With a team patched together with a freshman and four others who had started running just 14 months ago, Slippery Rock cross country coach Tony Consbruck didn't know what to expect out of his girls teams this season.

"It makes you wonder what they could have done if they started earlier," Consbruck said. "They started the summer before last season, and they have made great strides."

Perhaps no strides were greater than the ones the team took over Hersheypark's White Field at the PIAA Cross Country Championships Saturday.

The Rockets finished fifth as a team at the event, with Jill Laux placing 25th with a time of 20 minutes, 38 seconds.

"The expectation was there to be able to place in the top five," Consbruck said. "We were only 16 points away from Gwynedd Mercy, which is known as one of the powerhouse girls programs."

The Rockets were just one point behind Tulpehocken for fourth place and 53 points off the pace of Dallas, the state champion in Class AA.

All this from a team that struggled at midseason.

After a particularly poor meet at the Central Catholic Invitational, Consbruck gathered his team in a nearby grassy field and held a nearly 45 minute meeting.

"I think we were in kind of a rut," said Laux, a senior. "It was a wakeup call that if we were going to make it to states, we had some work to do to realize it."

The team peaked at just the right time.

The Rockets won the district for the first time, edging Villa Maria, which placed seventh at the state meet.

It was a shocking victory for a team that was not expected to achieve it.

"To tell you the truth, I was in disbelief for a long time after that," Laux said. "I heard people screaming that we had won it, but I didn't believe it."

That momentum carried over to Hershey, even though Laux said the team knew it would be hard to win a state title.

"Did I think we could win it all? No," Laux said. "But I did think we could finish in the top five."

Sophomore Calley Bridges placed 31st with a time of 20:45 and junior Brittany Lyons 47th. Senior Sarah Thompson was 51st and freshman Andrea Shaffer 52nd.

Laux said starting the state race was nerve-wracking.

"There are so many people," Laux said. "There are so many girls. But once you get out, it's like an everyday race. It's like a dual meet. You just have to go out and run your race."

Consbruck changed the way he prepared his team for the season.

Instead of entering many invitationals, he picked a select few, geared toward getting the Rockets ready for the district and state meets.

It worked.

"It's all a credit to the girls," Consbruck said. "The bought into what we were doing and we got the right mix."