Blue Earth Area cross country runners faced tough competition and very windy conditions at the I-90 Invite held Thursday, Oct. 4, at Cedar Creek Park near Fairmont.

The Buc girls finished in the middle of the pack among 10 teams, while the boys took eighth.

Although BEA and St. James tied for fifth place with 155 points, the Bucs sixth runner Athena Peterson broke the tie-breaker to help her team finish ahead of the Saints.

Taylor Grandgenett covered the 4,000-meter course in 16 minutes, 35 seconds to claim 15th overall.

Taking 30th was Signe Olson with a time of 17:28, followed by Sierra Halvorson in 36th place with 17:47.

Jenna Stevermer took 52nd in 18:35 and seven spots behind was Anna Aukes with 19:00.

Crossing the finish line in 19:13 to finish 62nd was Athena Peterson and Autumn Foster was one spot back with a time of 19:24.

In the boys 5,000-meter race, Mike Ankeny just missed placing in the top 10 with an 11th-place finish in 17 minutes, 46 seconds.

Isaac Miranda was 39th in 19:18 and Alec Huber was three seconds behind in 41st place.

Taking 56th was Kyle Mercer with a time of 19:52, followed by Zach Vaske in 62nd place with 20:02, Jakob Thomsen 63rd in 20:10 and Nick Shure claiming 86th in 21:33.

On Thursday, the Bucs will travel to Waseca for the South Central Conference Championship Meet held at the golf course scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.

Girls teams results:

Martin County West 35, Mountain Lake 49, Fairmont 76, Mankato East 93, BEA 155, St. James 155, Madelia/Truman 189, St. Peter 198, Jackson County Central, SWSC incomplete.

Other BEA girls:

(4,000 meters)

Nyla Anderson 19:49, 68th; Meredith Hagedorn 20:00, 70th; Rowan Hacken 20:26, 74th; Alexis Brooks 21:49, 84th; Cynthia Johnson 23:30, 90th; Madeline Jenkins 28:08, 93rd; Laticia Briseno 28:19, 94th.

BEA girls junior high:

(1,600 meters)

Melissa Hagedorn 6:50, 15th; Kara Devinney 6:50, 16th; Justina Gaydon 7:21, 34th; Cassie Peterson 7:25, 36th.

Boys teams results:

Martin County West 42, Mankato East 74, St. James 82, Madelia/Truman 123, St. Peter 136, Fairmont 164, Jackson County Central 178, BEA 184, Mountain Lake 201, SWSC incomplete.

Other BEA boys:

(5,000 meters)

Jose Rios 22:35, 102nd; John Lindsey 24:26, 113th; Luke Loveall 24:55, 115th; Jack Nimz 25:38, 120th.

BEA boys junior high:

(1,600 meters)

Seth Becker 5:52, 7th; Ben Sheldahl 6:09, 18th.