T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE - East Marshall junior Sydney Hull (840) runs the first mile of Saturday’s state cross country meet in Fort Dodge. Hull finished in 38th place in Class 2A with a time of 20 minutes, 34.0 seconds.

FORT DODGE — Getting to state has always been a goal for East Marshall’s Sydney Hull. When she finished in 11th at last year’s state-qualifying meet — one spot out of advancing — it became a mission.

On Saturday, that dream became a reality with a 38th-place finish in Class 1A at the Iowa High School State Cross Country Championships at Lakeside Municipal Golf Course near Fort Dodge.

Hull finished with a time of 20 minutes, 34.0 seconds in her state meet debut and was encouraged by the experience despite the day’s frigid conditions.

Short of running in the snow at state — like her sister Ellie had done previously — Sydney said the weather did eventually have an impact on her performance.

“I’d say it affected me maybe a little bit,” she admitted. “The first mile was definitely good, but I could feel the cold for the last mile. I couldn’t feel my legs and my arms.”

It didn’t reflect in the results, however. Hull ran at her pace and climbed up the standings throughout the 3.1-mile journey.

“She ran a solid first mile, she got out and didn’t get boxed in too bad,” said East Marshall head coach Nick Goodrich. “Her second mile was faster than what it’s been in other previous meets, so she ran a solid race.”

Hull was in 49th place at the first mile marker and 40th after two miles. She continued to chase down spots in her quest to finish higher than her older sister ever did.

Mission accomplished.

Ellie, who was there on Saturday to support her sister’s state meet debut, placed 60th, 53rd and 61st in her three-straight trips to Fort Dodge.

“I beat her time by 12 seconds,” Sydney said. “Yeah, I told her about that.”

Hull’s time of 20:34 wasn’t her personal-best clocking (20:28), but it was among her best ever.

“I wished I would have ran it a little faster, but I’m just happy for qualifying and getting here,” she said. “It means a lot. I was hurt the last two years, so I guess it’s the accomplishment that I’m happy about.”

Hull was recovering from a broken foot during her freshman year and was dealing with weakness in her iliotibial (IT) band as a sophomore. None of it kept her from making her state track and field meet debut in the spring, where she ran personal-bests of 2:23.04 in the 800-meter run and 5:03.20 in the 1,500.

Saturday’s state meet was just the obvious next step for the Mustang junior.

“It feels good to have East Marshall here again,” she said. “This will just lead into more training and training longer for track and building off my splits from this year for next season.”

Hull was the Mustangs’ first runner to reach Fort Dodge since seniors Ellie Hull and Mkenzie Robinson ran here in 2021.

“She ran a solid race, so she has good numbers to go for to beat next year,” Goodrich said.