NORTHFIELD — United South Central cross country runner Beth Stevermer is the fastest freshman in Class A.

Stevermer finished seventh overall out of 171 competitors with a time of 15:01.5 Saturday at the Class A state meet at St. Olaf College in Northfield.

“I was pretty excited,” said Stevermer. “I tried to have a strong first mile, push harder in the second and have a good finish.”

Although Stevermer is in her first year of high school, it was her second trip to the state meet. She qualified as an eighth grader last year and finished 14th out of 174 runners with a time of 15:23.2.

“Last year was more intimidating,” Stevermer said. “It helped me knowing where the mile, two-mile and last 400 was, so I knew where to push myself.”

According to Rebels’ first-year head coach Rita Augustine, Stevermer won nine of the team’s 12 meets.

“With Beth, you kind of need to let her do her thing,” Augustine said. “She’s only a freshman, but she’s very consistent with her strategy. It’s not exactly wise to change it up.”

Stevermer was USC’s only state qualifier, so she said her brother, Adam, helped Augustine train her.

“He helped me on the hard workout days to have someone to push me,” she said.

Along with cross country in the fall, Stevermer is planning on competing in track and field in the spring and is on the fence about basketball this winter.