Comet girls Abby Kemp and Kalia Stover and boys qualifier Cayden White didn’t set any personal bests or walk away with awards.

But in a time of illness and loss among those with the program, the three were together as the sun rose on a chilly day at Lakeside Golf Course.

“It’s really an honor to be running with them here,” White said. “I’ve been running with them since middle school, and it’s amazing to see where them and my other teammates have gotten to where they are now, and growing with them both with faster times and as people.”

Stover, making her state debut as a senior, was 57th in the girls race in 20:48. Kemp was 88th in 21:45. White, also a three-time state qualifier, finished 60th in the boys race in 17:34.

“It was tiring and cold, but it went by pretty fast, and I’m just glad it was a successful season,” Stover said. “I wanted to enjoy the moment as much as I could and just do the best as I felt I could. … It’s much more exciting to experience this instead of just being a spectator, and to have everyone cheering for you.”

Kemp is one of only two BCLUW girls to qualify for the state meet three or more times, and has continued to compete through several injuries in her high school career, including a track injury from last spring that she said slowed her on Saturday.

“With that injury, my whole goal for this season was just to make it back to state for my senior year,” Kemp added. “This has been a really big part of my life for the last six years, and I’ve been running my whole life, so I really just wanted to take the time and enjoy my last meet on this course.”

White also wanted to empty the tank, including going out fast with a five minute first mile that had him just outside of the top 15 before the pack caught up with him.

“My goal was one last stand, one last hurrah,” White said. “I just needed to keep that mentality going forward that I needed to finish this race, because it’s a good way to end the last six years of work.”

BCLUW coach Donna Fiscus expressed immense pride in the state-qualifying trio.

“They all had their goals today that they really wanted, but I think they ran well,” Fiscus said. “The runners are just getting faster and faster and you almost have to get your times down halfway through the season if you want to get up there in the top 15.”

This Comet group will always have their faith that provides strength, something all three literally wore on their sleeves with messages of Christian praise written all over their bodies and joining hands together in group prayer on Saturday.

With family members battling cancer, and many members of the team experiencing loss both recently in and recent years, Fiscus said belief makes days like Saturday possible.

“To me, it’s the only way this team has been able to keep functioning,” Fiscus said. “My father passed away last weekend, our manager, her father passed away last week around the district qualifying meet — you name it, we have been hit. And if anybody doesn’t have faith and know that there is a God out there that has the plan, and that you have to have faith, I don’t know how you function.

“We pray, we share our feelings, we ask God to give us the strength and that’s how I think we’ve made it because there is so much that we’ve gone through. They run as fast as they can, give the praise to God and accept that there’s more out there, even if we don’t know what it is yet. But I couldn’t ask for a better moment for these three. They really did deserve it.”