the next few years.
Without a senior running Saturday, the Crusaders earned a trophy by finishing fourth in the championships at the Oak Hills Golf Center.
"I thought we could do it," Helias coach Brad Hake said. "We know people weren't talking about us and that's fine. We wanted to surprise some people and I think we did that."
Helias finished with 186 points. Festus won the state title with 56, followed by Ste. Genevieve with 68 and Fulton with 145.
"The future looks great, we just need to keep working," Hake said. "I think we're going to be here for awhile."
Jack Crull, a freshman, earned all-state honors for the Crusaders. Running near the lead pack throughout the race, he was 14th in 16:31.37.
"I can't believe it, this is great," Crull said.
Hake is looking forward to seeing what Crull can do the remainder of his prep career.
"Jack has had an amazing year," Hake said. "He's going to continue to get better and I think it's going to be fun seeing him run the next three years."
Hake said the Crusaders didn't enter Saturday feeling any pressure. That pressure came last week, where Helias was competing with Fulton and Mexico for the two team spots in the district meet.
"The big thing is the guys relaxed," Hake said. "Last week at districts was the pressure, we knew there were three good teams and only two would qualify for state.
"They were as relaxed as I've ever seen them. They have talent and they just let that talent come through."
Helias' depth played a big role in finishing fourth Saturday.
"We weren't expected to do this, but we knew we could win a trophy," Crull said. "It was just a matter of us running how we were capable of running.
"I'm so proud of everyone on the team, we all worked very hard to get here."
Brian Kirchoff was 70th (17:44.65) for the Crusaders, while Nathan Wieberg was 79th (17:51.08). Riley Scott was 82nd (17:52.84), while Jenson Starr took 88th (17:55.61). Jack Hentges was 132nd (18:30.32) and Colby Kroll was 142nd (18:40.35).
"We ran our hearts out," Hake said.
Related:
State Cross Country: Class 1-4 championship results
Yanskey helps Helias girls to third-place cross country finish
Fatima girls capture fourth straight Class 2 cross country title
Fatima boys continue cross country streak by finishing third
Jays' Schwartz earns state cross country medal as a senior