Casie Gates is walking proof of just how powerful the Bismarck High girls cross country program was last fall.

Gates finished as the Demons' 10th runner at last season's state meet, placing 36th out of 158 runners.

If Gates competed for any other team, she would have more than likely been a top five harrier for that team, if not its top runner.

Gates and the Demons claimed their second straight Class A state title last season with 43 points, putting 10 runners in the top 36 and going unbeaten against their North Dakota foes.

While Gates' finish at state was nothing to sneeze at, she never considered it a curse being the team's 10th runner.

"It's awesome to know that we have a team that can put 10 girls in the top 36," said Gates, a senior at St. Mary's. "Most teams don't have their first girl in the top 40."

The push is ahead and behind Gates to become a better cross country runner.

"You come to practice every day knowing you're going to get better," Gates said. "You know it's a chance to push your teammates and for them to push you. There are never any hard feelings. We know for us to get better, we have to push each other."

The Demons enter this season favored to three-peat, returning eight of their top 10.

The Demons lost Sarah Feeney (10th place) to graduation, and Maddy Gendreau (31st) quit so she could concentrate more on girls hockey.

Bismarck returns Alexa Wachter (fifth), Taylor Pintar (sixth), Shanice Lambert (ninth), Brooklyn Beehler (13th), Tessa Haussler (14th), Alana Fischer (21st), Lindsay Achtenberg (25th) and Gates.

Even though the Demons enter the season stacked, coach Scott Reichenberger cautioned his runner not to injure themselves patting themselves on the back.

"This team has a lot of work to do," he said. "It might not appear that way on paper. We lost a great leader in Sarah Feeney. She was one of the best leaders I've ever coached. We have to find a leader on the team.

"This team can be as good as they want to be,"Reichenberger added. "That's something they have to figure out."

And Gates is hoping to move up Bismarck's food chain. Last season she would have scored at the state meet if she was competing for another team.

Bismarck had a 1-10 runner interval gap of 66 seconds at the state meet, which was less than the 1-5 gap of any other top five teams at the state meet.

Gates beat every other teams' fifth runner, with the exception of runner-up West Fargo. Gates was three places from defeating West Fargo's fifth harrier.

Gates' 36th place by a No. 10 runner is the highest finish in Class A girls by a 10th runner in the history of North Dakota girls cross country.

Reichenberger sees several runners behind Gates who are also capable of competing at the state meet. He believes the inner competition on his team is a positive.

"The whole incentive is to work and get in the top 10,"Reichenberger said. "There is a carrot out there for them to chase, if that is the goal they have set for themselves. The competition that is created from our eight to 15 runners makes them better. I don't think on a lot of teams you would have that. They are very encouraging of each other, and I've always admired that."

Gates knows the Demons enter the season with targets on their backs. But Gates doesn't consider it a burden.

"It's fun," said Gates, who plays basketball for St. Mary's in the winter. "We have a strong team, but we lost two important girls, Sarah Feeney and Maddy Gendreau. It is a lot of pressure to know we do have eight of our 10 girls back. There is no reason we shouldn't bring the same competition we brought last year."

Last year's Demons were the first Bismarck High girls team to win the region and state meets in the same season since 1983. They were the first Bismarck High team to win back-to-back titles since 1983-84.

Reichenberger has warned his team not to get too comfortable on past accolades.

"The fear is that you don't get content,"Reichenberger said. "We do have work to do. There are teams out there shooting for us now. You have to prepare like you're chasing somebody. If you start to get content, that's the time you get knocked off."