After finishing in the top 14 at the Class A state cross country meet the last two years, United South Central sophomore Beth Stevermer punched her third ticket to Northfield.

Stevermer qualified for state Thursday with a time of 19:39.7 to take third place out of 137 runners at the Section 2A meet hosted by Tri-City United at Montgomery National Golf Club.

“I think she ran a smart race,” said Rebels coach Rita Augustine. “The Montgomery course is challenging, and she’s raced against those girls numerous times. Any given day, the placing order might be switched up.”

Augustine referred to Waterville-Elysian-Morristown/Janseville-Waldorf-Pemberton’s Tierney Winter, who won the meet in 19:31.98 and the runner-up, Fairmont’s Jenna Pavich.

As an eighth-grader, Stevermer finished 14th at state with a time of 15:23.2, and she improved to seventh place last season in 15:01.5.

USC’s team finish at the section meet was 17th out of 20. Trystan Servantez and Tikvah Schwartz also finished in the top 100.

On the boys’ side, the Rebels took 16th place out of 22 teams.

At the individual level, USC suffered a near miss.

Senior Thomas Mantor finished 12th with a time of 17:19.2. Glencoe-Silver Lake and Jordan won the meet at the team level, so their top-eight individuals didn’t count toward the eight individual qualifiers. However, Glencoe-Silver Lake and Jordan only produced three top eight finishers, which meant the top 11 individuals qualified for state, and Mantor was one spot away.

“He ran a great race but came up a little short,” Augustine said.

Chris Mulholland was USC’s next runner to cross the finish line with a time of 19:18.8 for 94th place.

Stevermer will compete at the Class A state meet at 1 p.m. Nov. 7 at St. Olaf College in Northfield.