Jack Crull and Abby Hake got off to good starts in their races Saturday in the Class 3 state cross country championships.
Those starts paid off with very good finishes.
Crull finished fifth in the boys race while Hake was 10th on the girls side, leading the Crusaders and Lady Crusaders to team trophies to wrap up the season at the Oak Hills Golf Center.
"I'm very pleased with what we accomplished," Helias coach Brad Hake said. "It was a great day for us, all of that hard work really paid off."
Crull, a sophomore who finished 14th at state as a freshman, was fifth at the one-mile mark with a time of 4:58 and found himself in that spot when the race reached the two-mile mark.
"I wasn't really planning on keeping that pace," Crull said. "It would be hard to keep that up for the entire race."
Crull crossed the two-mile mark in 10:15.30.
"I was dead at the second mile and I decided to try to stay with the guy right behind me," he said. "But then he took off and I looked behind me and (Fulton's) Mason Gaines was catching up and I knew I had to run hard the rest of the race."
Crull remained fifth at the three-mile mark and crossed the finish line in that same position with a time of 16:22.15.
"I'm never surprised about what Jack does," Hake said. "He's a great runner. He has a great future and he's a runner to watch out for the next two years."
With Crull leading the way, Helias finished with 163 team points to take fourth for the second straight year.
"I was scared we weren't going to get one, I was excited when we got one," Crull said. "We put out a great effort as a team, we all worked together to get it."
It was a tight race for fourth. Bolivar finished just two points behind Helias, while Fulton was five points back.
Festus took the boys title with 55 points, while Warrensburg was second with 82 and Herculaneum took third with 97.
Jenson Starr, another sophomore, was 27th for Helias. Riley Scott, a junior was 57th, while seniors Brian Kirchoff and Nathan Wieberg were 88th and 92nd, respectively. Colby Kroll, a junior, was 101st, while junior Jack Hentges finished 135th.
On the girls side, Helias finished with 127 team points to take third. Festus won the title with 108, with Herculaneum second with 110. Carl Junction was fourth with 163.
It's the fourth straight year the Lady Crusaders have earned a state trophy. Helias was third last year and in 2014, while finishing fourth in 2015.
"We've got a tradition going," Hake said. "It's great for our seniors to have won a state trophy in all four of their seasons."
One of those seniors is his daughter, Abby, who achieved her goal of finishing in the top 10 Saturday.
"Abby ran the race she needed to run," Brad Hake said.
Abby Hake was near the front the entire race Saturday. She was 10th at the one-mile mark, 11th after two miles and ninth after three.
"I knew I had to get out fast and then stay with the pack," she said. "I heard people yelling about what place I was in and I knew I was always around the top 10.
"I'm really happy with my finish."
Hake isn't finished running cross country this year. She plans to take part in the Nike regionals next weekend in Terre Haute, Ind.
"I think it's a fast course and I'm looking for a fast time next weekend," Hake, who hopes to get some college offers and plans to run indoor track during the winter, said.
Ashley Eskens, a junior, was 30th for the Lady Crusaders. Emma Veltrop and Morgan Yanskey, both sophomores, were 39th and 51st, respectively.
Alicia Engelbrecht, a senior, was 88th, one spot better than freshman teammate Lani Andrews. Claire McDonald, a senior, finished 161st.
"The competitor in me is already thinking about next year," Brad Hake said. "We should have two very good teams."
Crull is also looking for more hardware for Helias as the boys have finished fourth the last two seasons.
"I want to continue this success, I want us to get more state trophies," he said. "I know we're are going to be pushing hard for it."
III
The Blair Oaks Lady Falcons had three individuals in the Class 3 championships.
Grace Scott, a senior, was 67th. Kati Schoeneberg, a freshman, was 96th, while senior Emily Yaeger was 106th.
Faith Parrent of Eldon, a senior, was 45th.
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