OWATONNA &045; When it comes to the Big Nine Conference meet, there’s only one way to go for the Albert Lea High School cross country teams.

And coach Jim Haney doesn’t think it will take that long. Especially for the boys.

Both the boys’ and girls’ squads finished last among 10 teams in Tuesday’s conference meet at Owatonna’s Brooktree Golf Course, but Haney is optimistic for the future.

&uot;The boys are close to becoming a dominant team,&uot; said Haney. &uot;They will need to put time in over the summer, lifting weights and running to reach the upper half of the Big Nine, and that will be the team goal for next year. These are the type of young men that will put in the extra effort to reach that goal.&uot;

Times for the boys Tuesday: Sean Harms, 17:53; John Coffield, 18:38; Levi Budd, 18:54; Andrew Irvine, 18:57; Josh Anderson, 19:07; Casey Ciffra, 19:26; Scott Johnson, 22:24; Josh Klapperick, 22:30; Jordan Skophammer, 23:50; Drew Klick, 23:59; Eric Bowron, 24:12.

Mankato West won the boys’ team title and Garret Heath of Winona was the individual winner in 15:26.

&uot;The boys have come so far, dropping nearly three minutes off their time this year,&uot; said Haney. &uot;I was very happy as many of the boys reached the personal goals they set at the start of the year. Harms and Budd ran career-best times. The fun part about seeing the boys do so well is that every boy will be back next year. They are very excited about the potential for themselves and the team next year. I have had high expectations for the boys this year &045; they exceeded my expectations and allowed me to set even higher standards for next year.&uot;

Haney was also pleased with the girls’ performance.

&uot;We have been shorthanded all year because we only have eight girls out, but they never complain and they always gave their best effort,&uot; said Haney. &uot;During the Big Nine race they continued to improve times but also remained consistent in their effort to do their best.&uot;

Times for the girls: Ellen Vandersyde, 17:51; Rachel Antinozzi, 17:59; Vanessa Storlie, 18:35; Anna Keesling, 18:44; Heidi Czplewski, 19:45; Kyra Danneker, 20:19; Ziva Danneker, 20:42; Frances O’Donnell, 20:47.

&uot;It was great to see Rachel do well,&uot; said Haney. &uot;She has worked hard the past two years and I was happy for her to see all her hard work pay off. The girls have been consistent all year long as their times have made gradual decreases. Even though we did not reach the team goals for the year, we know that those goals will be there next year and we will continue to work to be in the middle of the Big Nine.&uot;