Rebel freshman Hannah Goemann put together what United South Central/Alden-Conger cross country head coach Kent Viesselman called the race of her life to finish ninth at the Section 2A cross country meet Thursday and advance to the state meet.

Goemann led the Rebels to a third place finish in the team competition, behind Waseca and Fairmont, both highly rated teams.

“By far our best race of the season,” Viesselman said. “The girls really competed well and I’m sure they surprised nearly everyone at the meet who wasn’t wearing red.”

Finishing in 15th place, and also earning All-Section honors, was senior Amber Erickson, followed closely by Taylor Allis in 16th place.

“Three in the top 16 in the section meet for our team is an impressive performance,” Viesselman said.

Andree Escherich (38th), Abby Trio (39th), Kelsey Munson (44th), and Jenna Stevermer (58th) also ran at or near their best times for the season on the muddy, rain soaked course.

“I’m really happy for our girls,” Viesselman said. “After our disappointment at the conference meet, it was a great way for us to put the capper on the team season.”

Daniel Elmer also had a good day, finishing higher than rated in 15th place to earn All-Section honors and lead his team to an eighth-place finish in the 20-team field. Josh Meine (60th), Brett Stevermer (61st), Thane O’Rourke (67th), and Seth Treptow (69th) finished within 14 seconds of each other to help the Rebel cause. Eric Redman (86th) and Aaron Goemann (99th) rounded out the lineup. One hundred twenty-nine runners competed in the boys race.

“This was a good finish for our boys,” Viesselman said. “We had to beat a few teams that beat us last week to finish in eighth place. The times were a little slow in the boys race … the course was really muddy and slippery by the time they ran.”

The state meet will be held at St Olaf again this year, with the Class A Girls scheduled to compete at 2 p.m. on Saturday.