Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: The St. Edmond girls cross country team celebrates its third place Class 1A finish at the state meet last Saturday at Lakeside Golf Course.

Success can be measured in a variety of ways.

At St. Edmond, achievements are defined through culture.

Mike Szalat has spearheaded the Gael cross country program for the past 23 years. Szalat takes a great deal of pride in his program and his runners — not just as athletes, but as people, too.

Getting high school kids to buy into a certain philosophy can be a daunting task at times, but when it starts within a family, siblings see how it’s done and want to be a part of that.

On Saturday, the St. Edmond girls turned in the school’s best state performance in history with a bronze trophy performance at Lakeside Golf Course. The post-meet conversation wasn’t as much about who finished where individually, but rather, about sharing the collective happiness with teammates and families.

The culture of the St. Edmond cross country family is simple: work hard, yet also enjoy your time and have fun.

That couldn’t have been more evident for the Gaels when they were handed their trophy. Tears were flowing. Hugs were shared.

This year saw the end of an impressive run with members of the Szalat (Drew), Mayer (Hayden), Loerts (Zach) and Shelly (Caroline) families concluding their careers. They’ve been staples in the program throughout the duration of Szalat’s tenure.

Cross country is more than just running a long distance. In Szalat’s program, it’s about finding a pace, working hard and being efficient. And there’s so much more to it than just performance on the day of a meet.

Szalat doesn’t see himself as a cross country coach only. He’s also a fan and a student of the sport. Learning as he goes and making the necessary adjustments as philosophies evolve.

In Szalat’s 23 years at St. Edmond, the girls have qualified 12 times — including a school-record eight straight trips. The boys have 17 state berths during his tenure, which includes a seven-year stretch from 2009-15.

The Gaels are now a state staple in their own backyard. The finishes may not always be what they hope, but the camaraderie transcends results.

This year’s girls program epitomized that, as the girls got together on their own, bonded outside of the athletic realm and enjoyed time spent together.

Sometimes, the hidden gem to success comes from simply enjoying each other’s company.

When coaches believe what they teach and care about how the kids feel, success will often follow.

Szalat, who has had a son on every boys team since 2009 with Jake and Ryan preceding Drew, and hugged his youngest after his final school race. The raw emotions of a sport that goes beyond winning and losing were palpable.

Szalat is an emotional guy. He gladly wears his heart on his sleeve. After seeing his son run for the last time and the girls take third place, happy tears were the order for the day.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the St. Edmond camp on Saturday. Memories that won’t soon be forgotten.

Gael senior Caroline Shelly, who was a part of four state qualifying teams, summed it up best after her final race.

“I’ll miss these girls more than anything. We started as a team, and finished as a family.”

Chris Johnson is Assistant Sports Editor at The Messenger. Contact him via email at sports@messengernews.net, or on Twitter @ChrisJohnson_17.