What West Springfield harriers lack in star power they make up for with teamwork and determination.

The Spartans’ group-effort mentality paid off Saturday when the West Springfield boys’ cross country team finished runner-up in Group 6A at the VHSL state meet despite having just one runner finish in the top 15.

Lake Braddock won the team championship with a score of 41. West Springfield finished with a total of 92, followed by Chantilly (105), Oakton (124), Robinson (146) and Cosby (177).

The Spartans, making their first trip to states since 2006, benefited from a trio of runners finishing within one second of one another. Senior Nahom Teshome finished 25th with a time of 16:21. Senior Evan Fabish took 26th (16:22) and junior Andrew Lackey was 27th (16:22).

“The goal all along was to get second,” West Springfield head coach Chris Pellegrini said. “I’m being complimentary to our guys’ team, but they’re not composed of a lot of blue chip athletes. They’re just kind of a bunch of guys that have put a lot of time in.

“... For them to buy into the idea that collectively they could do something, but only collectively, it means a lot because I’ve been trying to sell that to these guys for years.”

Senior Timothy Ward led the way for West Springfield, earning all-state honors with a 10th-place finish (15:56).

“We had a good front runner in Tim Ward,” Pellegrini said. “He did a great job for us and has developed quite a bit.”

Senior Matt Blackburn finished 41st for West Springfield with a time of 16:35.

Lake Braddock seniors Alex Corbett (15:08) and Kevin Monogue (15:19) finished first and second, respectively.

Robinson had a pair of boys’ harriers earn all-state honors. Senior Patrick Myers finished 14th with a time of 15:59, and junior Hunter Jutras placed 15th (15:59).

In the girls’ race, West Springfield finished seventh with a score of 185. Oakton repeated as state champion with a score of 44, followed by Lake Braddock (58), Madison (83), Patriot (96), Ocean Lakes (164) and Cosby (184).

Patriot sophomore Rachel McArthur won the event with a time of 17:43. Robinson senior Lauren Berman placed ninth (18:29), earning all-state.

West Springfield’s top finisher was Emily Keast, who finished 30th with a time of 19:18.