Both the Albert Lea boys&8217; and girls&8217; cross country teams took 15th place at the Faribault Invitational at North Alexander Park Friday.

The boys were led by Ethan Marquart who finished 25th overall with a time of 16:49.6 while Levi Budd took 86th with a time of 18:16.0.

&8220;Ethan held his own with some of the best runners in the state,&8221; Albert Lea head coach Jim Haney said. &8220;He worked hard and continued to improve by dropping his time by another 10 seconds from last week. He is right where he needs to be at this time of the season.&8221;

Steve Senholtz took 91st with a time of 18:22.7 while Steve Kreun, Judd Bonnerup, Chris Dorman and Mitch Wenum all finished under 21 minutes.

&8220;All my varsity runners dropped their time and are continuing to improve,&8221; Haney said. &8220;Steve had his best race as a varsity runner and he is gaining confidence as he runs.&8221;

Mallory King and Alicia Reyes led the girls&8217; squad by placing 78th and 88th, respectively.

&8220;I was proud of the girls&8217; effort as they are running in a pack more for as long as I have been head coach,&8221; Haney said.

Alyssa Sager finished 96th with a time of 17:54.7, Abby Randall took 97th in 18:01.2 and Lauren Klick, Marta Behling and Elizabeth Burnett finished before the 19:20 mark.

&8220;The girls felt good about their times today as all my girls dropped time, but by no means are they satisfied,&8221; Haney said. &8220;Mallory King and Alicia Reyes had a very nice race. They put themselves into position to compete and the results were their best times of the season.

Eden Prairie won the 16-team event on the girls&8217; side by a single point over Apple Valley, while the Eden Prairie boys had a seven-point cushion over Stillwater.