Shocked. Ecstatic. Proud.

Those are just a few of the words the Packer girls cross country team was throwing around when describing how it felt to take second in the Section 1AA meet last week.

Now the Austin girls cross country team is going to make AHS history this weekend. The Packers will be competing in their first Class AA state meet in team history and five of Austin’s runners will be competing in their first ever state cross country meet.

Austin will run at St. Olaf College in Northfield Saturday at 2 p.m.

The state meet is unlike any other race. The runners are faster, the pressure is on and the course is a very hilly and strenuous one.

Austin eighth grader Abby Lewis said she has watched the state race before, but she’s not sure what to expect about competing in it.

“I’m excited to see what happens and I’m excited to experience it,” she said. “I don’t really know what to expect, because I’ve never ran the course before. We’re going to have fun and we’re going to run together.”

Austin will have plenty of leadership from junior Madison Overby. This will be Overby’s fifth appearance at the state cross country meet and she’s glad to have five other runners to share the spotlight with.

“It’s more of a team aspect. It’s not just running for yourself. It’s definitely a different feeling. I’m still nervous and there’s still pressure on the team, but it’s not the same,” Overby said. “We’re trying to finish as high as possible and we’d like to close the gap on Lakeville South a little bit. The section meet helped us. We worked hard and came together as a team.”

Austin has competed in some big invites this season and the team has risen to the challenge when needed. The Packers plan on running as a group as long as they can to help keep themselves in order.

Freshman Paiton Schwab, who ran in the Class AA state track and field meet last season, said the feeling of getting to state won’t be one hundred percent until the beginning of the race on Saturday.

“I think it’ll finally set in when we’re at the starting line that we’ve made it,” Schwab said. “We’re going to go out faster than we usually do, but we don’t want to go so fast that we’re dead for the rest of the race.”

The Packers didn’t get to the state meet by accident. The team committed itself to training in the offseason and it’s been driven to get to state ever since it won its first Big Nine title in school history last season. The Packers won the Big Nine again this season and they’re hoping for a solid run at state.

Eighth grader Morgan Hose said the entire team has put in the work to get better.

“State is a huge opportunity for us. It’s been an improving scene of events,” she said. “We set goals for each other every year and we always compete.”

Austin freshman Tasia Martinson said the Packers have always worked hard and the state meet is a reward for them at the end of a great season.

“I’m looking forward to it, we had to put in a lot of work to get here,” she said.

Most of Austin’s team was around last season, but the squad also got a boost from seventh grader runner Nicole Justice this season. Justice said she learned quickly that it takes hard work to compete for the Packers.

“I’m really lucky as a seventh grader going to state,” she said. “It’s a great group of girls. They work really hard and they push me.”

Austin head coach Tony Einertson was named Section 1AA coach of the year.