The Goodell brothers left nothing to chance.

With top-eight finishes in the 110-runner field Thursday at the Section 1AA cross country meet at Brooktree Golf Course in Owatonna, Albert Lea’s Jackson and Carson Goodell qualified for state.

“These young men have been so consistent all year,” said Tigers coach Jim Haney. “They truly go and attack the course. I’m happy for both of them, as they have put in the time and effort to go to state.”

The last time Albert Lea produced two state qualifiers in the same season was 2006, with Ethan Marquardt and Chrissy Monson, Haney said.

The Tigers were the only team at the meet that produced two runners in the top six.

Spots at state were guaranteed to the first eight finishers, but the top 12 ended up qualifying because four of the top eight already qualified through team finishes with either section champion Rochester Century or runner-up Lakeville North.

Albert Lea’s boys’ team finished seventh out of 16 squads with 184 points, and the girls finished last out of 15 teams with 450 points.

“I’m so proud of all my runners, as they went out and ran for the best times of the season,” Haney said. “The effort they put in paid off, as they made constant improvement in each race.”

Jackson Goodell led the Tigers with a time of 16:16.71 for third place, and Carson Goodell took sixth in 16:25.24.

“Both boys had excellent kicks to hold off the competition,” Haney said. “They just wanted to win more than some of the competitors around them.”

Brooktree Golf Course has been a familiar site for Albert Lea. Along with an invite at the course on Oct. 8, the Tigers also used the location on Oct. 20 for the Big Nine Conference meet. In a span of nine days, Jackson Goodell cut 10.29 seconds from his conference time, and Carson Goodell shaved 10.46 seconds.

Jackson Goodell, a senior, qualified for his third trip to state, while his brother, a freshman, qualified for the first time.

As a sophomore, Jackson Goodell took 92nd place at state with a time of 16:56.0. Last year, he finished 68th out of 176 runners in 16:35.7.

“I know (Jackson Goodell) will be focused to make his best performance at the state meet,” Haney said. “Carson had a great season, and for a ninth-grader to qualify, well, that doesn’t happen very often.”

Also contributing to Albert Lea’s team score were Leo Olveda, Jay Skaar and Abe Peterson. Olveda finished 52nd in 17:36.26; Skaar, 59th in 17:40.64; and Peterson, 64th in 17:43.73.

On the girls’ side, the Tigers were led by Grace Chalmers, who took 84th place out of 105 runners with a time of 22:11.60.

Also factoring into Albert Lea’s team score were Autumn Muilenburg, Fran Eckstrom, Allison Christenson and Hannah Savelkoul. Muilenburg finished 90th in 22:42.14; Eckstrom, 91st in 22:46.45; Christenson, 99th in 23:42.36; and Savelkoul, 100th, 23:54.40.

“The girls had a nice race,” Haney said. “Yes, we wanted to be further up in the standings, but we can take away that the girls ran the best times of the season. The girls will only get better as they gain more experience and have additional training.”

The Goodell brothers will compete at the Class AA state meet at 11 a.m. Nov. 7 at St. Olaf College in Northfield.

“They are great runners, and I expect they will be up to the challenge of the state meet,” Haney said. “They belonged at the state meet all year by the way they prepared and ran races.”