For many athletes, the ability to make it to a state final or championship is something that may only happen once or twice, or never at all during their high school careers. To be able to do that as a freshman, however, is a rarity.

Savannah Spangler ‘25 is the exception. As a first-year high school student, she was able to qualify in many of the varsity races on the girls’ cross country team. After competing at the State Regionals at Chandler Park Golf Course on October 29, she placed high enough in the competition to race in the state meet the following week.

“I ran at the regional race,” Spangler said. “And at the race, the top seven individuals were qualified to go to States, and I was a part of that group.”

Before the meet, Spangler described feeling incredibly nervous, being a first-year student going to such a major competition.

“I’ve been nervous,” Spangler said. “And I’ve also been excited because at the practices this week, I’ve had several of my teammates come run with me and we’ve been able to work the nerves out with our runs, so it makes me very excited.”

At the State Finals meet, held on November 6 at Michigan International Speedway, Spangler ran a time of 20:08 for a 5k- a new personal record she had hoped to accomplish.

As she reflected on how she was able to accomplish so much within the first three months of high school, Spangler also gave advice to other athletes that have been going to state finals and championships within the past several weeks.

“Don’t really stress too much about how big an event it is, because in the end, it’s whoever crosses the finish line,” Spangler said. “My goal for this was to get a personal record and to make a new one for myself. For people that are going to state competitions, just have fun because it could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and it’s pretty exciting, so just have fun with it.”