By Bruce Thein
Viviana Dugan entered the cross country season with two goals: qualify for state and finish a 5K race in under 20 minutes.
The Clayton Ridge eighth grader was confident she could accomplish both. By the time she crossed the finish line at the Class 1A state meet Oct. 30, she had accomplished both and gone considerably further.
Dugan accomplished all of this before reaching high school. She has four cross country seasons ahead of her in a Clayton Ridge uniform. It will be interesting to see what she can accomplish in those four seasons.
She finished seventh at state in 18:58.8, becoming the first Clayton Ridge girl to run a 5K in under 19 minutes. It was the third time she had broken the school record this season.
Coach Louis Cook shared that confidence from the beginning. Moving Dugan into varsity competition had been the plan all along. She had been a ranked runner as a seventh grader, and Cook recognized both her ability and her potential. He believed she could qualify for state.
Dugan was confident in her goals, but initially felt nervous about racing older runners. As she competed during the season, she learned she could race with them and outperform the older runners.
Her first school-record performance came Sept. 17 at the Central Invitational, where she finished in 19:56.3. That time accomplished her goal of breaking 20 minutes and surpassed the previous Clayton Ridge record of 20:20.9, set by Kassie Parker in 2016.
Dugan lowered the mark again Oct. 6 at the South Winneshiek Invitational, running 19:25.2. She then secured her place at state with a third-place finish at the state qualifying meet.
Asked what helped Dugan get faster, Cook pointed to the miles she put in during practice. He said the varsity runners average about 20 miles per week, with one week reaching as high as 28 miles.
Dugan arrived at the state meet with both preseason goals already accomplished and an opportunity to finish the season against the best runners in Class 1A.
Before the starting gun, she felt nervous but wanted to focus and do well. Once the race began, battling the wind became one of her toughest challenges.
She finished in 18:58.8, taking another 26.4 seconds off her school record and earning a seventh-place medal. From her first record at Central to her season-ending performance at state, Dugan lowered the mark by 57.5 seconds.
Dugan was happy with her race. But even after finishing seventh and running the fastest 5K of her young career, she felt she could do better.
Dugan will enter her freshman season with a different starting point: two preseason goals accomplished, a state medal and the school record. Her next goals remain to be set, but this season has given her plenty to build on.
With a seventh-place finish and three school-record performances, Dugan has given cross country fans beyond Clayton Ridge a name to watch. As she enters her freshman season, those accomplishments could bring more attention from opposing teams and more supporters following her progress.
