The Lakers finished eighth out of 16 teams with 202 points. Wayzata won the team crown with 47 points, well ahead of runner-up Hopkins (87).

Stillwater was third (87), followed by St. Michael-Albertville (153), Chaska (180), Alexandria (189) and Rosemount (196).

Rochester Century was ninth (263), followed by Bemidji (278), Shakopee (302), White Bear Lake (303), Red Wing (326), Andover (336), Centennial (337) and Elk River (363).

The last time the Lakers were at state was in 1993, so it's been a long road for the program to get back to this point. The last two seasons, Prior Lake had individuals at state - Jimmy White in 2012 and junior Trenton Galloway and senior Ben Garrison last year.

Galloway finished 21st overall last season in his first state race. He slipped back this year taking 42nd overall (21st in the team race) with a time of 16:13.7 on the 5,000-meter course.

Sophomore Colin Dwyer led the Lakers finishing 32nd overall (14th in the team race) with a time of 16:08.1. Garrison ended up 94th overall (47th in the team race), which was 10 spots better than his finish last year. He had a time of 16:50.5.

Senior Shawn Doherty ended up 100th overall (51st in the team race) with a time of 16:53.3), while sophomore Thomas Vallez was 129th overall (69 in the team race) with a time of 17:12.9.

The Lakers' other two runners were senior Aidan Resh in 161st (97th) finishing in 17:42.6 and sophomore Devon Genrick in 163rd (99th) with a time of 17:46.7.

Prior Lake earned a state team berth by winning the Section 3AA race Oct. 23 at Valleywood Golf Course in Apple Valley. The Lakers dominated the field with 49 points, well ahead of runner-up Rosemount (83).

The Irish were able to edge the Lakers at state. However, both Prior Lake and Rosemount beat Shakopee, the champions of the South Suburban Conference this season, while the Irish was second and the Lakers were third.

The top-two teams earn state berths from the eight sections. Last year, the Lakers were third in the Section 3AA race behind Rosemount and Burnsville.

The Lakers will have to replace their three seniors from the state team, but Maresh has a strong group of underclassmen coming up so the Lakers could be a viable state contender for years to come.

To see more photos of the Lakers at state, go to Scoreboard's Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.896576650367686.1073742280.197190936972931&type=3.