—Messenger photo by Britt Kudla west bend-mallard's Tyra Schupbach runs at a meet recently. Schupbach won the girls race in Algona on Monday.

ALGONA — The third-ranked (Class 1A) St. Edmond girls cross country team pushed outside of its comfort zone on Monday at the Algona Invitational.

The Gaels went head-to-head with a number of bigger schools, as head coach Mike Szalat’s squad finished behind Mason City, Forest City and Spencer in the final standings. The challenge was beneficial for St. Edmond, given what lies ahead. It also afforded Szalat a glimpse into what his runners could see once the postseason rolls around.

“I think it’s good to see some 3A and 4A programs, knowing next (Thursday at the Fort Dodge Invitational), it’s going to be a whole different world (of competition),” Szalat said. “But the most important thing from our own camp was the PRs (personal records), which we got out of seven girls, and also closing the gap (in time) from that one to five and even one to seven (positions in the lineup).

“We also got a chance to see West Bend-Mallard and North Union, who have some really talented indiviuals. So all in all, it was a productive meet. We’re trending in the right direction.”

Wolverine sophomore sensation Tyra Schupbach was the individual gold medalist with a time of 19:25.25. North Union’s Alexis Cummins placed fifth in 20:11.60.

The Gaels were short handed, as rated sophomore Anna Lursen missed the meet with a sore Achilles. St. Edmond had three athlete close in the Top-20: Hannah Landwehr (14th, 20:46.33), Michaela Leiting (16th, 20:51.99) and Ellie Knox (17th, 21:02.01).

Reese Lemberg (47th, 23:07.60), Nina Smith (55th, 23:37.82) and Andee Barwin (56th, 23:42.46) rounded out the lineup.

“It was exciting to see Ellie closing the gap on Hannah, and Reese continues to make strides,” Szalat said. “Nina and Andee are getting there as well. If we want to be a factor (in the team race next month at districts and state), we need every one of them. They know that. We preach how important all of them are to (attaining bigger postseason goals).”

Freshman Mara Davis took sixth for Algona in 20:22.24, and sophomore Brynn Malo was ninth for Humboldt in 20:29.61. North Union’s Jacey Welbig was also a Top-10 performer in 20:25.99.

Kristin Axman paced Pocahontas Area (20th, 21:21.42). Abby Capesius was Bishop Garrigan’s best runner (36th, 22:47.15).

Fort Dodge was led by Paige Lewis (78th, 24:45.80) and Madeline Stephan (80th, 25:05.28).

The Riverhawks were team champs with just 32 points. The Gaels were at 126, which bested North Central Conference rivals Humboldt (158), Algona (179), Clear Lake (210) and Webster City (346).