TERRE HAUTE — The scariest thing at Saturday’s cross country state finals was the course.

Notoriously difficult even in ideal conditions, the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course was inundated by rainfall throughout the day Friday.

The result, less than 24 hours later, was a swampy marsh that left overly taxed runners covered in mud.

“This was definitely something along the college level,” Highland’s DJ Taylor said moments after his 60th-place finish. “This is going to prepare me more for whatever college I go to.”

That decision, which is currently led by St. Joseph’s College and Anderson University, likely will wait until after track season this spring.

That’s when Taylor will again match up against Pendleton Heights’ Nathan Hendershot and Hunter Mills.

The star duo led the Arabians to a 17th-place team finish in the school’s first full appearance at the state finals.

“This was the icing on the cake, getting here,” Pendleton Heights coach Alan Holden said of his team’s historic season, which also included the school’s first regional crown. “I’ve felt like we were a top 20 team the whole season. You don’t get much respect unless you’re in Indianapolis.”

The Arabians earned a measure of respect Saturday.

Hendershot, predictably, was the area’s top finisher in seventh place overall. His race, however, was anything but predictable.

The Johnny Wilson Award winner planned to stay with the frontrunners early in the race.

But when favorite Futsum Zeinasellassie made his break early in the race, Hendershot declined to follow.

The move, or lack thereof, paid off.

Even with clumps of mud weighing down his every step, Zeinasellassie set a blistering pace. He finished in 15:51.6, nearly 10 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.

Fort Wayne Carroll’s James Martin, the only runner to beat Hendershot at last week’s New Haven Semistate, attempted to stay with Zeinasellassie in the early going. Martin finished 10th.