BLUE EARTH &045; Things didn’t go as planned in the Section 2A Cross Country Meet.

That was fine with the United South Central/Alden-Conger Rebels.

Both the USC/A-C boys’ and girls’ squads earned yet another trip to state by defeating higher rated teams Thursday at Blue Earth’s Riverside Golf Course.

&uot;I couldn’t be prouder of the kids,&uot; said longtime head coach Kent Viesselman. &uot;They are high-caliber people both on and off the athletic field. That, and the way they competed Thursday, are what keeps me coming back. I also feel a lot of the credit for the team’s performance needs to go to coaches Joe Guanella and Geri Mura. They really are stabilizing influences in our cross country program.&uot;

The biggest surprise Thursday was in the girls’ division. In the latest coaches poll, Fairmont was rated No. 2, Glencoe-Silver Lake No. 3 and USC/A-C No. 11.

It didn’t turn out that way. Glencoe-Silver Lake won with 36 points, the Rebels had 53, Fairmont 66. Eighteen teams scored.

Becca Bryson led the Rebels, finishing third in 15:05 to also earn an individual spot at state. Jamie Klein, eighth in 15:24, also qualified as an individual. Following for the Rebels: Lindsey Rauenhorst, 13th, 15:44; Megan Jensen, 14th, 15:45; Katie Schultz, 15th, 15:46; Katie Jensen, 33rd, 17:44; Joelle Elmer, 68th, 18:58. There were 121 runners.

&uot;Our girls turned in one of the gutsiest performances I’ve ever seen,&uot; said Viesselman. &uot;We were in rough shape in the middle of the season, and lesser teams would have given up. Most people had written us off.

&uot;They really underestimated the character of this team. I think we were the only ones who thought we had a chance. Five of our top six runners ran their fastest times ever for a legitimate 4000-meter course.&uot;

And, adding Glencoe-Silver Lake and Fairmont to the section made it that much more challenging.

&uot;There is no question that moving Glencoe-Silver Lake and Fairmont into Section 2A made it the toughest section in the state &045; absolutely no question,&uot; said Viesselman. &uot;They were rated No. 2 and No. 3 the last half of the season and, obviously, we should have been up there too. You can’t really compare times from one course to another in cross country. But comparisons from one year to another on the same course can be interesting. The last time the section meet was held on the Blue Earth course was two years ago. The winning time in 2001 was 15:38. There were five runners under 16 minutes. This year, there were two runners under 15 minutes and a total of 21 under 16 minutes. That’s how tough it was. Fourteen of the top 17 runners were from G-SL, USC/A-C or Fairmont.&uot;

No. 11 Blue Earth Area was the lone rated team among for the boys, but the Bucs finished third and missed state. The Rebels won with 96 points. Fairmont had 99, BEA 107. Nineteen teams competed.

&uot;It was a question of whether the strength of our pack could offset Blue Earth’s 1-2 finish,&uot; said Viesselman. &uot;We knew going into the race that we would have to run strong as a team and pack it in pretty tight. That’s been our strength all season. The kids were patient and just kept moving up as the race progressed. All told, they passed a total of 12 to 15 people over the last 400 meters to nail down the win. It really was a team victory.&uot;

The Rebels’ places and times: Jake Stenzel, 13th, 17:17; Bob Schmitz, 15th, 17:18; Eric Youngblom, 17th, 17:25; Brad Tomschin, 18th, 17:26; Matt Mueller, 33rd, 18:05; Spencer Niebuhr, 41st, 18:13; Erik Melby, 75th, 19:07.

The Rebels qualified for state for the 12th consecutive year.

The state meet is Saturday, Nov. 1 at St. Olaf College in Northfield. The Class A boys run at 1 p.m., the girls at 2.

(Contact Jim Lutgens at sports@albertleatribune.com or 379-3437.)