Albert Lea’s seventh and eighth grade boys’ and girls’ cross country teams participated Monday afternoon in the Mankato East Cross Country Invitational.

“Many of our seventh and eighth grade cross country runners have been wearing out a lot of tread on their running shoes since June,” said assistant coach Bryce Gaudian. “Their dedication, hard work and running with heart today paid off with great finishes.”

Running for the seventh grade boys in the 1,600-meter was Luke Sundblad, who finished in 15th place.

In the seventh grade girls’ 1,600-meter race, Haley Harms finished in 6 minutes, 57 seconds for third place; Ashlyn Neal finished in sixth place; and Tori Helgeson in eighth place. In the eighth grade girls’ 2,400-meter race, Sadie Burnett came in second place; and Kenzie LaCore finished 11th place. For the eighth grade boys’ 3,200 meters, Isaac Ware finished in 16:14. Albert Lea’s junior and varsity cross country teams will be running in the Big Nine meet in Owatonna on Tuesday afternoon.