With defending Big Nine champion Mankato East in town, the race was for second place at Hammer Field Tuesday.

The Albert Lea Tigers won it.

The Tigers edged Mayo for second place in a Big Nine boys’ track and field triangular, 40-37. East won easily with 110 points.

&uot;I didn’t know what Mayo was like this season,&uot; said coach Lon Nelson. &uot;We matched up well with them and were fortunate to edge them with a balanced attack.&uot;

The Tigers continued to shine in the weights, with Mike Veldman winning the shot put with a throw of 49-11 1/4 and Tyler Young taking second in the shot put at 38-3 3/4 and second in the discus with a toss of 142-0.

The other first was by Taylor Zimmerman in the 3200 meters.

Andrew Stapleton, Andrew Irvine, Nate Lombardi and Jason Kuipers combined for second in the 4×100 relay. Sean Harms, Josh Anderson, Zimmerman and Matt Rankin were second in the 4×800.

There were two other second-place finishes, by Levi Budd in the 1600 and Harms in the 400.

The Tigers’ other places: Lionel Thomas, third, 110 hurdles and fourth, 300 hurdles; Corey Berggren, fourth, 100; 4×200 relay, third (Joe Squires, Irvine, Stapleton and Chris Jackson); Irvine, third, 200; 4×400 relay, third (Jon Friday, Jordan Nolander, Dustin Andrews and Berggren) and Kuipers, third, pole vault.

&uot;We’re dealing with some key injuries but hope to have everyone on the mend by next week when we face Rochester John Marshall,&uot; said Nelson. &uot;We have a chance to compete well against them and it will be a boost for us to do well there as we focus on the conference meet later this month.&uot;