The Minnesota state cross country meet wasn’t the end of the season for Albert Lea’s Chrissy Monson.

Monson had her most successful cross country season as a freshman. She won the Big Nine Conference meet, finished second at the Section 1AA meet and went on finish 12th at the Class 2A state meet in November, but she decided to compete in one more race.

Monson entered into the Nike Cross Nationals Heartland Championships Nov. 14 in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Monson finished 23rd overall in the 5-kilometer race as she competed against all ages and some of the best competition from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas.

“It was nice to go there and not really have pressure and just run for fun,” Monson said.

The course featured man-made moguls and hay bales which made it different than most cross country meets. Despite falling once, Monson finished the race in a time of 19 minutes, 6 seconds and was the fourth-best finisher for ninth-grade girls.

“This was a great confidence builder for her for next year,” said Albert Lea head cross country coach Jim Haney. “She has some goals set for next year on the state and regional level, there should be very little that will stop her from achieving these goals.”

It was the first time Monson has competed at a regional level in cross country, though she did compete in junior Olympic events last summer with track. Monson said she enjoyed the cross country regional competition better because she raced against a broader base of runners and not just runners from her age group.

The meet featured Minnesota Class A state champion Maddie McClellan and Minnesota Class AA champion Maria Hauger, along with runners from Elk River, Eden Prairie and Lakeville South.