Mikayla Stoudt has been exceeding her own expectations all season. And it continued at states.

Stoudt came into the season hoping to contribute to Parkland's cross country team. As a freshman moving up to such and accomplished team, she wanted to blend in and help the team score.

She did much more than that.

Stoudt was the Lady Trojans' top runner this year. She capped her stellar rookie season with a medal-winning performance Saturday at the PIAA Championship Meet.

"It's just something I never expected coming out of middle school," said Stoudt, who ran Hershey's Parkview course in 19:10 for 19th place overall. The top 25 finishers earn medals.

Stoudt helped Parkland's girls team to an 11th-place finish in the state meet team standings, while senior Trevor Bergen led the Trojan boys team to a 17th place, finishing 51st individually.

The state meet left an impression on Stoudt, who lined up with 217 girls in Saturday's Class AAA race.

"It's like nothing I've ever ran in before," she said. "I ran Paul Short and I thought that was really big. Getting here really surprised me. It was more than I expected. It's great here."

With so many runners occupying the course, Stoudt knew a good start was imperative.

"The first mile I was really fast," she said. "Then I was just pushing it through the hills the last two miles. Those hills are hard, but you just have to push through them."

Four Parkland seniors finished their high school careers at Saturday's meet. Nicole Albertson (85th, 20:22), Cassidy Newman (130th, 20:54), Danielle Clune (176th, 21:47) and Judith Skinker (178th, 21:49) all ran their last race at the state's most prestigious high school meet.

Also running for the Parkland girls team were sophomores Cara Moyer (106th, 20:37) and Melissa Lukas (149th, 21:08).

For the boys team, Bergen, a two-time district bronze medalist, finished 51st with a time of 16:50.

"That was one of the hardest meets I've ever run," he said. "I wanted top 25. I ran hard. I had a fast time. I'm a little disappointed, but proud."

Bergen improved on his time and place from last season, when he finished 63rd in 17:01.

Running conditions were just a little colder than ideal Saturday, with a steady breeze and clouds cooling the air in Hershey. Bergen was where he wanted to be for most of the 3.1-mile race. But he didn't have his usual closing speed after working to keep up with the faster state meet pack.

"I definitely got out as fast as I wanted," he said. "My goal was to be in the top 40 pack at the mile. That's where I was. On the hills I was going to try to reel in like 15-20 more people, try and get in that top 25. Going out that fast, I'm not used to it. The cold, a little bit of nerves, I just couldn't do it."

Parkland's boys team also included four senior runners who will be difficult to replace next year. Along with Bergen were classmates Will Nemeth (116th, 17:29), Noah Cosgrove (180th, 18:03), Robert Strauss (202nd, 18:42) and Aiden Flynn (206th, 19:00). Sophomore Grant Newman (185th, 18:06) and junior Eric Scheler (210th, 19:13) were also part of the state meet team.