Vivian Zaruba was supported by a large group of Lone Tree fans during her first state cross country race at Kennedy Park near Fort Dodge on Friday. 

A beautiful fall day brought out spectators from all over the state to line the three-mile course. 

“I really liked all of the support,” Zaruba said. “It was very different, there’s just so many people. It was so loud and so much bigger than I’m used to. It was crazy.”

Zaruba placed 103rd out of 150 runners with a time of 22:19. She ran the first mile in 6:33, but was unable to keep up that pace. 

“The second mile was pretty difficult,” Zaruba said. “I feel like I started off too fast with my first mile and in the second mile, I kinda hit a wall. The finish was probably one of my better stretches.”

Calamus Wheatland sophomore Noelle Steines repeated as the 1A state champion, edging Sibley Ocheyedan senior Madison Brouwer by three seconds for the title with a time of 18:39. 

Zaruba was happy that her season ended in Fort Dodge. 

“I worked so hard for it and it’s really nice to see it all pay off,” she said. 

She hopes to use the experience to place higher in the state meet next season. 

“It’s good now,” she said, “because I know the course, I know how to pace myself.”