WELLS &045; It’s getting close to conference and section meet time and, as usual, the United South Central boys’ track and field team appears to be peaking at the right time.

The Rebels had a number of season-best performances in winning Tuesday’s Lions Invitational at Wells.

USC topped the eight-team field with 154 points, followed by Maple River with 112, Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial/Nicollet 81, Mankato Loyola 74, WEM 52, Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop 42, Montgomery-Lonsdale 42 and Hayfield 0.

“It was a good meet for us,” said Rebels coach Kent Viesselman. “All four of our relay teams either equaled or surpassed their season’s bests, and the same was true in most of the individual events.”

The Rebels won with depth, taking only three firsts on the day.

Shea Kaiser won the 400-meter dash in 53.5 seconds, followed closely in second by Bob Schmitz at 53.8.

Steven Wood and Callan Pitcher pulled a 1-2 in the 300 intermediate hurdles, with Wood clocking 42.6 seconds and Pitcher 43.8.

The other first was by the 4×100 relay team of Kaiser, Pitcher, Schmitz and Jon Voigt, which won in 45.7.

Eric Melby, Matt Mueller, Erik Youngblom and Jake Stenzel took second in the 4×800 relay, as did Chris Vondracek, Melby, Trent Leesch and Wood in the 4×400. The 4×200 team of Melby, Leesch, Simon Christensen and Stenzel was third.

Other USC places: Voigt, second, 100, second, pole vault and third, 200; Wood, second, 110 high hurdles; Pitcher, fifth, 110 hurdles; Adam Krueger, second, shot put and third, discus; Justin Youngblom, second, 1600 and third, 3200; Mueller, fifth, 1600; Vondracek, fifth, high jump and fourth, 800; Kaiser, third, long jump; Stenzel, third, 800.

The Rebels host the True Team Section 2A meet Tuesday. The winning team advances to state on Saturday, May 17 at Blaine.