The Albert Lea boys’ and girls’ cross country teams competed Tuesday in the Big Nine Conference in Owatonna — their last meet before sections next week.

The boys finished in sixth place out of 12 teams, while the girls’ team finished in 12th place.

The boys had two runners finish inside the top 20; junior Sonny Ortega-Roselli finished in 16th with a time of 17:15.1 and senior JV Moreno came in 19th with a time of 17:23.4. Rounding out the top five for the boys were senior Grant Herfindahl (24th, 17:31.0), sophomore Aaron Bauers (43rd, 17:55.5) and sophomore Logan Barr (64th, 18:19.2).

Roselli was also named All-Conference, while Herfindahl and Moreno were named All-Conference Honorable Mention.

“The boys came out and ran a very competitive race; the boys packed up and pushed each other to the finish,” said head coach Jim Haney. “We still have work to do, as we want to continue to meet individual and team goals at the section meet. We look forward to the challenge and want to be at our best for the biggest meet of the season.”

On the girls’ side, the top finisher was sophomore Abbie Thompson, who came in 53rd with a time of 22:02.4. Sophomore Jaiden Venem wasn’t far behind, finishing in 60th with a time of 22:22.2. Sophomore Alivia Adams (73rd, 23:12.9), freshman Karmie Ponciano (74th, 23:13.5) and eighth-grader Kristine Espinosa (79th, 23:59.4) completed the top five for the Tigers.

“The girls did a very nice job,” Haney said. “We are a very young team and we gained a great deal of experience today. The section meet is our next hurdle and the experience we gained at the Big Nine only will help in the section meet and during the upcoming seasons.”

The Tigers will compete at the section meet Oct. 25 in Owatonna.