Natalie Bowers clocked in a personal-best time in the 3,200-meter run to lead the Austin girls' track team to third out of four at a Big Nine Conference quadrangular Tuesday at Rochester John Marshall.

Bowers garnered Austin's only first-place finish, crossing the line in 12 minutes, 45.5 seconds. Theresa Hirsch added a second-place effort in the shot put with her career-best toss. Her runner-up distance of 36 feet, 1 inch was 16 inches further than her previous best.

"The team had a good meet with quite a few season best and several personal best performances," said AHS coach Nancy Jones.

Mankato East won the meet with a team total of 112 points. Rochester Century was second with 89.5, Austin was third with 40, and JM trailed with 30.5.

"Mankato East has a very strong and solid team," Jones said. "After seeing their performances they look to be a favorite to win the conference."

Lisa Bue brought home second place in the high jump with an effort of 4-10, and the 4×400-meter relay team also earned silver. The foursome of Stacy Tucker, Emily Johnson, Jenny Tucker and Hirsch finished in 4:21.32.

Jenny Tucker earned third place in the open 400 in 1:06.0, and teammate Bethany Larson was fifth in 1:09.1.

Still going up

Mark Cavanaugh scored a season-best time of 23.13 to win the 200-meter dash as the Austin boys' track team finished fourth at the Mankato East quadrangular Tuesday.

"Mark continues to show improvement in the sprints," said AHS coach Tony Einertson.

Evan Sorenson also enjoyed personal-best efforts in the 110-high hurdles and the 300 hurdles. Sorenson was second in both, clocking in at 15:35 and 41.42, respectively.

Derek Hinkle trailed Sorenson in the 110-highs in 16.72, Sorenson added third in the high jump, and Carl Bauer was third in the 3,200. David Larson brought in a pair of third-place finishes in the long jump and the 400.

Three Austin relays also earned top-three finishes. The 4×200, 4×400 and 4×800 Packer relays earned bronze.

The Packer Invite is scheduled for Saturday at 10 a.m. at Wescott.