Stella Frisbie’s freshman cross-country season has had a handful of surprises. The Washington rookie excelled all season long, improving on a consistent basis to help lead a young Lady Pack group.

One of the biggest surprises was just her knack for the sport.

“I was really surprised that I was as fast as I was,” she laughed. “I used to do a running club in sixth grade. I was really slow because I didn’t try. Now I try and I’m sort of fast.”

Frisbie said she was finishing courses in about 26 or 27 minutes early on. This past weekend, she completed Washington’s course in 23:20 to place 25th in the 2-A eastern regional. She said her personal best is actually about a half minute quicker.

Only two other freshmen finished ahead of her. The performance earned her a trip to Kernersville to compete for the state championship on Saturday.

“I’m really excited. I just hope I do the best I can,” Frisbie said.

“We ran four freshman, one sophomore, one junior and one senior. We have a nice, strong base to build on for a couple of years,” coach Toby McMahon said, noting that the girls came close to earning a team spot in Kernersville.

Fellow freshman Mary Emma Holscher placed 34th in the region. McMahon said that she and Frisbie had been going back and forth over the course of the season. McMahon also noted that sophomore Fatima Torres has taken on a bit of a leadership role with the team. She finished 51st.

“She’s our No. 3 as a sophomore, but she’s also kind of a little more vocal,” McMahon said. “She’s really established herself as kind of an unofficial team captain.”

Among the boys, Carson Asby (36th) was the boys’ top finisher. Trippe Bonner finished two seconds behind him for 38th. Austin Koonce (73rd) rounded out the top three.

As for Frisbie, she isn’t psyching herself out about competing as a freshman at the state championships. She said she doesn’t feel any pressure as Washington’s lone representative. She said she’s prepared for the quality of competition after seeing what the region had to offer last weekend.

The only thing she’s remotely concerned about is having the bar set high. She’s going to want to go back each year now.

“I hope I can,” she said.