COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Calvary Lutheran Lions knew there was going to be an adjustment as they moved from Class 1 to Class 2.
Still, the Lions came away with a pair of all-state finishers Saturday in the state cross country championships at Gans Creek Cross Country Course.
"Losing four out of our top seven, we didn't know where we would be at this year," Calvary Lutheran junior Kyle Hagemeyer said. "People didn't really think we would make it this far, so we came out, ran at districts and here we are."
With a third-place finish in Class 1 in 2019 and a state championship last season, the Lions moved up one class due to MSHSAA's championship factor. Still, in its first postseason at the Class 2 level, Calvary Lutheran took third at districts last weekend to qualify for state.
The Lions finished 13th in the Class 2 team standings Saturday with 303 points.
"We were just thankful to be here this year," Hagemeyer said. "Bringing in some young guys, you like seeing that potential showing out today."
Hagemeyer led the Calvary Lutheran boys with a 14th-place finish out of 168 runners, clocking a time of 17:00.7. He started as high as seventh place at the 1,000-meter checkpoint but never dropped below 15th place in the race.
"You'd always like to be better, but being all-state, you can't really complain," Hagemeyer said.
Hagemeyer is now a three time state medalist, taking 15th in 2019 and ninth last season in Class 1.
"You see the times going from Class 1 to Class 2, and every year, you have to hit that extra level to be up there," he said. "It's nice to know where I'm at and where I can be at in the future."
Sophomore Jaxson Jobe joined Hagemeyer on the all-state podium, finishing 23rd with a time of 17:13.0, more than a minute faster than last year's time.
"It's nice having someone you can run with in practice, to have that extra motivation," Hagemeyer said. "I'm not just doing it for myself. I'm doing it for him and I'm doing it for the rest of the guys on the team."
Senior Lars Marion was 146th in 20:03.2, sophomore Sam Schnitzler was 156th in 20:55.8 and senior Alex Roettgen placed 161st in 21:21.7 to round out the Lions' team score.
Freshman Ben Kuhlmann was 165th (22:17.4) and junior Jacob Tritz took 168th (24:21.1).
"We have a lot of young guys, and they're willing to put in the work this summer," Hagemeyer said. "Hopefully, we'll be back next year."
The Lions will return five of their seven state qualifiers next season.
"I'm already going through things in my mind that I would do differently, and we're definitely preparing for next year already," Hagemeyer said.
Stockton won the Class 2 boys state title with 87 points. Principia was second with 107 points, followed by Steelville with 110 and Blue Eye with 111 to round out the top four.
New Covenant Academy's Tanner Talley won the Class 2 individual state title with a first-place time of 15:32.5.
The Calvary Lutheran Lady Lions placed 11th out of 13 schools in the Class 1 girls team standings with 243 points.
Junior Maddie Homfeldt joined Hagemeyer as a three-time all-state honoree, finishing 10th out of 155 runners with a time of 20:59.2. Homfeldt finished 14th as a freshman and eighth as a sophomore at state.
Freshman Sonya Brunner placed 34th in 22:25.5 for the Lady Lions. Freshman Sydney Morris (147th, 27:46.8), freshman Kaleigh Kaiser (148th, 28:15.5) and junior Madelyn Goodson (150th, 28:36.3) rounded out Calvary Lutheran's team score.
Smithton's Riley Bryan won the Class 1 girls race by nearly two full minutes, crossing the finish line in 18:27.7.
Van Buren won the Class 1 girls team title with 43 points. Glasgow was second with 122 points, followed by St. Vincent (128) and New Haven (154).
For the Chamois girls, sophomore Elsey Wuelling finished 70th in Class 1 with a time of 23:28.6, while sophomore Madeline Gerloff was 110th in 24:35.7.
III
The Vienna Eagles had both runners finish in the top third in the Class 1 boys race to open Saturday's state championships.
Sophomore Duncan Wilkinson placed 34th in 18:10.7, while freshman Cooper Auten finished 55th in 18:46.7.
Jamestown junior Carter Monroe came in 133rd place out of 172 runners with a time of 20:09.5.
Hermitage won the Class 1 boys state title with 61 points, followed by Oak Ridge (132), Wellsville-Middletown (155) and Valle Catholic (162).
West Nodaway's Riley Blay won the Class 1 boys individual state title with a time of 16:05.9.