Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: The St. Edmond boys cross country team poses together after the state cross country meet on Saturday at Lakeside Golf Course. For more photos, visit CU.messengernews.net

Saturday’s Class 1A state cross country championships gave the St. Edmond boys both closure and a glimpse into the future.

While the Gaels will say goodbye to graduating seniors Liam Shannon and Levi Odor-Westrum after a strong ninth-place team showing, they also saw standout Anthony Valles lock up sixth as an individual while again resetting the junior record in the process.

Lake Mills, one of just two 1A schools to defeat St. Edmond during the regular season, earned gold over Ankeny Christian and Woodbine, with North Iowa’s Gavin Grunhovd winning the individual title in 15:57.

Shannon, a four-time state competitor for head coach Mike Szalat, placed 29th overall in a time of 17:04. He improved 40 spots from last year, which had been his career-best finish prior to his final race.

Odor-Westrum, who first went out for the sport heading into his junior year, was 84th overall in 17:50.

“I’m excited and elated for the boys,” Szalat said. “Liam had a great race and a wonderful career. With Liam and Levi, they are not only going to be tough to replace from a lineup standpoint, but just in terms of what they bring to the team. They are leaders and are just so personable. They are involved around the school and the community. Kids just seem to really gravitate towards them.

“But one thing that definitely put a smile on my face this week was hearing a lot of talk about the future as well. And the really cool thing was it wasn’t just the boys talking about themselves going forward, but the girls team, too. As a coach, that is exciting.”

Part of that optimism is obviously centered around Valles, who broke his own St. Edmond junior program mark with a time of 16:14.4. He had passed ex-Gael standout Seth Reel earlier this year — the only runner under Szalat to score multiple Top-10 individual performances at state.

Last fall at state, Valles was 14th overall in 1A after placing 89th as a freshman. This past season, he won three races, added two more seconds and a pair of thirds.

“It felt really great, but I couldn’t have done it without my faith in God and trusting His plan,” Valles said. “Seeing familiar faces and hearing familiar voices really meant a lot to me, because I get to help show what the sport of cross country really is.

“Having a good group of runners as your teammates helps push you to your limits at practices. I will remember this season because I’m getting closer to the school record. Breaking the junior record at the North Central Conference meet gave me the motivation I needed at state to break my own record.”

Valles will be the second-highest returning runner from state, as rival Hayden Thompson of Lake Mills was fifth. The first four individual finishers were all seniors.

“It really motivates me, because I know I’m 24 seconds away from breaking the school record and there is a possibility of first next year at state,” Valles said. “I know it won’t come easy, but that’s what the track season and summer training is for: Working on mileage, my faith in God, and knowing my mom is always supporting me and raising me to be the young man I am today.”

Joining Valles next year will be fellow state runners Jonah Carlson, Erik Larson, Drake Yurkovac and Thomas Knobbe. Carlson, a junior, was 114th overall in 18:27. Larson, a sophomore, placed 128th in 18:55

Yurkovac, also a sophomore, was 143rd in 19:26. Knobbe, a junior, took 153rd in 20:20.

“The younger guys all got a taste of state and they are excited to have someone like Anthony with that front stick leading us (in 2025),” Szalat said. “Hopefully, this all springboards us into a great offseason.

“With that being said, we’re definitely going to enjoy this one for a few days.”

Five of the seven Gael athletes recorded personal-record times on Saturday, while Knobbe had his best time of the season.

“You really can’t ask for more out of the kids than that,” Szalat said. “It was a great crowd and a good week of practice. This group does a terrific job of letting their actions speak for themselves and not getting too overhyped.

“They come to work, do their best and trust our training.”