By Kory CarpenterRecord Sports EditorAt some point during the season, things began to click for the Warrenton girls cross country team.Everyone on the team had individual goals for the 2015 season, but it was not until halfway through the year that a trip to the state meet at Jefferson City’s Oak Hills Golf Center became a legitimate possibility.“I was looking at the results and thought, ‘Well, they may have a chance to get to state as a team,’ ” Warrenton Head Coach Jeremy Collins said after Saturday’s Class 3 state meet.The team qualified with an impressive showing in the district meet and earned a meeting with a tough field on a tougher course in Jefferson City.Warrenton finished its season 16th in the state in Class 3 and Collins will lose four seniors off this year’s team.Junior Andrea Poole led the team with a time of 21 minutes and 28.26 seconds, just outside the top 100.“It was so painful, but it was worth it just to be here,” Poole said of the experience and the leg problems she has been suffering with since running at Hannibal earlier this season. “The course being so hilly and everyone being so competitive made it even worse. It’s way different than every other course.”Senior Mary Broker finished second on the team and 119th overall after finishing the race in 21:55.98, around 25 seconds off her personal best.“The competition really helps push you,” Broker said. “At first, it was hard to keep pace because I didn’t know where I stood within the big crowd of runners. But after a while I felt like I was around a group of people who were on my pace and I tried to push past them.”For Broker, a senior, Saturday concluded a brutal stretch of schoolwork, running and participating in the school musical.“I was a little bit surprised I made it because I was so busy with the musical,” she said. “Usually, I was at school until six, then I had to run, then do homework.”The hard work paid off when the Warriors qualified for the state meet and Broker was able to run with her teammates one last time.“The team is so tight-knit this year,” she said. “I cried before the race.”When senior Meagan Sanders began to feel the effects of the course, she looked up.“It was a tough race and there was a lot of competition, but I kept trying to keep my eye on Mary and push myself up those hills,” Sanders said. “It was really awesome just to come here as a team.”Sanders finished 135th overall with a time of 22:23.00.Other Warrenton runners included Darya Wilke (145th, 23:05.08), Madison Stevens (150th, 23:28.38), Emily Brunson (158th, 24:20.04) and Emma Housewright (162nd, 24:39.73.“They brought a lot of leadership,” Collins said of the seniors. “But Andrea Poole is coming back and she’s been our best runner. The experience they’ll have going into next season will really help.”For Poole, making it to the state meet with her teammates is something she won’t soon forget.“I was so incredibly excited that we made it as a team because I did not want to be in that box by myself at all,” Poole said. “My team was my rock."Ste. Genevieve won the championship with 50 points after sweeping the top two spots and having three runners finish in the top 10,

Warrenton’s Meagan Sanders, right, races alongside Christian’s Madelyn Stiegemeier Saturday in the Class 3 state cross country meet. Sanders finished in 22:23. Kory Carpenter photo.

Andrea Poole heads up the final hill during Saturday’s Class 3 state cross country meet. Poole led the Warrenton runners with a time of 21:28.26, good enough for a 102nd place finish.

Mary Broker of Warrenton nears the midway point of Saturday’s Class 3 state cross country meet. Broker finished with a time of 21:55.98.