By John RittenhouseThe Luverne girls turned their fourth consecutive appearance at the Minnesota State Class A Cross Country Championships staged in Northfield Saturday into their best finish as a team at the state classic.One year after placing sixth in team competition, the 2005 Cardinals moved up one notch by placing fifth in a 16-team field.Luverne compiled 146 points, finishing 83 points behind neighboring state champion Adrian, which finished the meet with 63 counters. The Cards finished the run within striking distance of the Blake School, which placed fourth with 130 points."Our goal was to finish in the top five, and the girls went out there and did it," said Cardinal coach Bruce Gluf. "All of the kids on the girls’ side ran great races. All of them ran personal- or seasonal-best times."As she has all season, Luverne sophomore Lexi Heitkamp led the Cardinals to their best finish as a team in state competition.Heitkamp ran a 15:04.4, earning a position on the All-State Team by placing sixth individually.The Top 25 individual finishers make the All-State Team, and the top eight runners receive medals for their efforts. Heitkamp, who shaved nearly five seconds off her time on the same course when she finished 11th last year (she also placed 11th in state in 2003), met the criteria in both cases."We always knew Lexi had the capability to get a medal at state. She really looked determined and ran a great race, as did all of our girls," Gluf said.Debbie Schneiderman made a bid to earn All-State status before coming up short late in the race. Schneiderman placed 28th in 15:32.8.Kayla Raddle (49th in 15:55), Katie Schneiderman (63rd in 16:09.5) and Kelsey Dooyema (87th in 16:36.5) made scoring contributions to Luverne’s team effort.Amanda Kannas and Rachel Saum finished 100th and 137th with respective 16:49.5 and 17:50.7 times.Gluf said he didn’t have to say much to inspire his runners prior to the race. Since most of the athletes possessed past state experience, his message was simple."I just told them to go out and run the races of their lives, and they did. They all were very relaxed," he said."We’re very happy to finish fifth. That’s a great accomplishment. There are a lot of kids who’ve never been to one state meet. Our girls have been to four in a row. That’s something they should be proud of."Team standings: Adrian 63, Staples-Motley 71, Perham 109, Blake School 130, Luverne 146, Providence Academy 163, Rochester Lourdes 214, Lac qui Parle Valley 220, Fairmont 266, East Grand Forks 268, La Crescent 281, Esko 283, Blue Earth 302, St. Cloud Cathedral 314, International Falls 326, Mille Lacs 348.