SportsFource Champion: Josie McFarland

SLOAN, IA (KTIV) - Westwood senior Josie McFarland finished eighth at the IGHSAU state cross country meet after improving her time by nearly five minutes from the previous year.

McFarland said she played volleyball in junior high before joining cross country in high school.

“I joined cross country and I just instantly fell in love with it,” she said.

McFarland said running gives her time to be alone with her thoughts, while racing brings a different focus.

“But when I am like racing I am just thinking of those like reminders,” she said. “Just like what I can do, trying to remember what I’m capable of and those just go repeat in my brain.”

She said she expected to be nervous at the state meet.

“I thought I was going to be really nervous like I got up to that line and I thought I was going to be really scared but I wasn’t,” McFarland said.

Before the race, McFarland told a friend that her goal was to finish 11th. Her friend predicted she would finish eighth.

“I was like right right and somehow she called it and I got 8th,” McFarland said.

The senior ran 19 minutes, 15.1 seconds in the Class 1A girls race in Fort Dodge.

Want to get the latest news and weather from Siouxland’s News Source? Follow these links to download our KTIV News app and our First Alert Weather app.