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Running the subsection course at Albany were Riley Flanders (in front), Tom Flannigan (left) and Jamie Wendlandt (right).

Paynesville, ranked fifth in the state, improved its performance significantly on the second straight meet on the same course at the Albany school grounds. The Bulldogs trailed Cathedral by 29 points at the WCC North meet the previous week, but lost by only 12 points this time.

Albany and Annandale also advanced to the section meet by taking third and fourth as teams.

It was very easy to see the progression of the Paynesville team. They ran the exact same course as they ran five days earlier for the conference meet. "Many of our times were 20 seconds faster than last week, a sign of things to come," said coach Darrel Carstens.

Senior Jesse Rien took 28 seconds off of his time and finished in third place. A healthy Rien has run much better the last few races and hopefully will continue to improve.

Senior Dan Pearson put together a solid performance, finishing 23 seconds faster. Pearson was right behind Rien in fourth place.

Senior Scott Thompson ran a great race, dropping 22 seconds off his time from the conference meet. Thompson finished in 14th place.

Running his best race of the year and covering the course a half a minute faster was junior Tom Flannigan. Flannigan's strong running could be the key to the Bulldogs' success in the postseason.

Junior Riley Flanders ran another disappointing race, finishing with the same time as he ran at conference. Flanders ended up in 18th place.

Flanders was followed up by senior Jamie Wendlandt, who ran a very tough race, finishing in 25th. Wendlandt knocked 16 seconds off of his conference time.

Freddie Stock didn't run his best race at subsections but still came in 28th. Stock should be right back in the mix at the section meet.

Most of the guys on the team ran great races and everybody is looking forward to the section meet at Becker on Thursday. "The goal is in front of us and it will take an extraordinary effort at sections for us to reach it, but I believe the guys are capable and ready," said Carstens.

The Bulldogs will try to qualify for the state meet for the second year in a row at Becker on Thursday. Only the top two teams and the top seven individuals advance. The Bulldogs will be aiming to upend Cathedral, which won the four head-to-head meetings with Paynesville so far this year.

"We ran much better and closed the gap on Cathedral, but we know they are the third-rated state team and will be very tough to catch," said Carstens.

Also in the section is Crosby-Ironton, ranked 12th in the state, who could prove the Bulldogs' biggest challenge for a state spot. If the Bulldogs qualify for state, they will have the opportunity to defend the state title they won last year.

The section meet will be held at the Becker Community Center. The girls' race starts at 4 p.m., and the boys' race at 4:40 p.m.

Team Scores
1. Cathedral 44
2. Paynesville 56
3. Albany 69
4. Annandale 87
5. Holdingford 145
6. St. John's Prep 155
7. Maple Lake 208
8. Royalton 214
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Individual Results
3. Jesse Rien 17:17
4. Dan Pearson 17:20
14. Scott Thompson 18:06
17. Tom Flannigan 18:31
18. Riley Flanders 18:33
25. Jamie Wendlandt 18:50
28. Freddie Stock 19:04