While the weather wasn’t ideal, it didn’t stop the Albert Lea cross country team from competing at the Faribault Invitational Friday.

The Albert Lea boys’ cross country team came in 14th with 416 points, while the girls’ finished 15th with 324 points.

The girls’ cross country team was led by sophomore Bailey Thompson who finished with a time of 15 minutes 46 seconds to claim 16th place overall.

“Thompson had a very nice race,” Haney said. “It was great to see her run well after dealing with an injury last week. She has taken a leadership role on the team as she has taken on the challenges of being a No. 1 runner.”

Following Thompson was Rachel Kenis, who finished in 16:52 for a 60th place finish.

Senior Alyssa Sager recorded a time of 17:18 for 73rd place, while Ashley Tewes finished seven seconds behind Sager at 17:25 and a 79th place finish.

Emma Behling finished with a time of 17:59 to claim 96th place and Morgan Haney finished in 18:43 for 108th place.

“The rest of my girls continued to improve and they are looking forward to improving with each race,” Haney said. “During each race we continue to improve. The girls are not satisfied and this is great because they have the drive to continue to improve.”

The Albert Lea boys’ were lead by senior Steven Kreun, who finished in 67th place in 17:50.

“Kreun led the way and has consistently been the top runner for the team over the last two years,” Haney said.

Andy Christian followed Kreun with a time of 18:03 to finish 74th place, while Blair Bonnerup recorded a time of 18:09 to finish 79th.

Luc Malimanek finished with a time of 18:58 to claim 94th and Eli Malimanek recorded a time of 19:42 to finish in 102nd place.

As a whole, the boys’ team ran together and the difference between the first and last runner for was less than two minutes.

“The boys did a very nice job of pack running,” Haney said. ” The top three Albert Lea boys were very close together and my No. 4 and No. 5 runners were close behind.”

Haney says now that their running as a pack, it’s time to move the pack up and finish higher.

“Now we need to move the pack up and this will happen when we increase our training and start the speed work in the next couple of weeks,” Haney said. “We have two very hilly courses coming up in the next two weeks and my varsity boys are looking forward to the challenge, I know that they are up that challenge.”

The Albert Lea cross country teams are back in action next Thursday when they travel to Rochester Mayo.

Boys finishes:

67. Steve Kruen 17:50.1

74. Andy Christian 18:03.3

79. Blair Bonnerup 18:09.7

94. Luc Malimanek 18:58.9

102. Eli Malimanek 19:42.8

Girls finishes:

16. Bailey Thompson 15:46.1

60. Rachel Kenis 16:52.2

73. Alyssa Sager 17:18.0

79. Ashley Tewes 17:25.9

96. Emma Behling 17:59.1

108. Morgan Haney 18:43.0