After having plenty of company near the front of races in her first three years with the Austin cross country team, Austin sophomore Abby Lewis has had to learn to be the pacesetter this season. Now she’ll have to go it alone as she’ll be the only Packer in the large field at the Minnesota Class AA state cross country meet at St. Olaf College in Northfield 2 p.m. Saturday.

When Lewis went to state as an eighth grader, the entire Austin team competed and when she went last year, she was accompanied by Austin grad Madison Overby.

“It’s difficult going by myself, but I’ll have teammates that will come and support me,” Lewis said. “That’s going to be fun and I can’t wait to run at state again.”

Lewis finished 71st in state in 2015 and she took 68th in 2014. This year she has high expectations as she is aiming for an all-state finish, which would mean finishing in the top-25. Lewis is also hoping to break the 19-minute barrier, which she almost did at the Section 1AA meet, but she collided with a runner right before the finish line.

Lewis said the Section 1AA meet gave her a good idea of what she will see at state.

“Our section is definitely really fast. I just had to stick with the girls around me and the pace that they set,” she said.

Lewis has an advantage of knowing the course at Northfield, but she’s still pushing herself in while preparing for state.

“It’s really nice having run there before and knowing where everything is at is nice,” Lewis said. “This week we’ve been doing some different workouts to help prepare me. They’re tough workouts.”