Individuals from Albert Lea won three of four cross country races Monday at the Cardinal Invitational in Cedar Creek Park at Fairmont.

Jackson Goodell won the boys’ varsity race, Karter Kenis took first place in the boys’ junior high competition, and Grace Chalmers won the girls’ junior high race, said Albert Lea coach Jim Haney.

“We could see the confidence growing in our runners as they attacked the course,” he said. “The runners wanted to beat the person in front of them, and it is that type of effort the coaching staff is looking for as we head into the Big Nine (Conference) and Section (1AA) races.”

At the team level, the Albert Lea boys won the four-team invite with a score of 31. Mankato West took second with 40, and United South Central was fourth with 86.

Goodell led the Tigers by completing the course in 16:40.4. The second-place finisher — Ben Broze of Mankato West — finished 23.8 seconds after Goodell. Caleb Troe took third place with a time of 17:08.9.

“These two young men have consistently led the team and have continued to impress as the weeks go by,” Haney said. “They have very high goals, and they continue to push for better times and places.”

Jay Skaar took sixth place in the 55-runner field with a time of 17:52.4. Nikk Christianson followed in 10th place, and Herbie Lein was 11th.

USC was led by Thomas Mantor and Adam Stevermer. Mantor finished eighth with a time of 18.27.7, and Stevermer crossed the finish line 2.4 seconds later in ninth place.

The Albert Lea girls’ team took second place out of three teams. Fairmont won with a score of 30, Albert Lea had 39 and Mankato West had 53.

The Tigers had five runners in the top 11 spots.

“The girls did a wonderful job of once again packing up and scoring,” Haney said. “They were right where they need to be as we will start more speed work this week.”

Haley Harms led the Tigers for the second straight meet with a time of 16:11.4.

“Haley has stepped up the last two weeks, and she has been a great role model for my younger runners about how to attack a race,” Haney said.

Harms was followed by Hanna Kingstrom, who took sixth place with a time of 16:21.4. Autumn Muilenburg finished seventh 1.1 seconds after Kingstrom, Breanna Himmerich was 10th, and Emily Ortiz was 11th.

“We had the top five girls within 20 seconds of each other, and we will continue to push the pack forward,” Haney said. “The girls did a wonderful job. I am pleased with second place.”

United South Central didn’t compete as a team. Beth Stevermer was the only runner listed in the results. However, Stevermer took first place overall with a time of 15:12.4. That was 9.1 seconds faster than the second-place finisher and 30.3 seconds faster than the third-place runner.

In the boys’ junior high race, Kenis won the race with a time of 5:27.7. Mankato West’s Charles Pickell took second place about nine seconds later, and Albert Lea’s Grant Herfindahl finished third with a time of 5:41.4.

Chalmers won the junior high girls’ race with a time of 6:08.

Next, Albert Lea will compete at 4 p.m. next Tuesday at Minneopa Golf Course in Mankato.

Statistics are in the Scoreboard: Sept. 16 post.