Thirty-eight teams participated in the Red Bird Cross Country Invitational at Montgomery last Thursday.

The field included many of the best teams from South Central and Southeastern Minnesota. Among those teams competing were the USC/AC Rebels.

The USC/AC boys finished in sixth place in a

very competitive field.

They were

led again by Jacob Elmer, who finished

in 21st place as an individual, and Bryan Hauge who was close behind in 26th place. Jordan Haroldson had his best race of the season to finish in 41st place. Shane Bias (58th) and Paul Little (75th) were the other scorers for the Rebels, with Jonathan Leland (89th) and Jonathan Back (109th) rounding out the lineup. There were 208 runners in the race.

&8220;There were some very good teams in the meet,&8221; Head coach Kent Viesselman said.

&8220;We&8217;re ok with finishing where we did in view of the competition.

It takes some experience to run in this large a field to avoid going out to fast to avoid traffic, and going out too slow and getting caught behind the masses.

I think we learned a lot.&8221;

The girls finished in 17th place of the 38 teams represented. Andrea

Escherich was the top local finisher, running her best time of the season to finish

36th. Joelle

Elmer was the second Rebel in 78th, with Amber Erickson close behind in 88th. Annie Tomschin (129th) and Shelby Little (132nd) closed out the scorers for the Rebels, with Kelsey Munson finishing in 161st. There were 213 runners in the field.

&8220;Amber (Erickson) is still battling a cold, and Nicole (Klein) is out with a cold. It’ll make a huge difference when we get those two functioning at full speed again,&8221; Viesselman said. &8220;The girls are each improving at a rate of about 20 seconds a week, so we’re pleased with the progress.&8221;

Thursday, the cross country teams compete at Daly Park in the Maple River Invitational. Thirteen teams are expected to compete.