OAKVILLE — Cullman County waited oh-so-long to claim its first-ever state title by a boys team.

Thanks to Cold Springs cross country, the school system now has two in as many years.

C.J. Lang shook off a pulled hamstring for third, Kramer Crider closed out his high school career in fourth and the Eagles turned what was expected to be a tight Class 1A-2A competition into a runaway victory Saturday at Oakville Indian Mounds.

Cold Springs’ 32 points tied 6A Homewood for the lowest team score of the day. St. Bernard, led by state runner-up Casey Guthery, secured second with 67 points.

The Red Map was the Saints’ second in four seasons.

Try as they might, though, there was no trumping the Eagles’ back-to-back Blue Maps.

Lang (16:51), Crider (16:52) and Jared Stanley (17:13) went 3-4-5 for Cold Springs. Mason Harris (17:37) was 10th, and Austin Burwell (18:02) wrapped up the championship with 20th. Trentan Williams (18:04) and Jonathan Collett (18:22) were 21st and 30th, respectively.

“Oh, man. One is amazing and then two is just like, ‘What in the world?'” longtime Eagles coach Claborn Campbell said. “Our guys, they knew they had a challenge, and they took it.”

Lang’s trek was made even more challenging after stepping on a root around the 2-mile mark. Pulled hamstring or not, anything but full speed was never an option for the sophomore.

“Coach Campbell was telling us that we’ve got to fight through the pain, so I wasn’t going to let it stop me,” he said. “It hurt awful. The whole time, I could feel it.”

Nothing a little ice and second straight state crown couldn’t cure, however.

“It’s great. I knew we could do it,” Lang said. “I told you at the beginning of the year it’s all in hard work. Obviously, we put in our hard work.”

Crider’s road to both championships was especially bumpy. After undergoing surgery for microtears in his right Achilles and dealing with a stress reaction in his left shin, the then-junior toughed out his third consecutive county title and then settled into the team’s third spot at most meets.

Except Saturday, when Crider crossed the line just behind Lang for Cold Springs’ top position.

At the end of the day, each and every Eagle was on top — and that’s all that mattered to Crider.

“There’s no better way that I could leave the Cold Springs cross country team than going out a state champion,” he said. “I’m just so blessed and happy. It’s indescribable.

“The competition in our classification is tough, but the competition within our team is also tough. Really, that does nothing but help us, in practice, in races. We all push each other, and I love that. And they’re going to continue to do that even after I leave.”

Despite the loss of Crider, Burwell and Justin Tolbert, Lang likes Cold Springs’ chances of a three-peat come next fall.

“Definitely,” he said. “There’s no reason why we can’t do it. We’ll have somebody get up there.”

Based on the track record of Campbell and his coaching staff, the youngster could have a point. For two seasons in a row now, the Eagles have started deceivingly slow before rounding into championship form just in time for the home stretch.

Campbell has no problem being asked about his secret to success. Just don’t expect a serious answer.

“If we told everybody, everybody would do it,” he said with a laugh. “We’ll write a book one day maybe.”

Crider would be more than happy to write the foreword.

“What kind of team do you have if you don’t trust your coaches?” he said. “And I trust them 100 percent. They believe in us. They’ve done more for me than I could ever repay them.”

Familiarity with the site of the state meet definitely factored into this season’s repeat. Saturday’s finale was Cold Springs’ fourth race of the fall at Oakville Indian Mounds and marked their second win. The first was a slim triumph over Lawrence County — this year’s 5A state champion — at the Northwest Alabama Championships.

“I can’t say enough about the kids,” Campbell said. “Whatever training we throw at them, there’s never a complaint, never a, ‘Wow, we can’t do that. That’s too much.’ They do it. That’s the difference.”

The presence of Chad Akridge also made an apparent difference. A mere two months removed from a stroke, the Cold Springs assistant strolled nimbly around the grounds. Akridge closed out the school’s state outing with an inspirational speech that left several parents and supporters in tears.

Guthery’s first season at St. Bernard ended with a splash. The Hanceville transfer took second with a time of 16:42, completing a transformation from the start of the fall to the end that was nothing short of extraordinary.

The junior’s 2015 campaign included a sectional title and two other wins.

“I definitely have matured a lot as a runner and feel much more confident in my ability,” said Guthery, whose 5Ks were closer to 19:00 as a junior. “I give coach (William Calvert) credit. He has me ready every week and throughout the offseason.”

Coming only 20 or so seconds short of a state championship has Guthery hungrier than ever to make it happen next year. The graduation of two-time winner Dylan Pausic of Shades Mountain will certainly help.

“It’s just more motivation,” Guthery said. “It’s something to think about on the tough days of the offseason, to push me.”

Steven Mami (13th, 17:45), Will Sciaroni (16th, 17:54), Marco Tona (25th, 18:12) and Andrew Sweeney (26th, 18:17) rounded out St. Bernard’s counting scores.

Guthery, Lang, Crider, Stanley, Harris and Mami made the All-State Team as top-15 runners.

West Point’s Joey Riggs (17:10) achieved the same status with 12th in the 5A race. Teammate Jesse Farrell was 43rd.

Cullman was sixth as a team in 6A, Fairview was ninth in 5A and Holly Pond was 10th in 3A.

Cullman’s top five were Joey Franklin (25th, 17:05), Tucker Franey (31st, 17:14), Eli Wilhite (43rd, 17:37), Tucker Adkison (72nd, 18:09) and Jackson Tucker (73rd, 18:09).

Fairview’s top five were Quinton Chambers (48th, 18:37), Jerrami Browder (62nd, 18:49), Keagan Hardin (71st, 19:02), Reece Walker (76th, 19:15) and Jake Guthrie (77th, 19:16). Cody Fallin, the Aggies’ usual No. 1, was sidelined by an injury.

Holly Pond’s top five were Jacob Drane (40th, 18:24), Parker Smith (43rd, 18:27), Todd Schwab (82nd, 19:33), Dallas Curtis (95th, 19:53) and Zackery Reynolds (104th, 20:17).

Vinemont’s Hunter Green (17:56) was 29th in 3A and Hanceville’s Aaron Brown (19:10), 68th. Good Hope’s Adrien Hargrove (20:02) was 99th in 4A.