A trio of first-place finishes propelled the Albert Lea boys’ track team to third place Tuesday at its home quad.

The Tigers finished with 56 points, 2.5 more than Faribault. Mankato East won with 98.5 points, and Winona was the runner-up with 64 points.

“It was a very good meet for us,” said Albert Lea coach Kevin Gentz. “We didn’t win, but we’re improving, and our boys are reaping the benefits of hard work.”

Albert Lea won the 4×800-meter relay, the 3,200 and the 300 hurdles.

The team of Jackson Goodell, Caleb Troe, Chris Nelson and Brandon Bonnerup dominated the 4×800 with a time of 8 minutes, 52.30 seconds. It was more than 18 seconds faster than Faribault, the second-place team.

Goodell also earned the top spot in the 3,200 with a strong kick down the home stretch to beat Faribault’s Gunnar Miller by 0.33 seconds.

“I just wanted to stay with the front of the pack and not let them get too far ahead,” Goodell said.

Goodell ran the race for only the second time this year, and he finished in 10:19.53 to shave 25 seconds off his previous time, Gentz said.

Preston Smith led Albert Lea’s hurdlers by winning the 300 hurdles and taking second in the 100 hurdles. He won the 300 hurdles by more than a second.

“I was trying to alternate and not hit any hurdles,” Smith said. “I just went in there and gave it my all and came out with a P.R. (personal record).”

Smith finished in 41.23 seconds.

“His time is one of the best in the conference,” Gentz said. “He has a great opportunity to run under 41 if he improves his approach to his last hurdle, and he has a good chance to make finals at conference and sections.”

Albert Lea’s Brandon Bonnerup took second in the 800 with a time of 2:10.61, and the 4×400 relay team of Colton Mowers, Will Kozelsky, Hunter Tuveson and Smith took second in 3:43.87.

Leading the Tigers in field events were jumpers Zach Lind, Isaac Ware and Sam Thompson along with thrower Tim Christianson.

Lind and Ware tied for third place in the high jump and set new personal bests by clearing the bar at 5 feet, 8 inches. Lind also took fourth place in the long and triple jumps.

Thompson took third place in the long jump with a leap of 18-8 1/2. Mankato East’s Mike Miller won the event with a mark of 19-2.

Christianson finished third in the shot put with a toss of 42-4 1/2. The throw was only 3 inches behind the leader. Christianson also took fourth place in the discus with a toss of 119-9 1/2.

The Tigers will be back in action at 10:30 a.m. Friday at the Austin Wescott Sports Complex to participate at the Big Nine Conference meet. The section meet will be May 29 at Lakeville South. The time has yet to be determined.

Statistics are in the Scoreboard: May 13 post.