STERLING – With senior Aubree Johnson letting an ailing hip heal, the Rock Falls Rockets girls cross country team was not at full strength against a Sterling Invitational field of larger schools. 

But the Rockets turned in a solid effort with a ninth-place finish at Hoover Park on Saturday. 

“I think we were 13th here last year, so we did a lot better than a year ago,” Rock Falls senior Paige Davis said. “With Aubree running, we may have been in the top five, but we’re still pretty happy with how things went today. The team ran really well.”