Carl Bauer again finished under the 17-minute mark in leading the Austin boys' cross country team at the Faribault Invitational Friday at Alexander Park.

Bauer broke the barrier with a time of 16:56, which was good enough for 11th overall in a top-tier field of southern Minnesota and Twin Cities-area teams. Bauer's time was the second-best of his career.

"Carl once again lead the way for the boys with an 11th-place finish, a very strong finish in a very tough field," said Austin coach Tony Einertson. "Brandon Downs continues to show improvement finishing second on the team."

Downs finished 77th overall in just under 19 minutes, with Jordan VanProosdy leading the final four Packers across the finish line. VanProosdy was 91st overall as Austin came in 14th out of 16 teams.

"It was a tough day with the heat index around 95 at race time," Einertson said. "The heat had some effect on the runners, but they all worked hard and ran the best they had today."

Austin goes to invitationals at Lakeville on Tuesday and Rochester Mayo on Thursday. Both events start at 4 p.m.

Results:

Team standings -- 1. Stillwater 54, 2. Mankato West 89, 3. Eden Prairie 116, 4. Apple Valley 125, 5. Eastview 134, 6. Winona 151, 7. Owatonna 173, 8. Northfield 177, 9. Lakeville 206, 10. Rochester Mayo 264, 11. Burnsville 282, 12. Faribault 349, 13. Rochester Century 350, 14. Austin 381, 15. Rochester Lourdes 412, 16. Albert Lea 473.

AUSTIN (381) -- 11. Carl Bauer 16:56.7, 77. Brandon Downs 18:58.6, 91. Jordan VanProosdy 19:38.0, 100. Kevin Groh 20:27.7, 102. Issac VanProosdy 20:29.8, 105. Nate Moser 20:53.9.