NORTHFIELD — Things didn’t go exactly as planned for Austin’s two state cross country qualifiers at the Class ‘AA’ girls meet in St. Olaf Saturday, but both runners walked away with lessons learned.

Madison Overby, a seventh grader, finished 89th out of 154 runners with a time of 15:48.00 and sophomore Haley Splinter didn’t finish the race in her second career state meet appearance.

Splinter ran her fastest mile of the year to start the race as she began in 40th place, but she was sidelined with a cramp in her calf going up a hill and couldn’t finish.

“When it cramps up bad you can’t really run on it,” Austin head coach Tony Einertson said. “It’s not when you want it to happen, but she did a good job dealing with it. She understands she had a good season.”

Overby was pleased with how she came through in the biggest meet she’s ever competed in.

“It’s by far the most exciting meet I’ve ever been in and I’m satisfied with the way I performed. I was a little worried about all the girls back there, but I did good,” she said. “I also learned to keep pushing myself until the end.”

Overby’s time was the same as what Splinter ran last year when she took 46th but the field was a little faster this season. Einertson said the meet was a good learning experience for Overby.

“She had a quite a bit left at the end, but it’s a new experience for kids in their first trip and we told her to watch herself in the first mile,” he said. “Those hills are deceiving. Hopefully Haley and Madison can get back there next year.”

The race started off with a false start, which actually helped Overby collect herself.

“I didn’t know if I could run with them, but then I start running with them and it’s like ‘okay I can do this’,” she said. “Then they stopped the race and I wasn’t as nervous any more.”