Allie Woodward got lost and finished last in her very first high school cross country meet, the Gibraltar Invitational in Peninsula State Park.

The high school senior at Notre Dame Academy in Green Bay spent the rest of her rookie season on course and out front, following a path to national recognition, a college scholarship and a running career beyond the collegiate level.

After that inauspicious debut, Woodward raced to victories in the prestigious Roy Griak Invitational, the Fox River Classic Conference meet, the WIAA Div. 2 state championship and the Foot Locker Midwest Regional. She set the Div. 2 course record by running a 13:59 for 4K in the state meet, and became the first girl from Wisconsin to win the Foot Locker Regional, an event held for 33 years.