Submitted photo: Area runners (left to right) Chloe Judish of South Central Calhoun, Tyra Schupbach of West Bend-Mallard and Manson Northwest Webster’s Alyssa Richman stand together after a state qualifying meet in Panora.

Alyssa Richman ended her sophomore running campaign and almost immediately jumped into preparing for this spring.

The Manson Northwest Webster athlete has put all her hard work on display as she enters Friday’s Class 1A state cross country championships at Lakeside Golf Course.

A three-time qualifier, Richman is among the contenders to not only earn a medal, but race for the individual title.

“Following track season last year, I took a small break and jumped right back into training to prepare for cross country,” she said. “It took some sacrifice, but I got adequate sleep and ran six days a week during the summer.

“This helped not only with fitness, but with my nerves. Knowing that I put myself in the best position to succeed has calmed me down before big races. I’m excited to lay it all down one more time this season.”

Richman will be joined in 1A by fellow Twin Lakes Conference rivals Tyra Schupbach of West Bend-Mallard and Chloe Judisch from South Central Calhoun along with North Union’s Alexis Cummins and Jacey Welbig at 2 p.m. North Union’s Gavyn Morphew races at 2:45 p.m.

In 2A, East Sac County’s Parker Engel and Isaiah Aragon hit the course at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday, while Humboldt’s Brynn Malo races at 2 p.m. Saturday in 3A.

After placing 33rd as a freshman with a time of 21:14, Richman moved up 26 spots and shaved almost two minutes off her time to secure seventh last year in 19:24. She also gained valuable course experience by placing 10th at the Fort Dodge Invitational earlier this season.

That race featured several of the top runners from 4A including the likes of Johnston’s Olivia Verde and Claire Helmers from Ames.

“There is no environment that quite replicates state,” Richman said. “Emotions run high, and that gets adrenaline flowing. That means that there will more than likely be a large front pack, especially in that first mile.

“Having run at state before, I know that I need to stay calm and dial in on that middle-to-last portion of the race. It’s helped tremendously that I ran here not too long ago. This helped me figure out when and where to kick.”

Richman secured her bid by winning a state-qualifying race last week, a feeling that “never gets old,” she said.

“When you cross that line, the excitement is immediate,” Richman added. “State qualifiers are given another opportunity to race and have fun with the chance of hardware on the line.”

Schupbach, a sophomore for the Wolverines, raced to an 18th place finish last year in 20:00. Judish, a senior making her return, was 20th in 20:15 while competing in 2A.

Welbig is making her third appearance in three years, as the Warrior junior was 21st as a freshman in 20:37 and 29th last season in 20:26. Cummins is a freshman joining her on the big stage while Morphew makes his debut as a senior.

Malo also qualified last year as a freshman for the Wildcats, placing 31st in 20:18. Engel was 57th as a freshman in 17:43 for East Sac County and returns as a senior, while classmate Aragon makes his first appearance at state.