MONTGOMERY – For a second consecutive year, the Class A No. 2-ranked Fairmont Cardinals girls team won the Section 2A cross country meet on Thursday, earning the team a trip to the Class A state meet.

Martin County West/Martin Luther Maverick runner Marissa Whitehead crossed the finish line first to get a spot, while fellow Maverick Carson Kahler and Blue Earth Area runner Grant Strukel also will be heading to the state meet on Saturday, Nov. 5, at St. Olaf College in Northfield. Class A boys take off at 10 a.m., and Class A girls run at 11 a.m.

Whitehead outdistanced runner-up Beth Stevermer of United South Central by 31 seconds for a meet-best time of 19:04 and a second trip to the state meet. The eighth-grader also led the Mavericks to a fourth-place team finish with 183 points.

“That was her goal: she wanted to be section champion, so congratulations to her. She did a great job,” Mavericks head coach Stannetta Svoboda said.

Brooke Anderson was the next Maverick to finish with a time of 20:53 for 27th place, while Emily Matejka paced a 21:56 time. Caitlin Whitehead was next with a time of 22:13, followed by Jasmine Longley’s time of 22:15. MacKenzie Petersen and Madelyn Wade added times of 22:48 and 24:26, respectively, for the Mavericks.

For the 10th time in the last 12 years, the Cardinals girls team advanced to the state meet, along with four runners being named to the all-Section 2A team by finishing in the top 15. Jenna Pavich led the way for the Cardinals, placing third overall in a time of 19:36. Iliana Ramon wasn’t far behind, marking a 5K time of 19:38 for fifth place. Sarah Krumholz followed with a sixth-best time of 19:39.

“She’s a gamer. She gets on a whole different level when it comes to big meets,” Cardinals head coach Bob Bonk said about Krumholz. “She’s just amazing.”

Cardinal eighth-grader Tabitha Thatcher rounded out the all-section list with 20:18 for a 15th-place showing.

“Tabitha, in particular, really moved up in the race. I’d say the beginning half-mile or so, she was 40th and she ended up 15th,” Bonk said. “She has a good sense of pace and she’s tough until the end.”

Laura Thompson ran in right after at 20:19, while Lizzy Subbert finished the 5,000-meter race in 20:29. Molly Hawkins completed the run with a time of 20:41.

“The girls ran a school record, timewise, by over two minutes,” Bonk said. “This was probably the most dominant we’ve been in a long time. … This was a really top-level effort. Three girls under 20 minutes, it never happened before. Everybody just ran great.”

The Blue Earth Area Bucs girls team finished with 372 points for 17th place. Mariah Halvorson placed 38th for a Bucs-best time of 21:32. Arianna Nagel completed the race in 23:05, while Melissa Hagedorn recorded a time of 23:31. Callie Stevermer crossed the finish line in 23:42. Marissa Waddell completed a 23:43 run, and Gabby Weerts and Amanda Jacobson finished with times of 24:11 and 28:38, respectively.

Sylvia Rodriguez ran a 20:26 time to place 19th for the Madelia/Truman/ Granada-Huntley-East Chain Jayhawks. Teammate Samantha Maul posted a time of 23:42, while Samantha Moeller completed the race in 25:54 and Daniela Rodezno finished in 28:16 for the Jayhawks.

Although Svoboda wasn’t sure where Kahler finished in the meet at first, she was pleasantly surprised to find out that the sophomore runner ended with up with a third-best overall time of 16:59 for the Mavericks boys team and an all-cection spot.

“I was like, ‘Wow. That was phenomenal.’ It was a good race for him,” Svoboda said.

Josh Bjerken came after Kahler with a time of 17:53. Kolton Larson finished three seconds later (17:56), while Dawson Burkhardt posted an 18:06 in the race. Easton Gregory and Isaiah Johnson both recorded a time of 18:28 and Zane Borchardt finished in 18:36 as the Mavericks totaled 158 points for fifth place.

Mankato Loyola and GFW both had 78 points, but Mankato Loyola edged out GFW via the sixth runner’s time to win the boys’ side of the meet.

“We knew there were six really good teams both for the boys and girls. …We knew we could finish anywhere from first to sixth, so we finished fifth. That was in the ballpark of where we thought we could be,” Svoboda said.

Strukel was the only individual to qualify for the state cross country meet for the Bucs. The freshman runner paced a seventh-place time of 17:01 to advance. Brady Olsen was the next Buc runner to finish, ending with a time of 18:14. Seth Becker recorded a 5,000-meter time of 18:55, while Gunnar Fering completed a 20:37 race.

Jacob Dikken crossed the finish line in 20:53, and Eric Becker and Blake Townsend added times of 22:11 and 22:14, respectively, for the Bucs. The team recorded a total of 358 points for 11th place.

The Cardinals boys team combined for 230 points, earning them an eighth-place team finish. Nathan Willett earned all-cection honors with a 13th-place time of 17:15. Andrew Moeller finished in 17:54 for 32nd place. Dayton Pasch and Darrian Kueker both completed the race in 18:43.

Cody Lane posted a 5K time of 19:00, while Ben Huinker followed six seconds later (19:06) for the Cardinals. Noah Wolter ran in at 19:25.

The Jayhawks, who finished 23rd, were led by Jacob Moeller’s 5K time of 20:56. Derek Davis added in a 21:17 and Aaron Dahl timed a 24:50 race. Isaac Bergeman and Karsan Davis completed their runs in 26:03 and 29:06, respectively. Eli Bergeman finished with a time of 32:15.

Section 2A Meet Results

Girls Division (5K)

Team Standings (top 2 teams advance to state): 1. Fairmont 45; 2. Belle Plaine 104; 3. Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial/Nicollet 122; 4. Martin County West/Martin Luther 183; 5. Norwood Young America 225; 6. Maple River 226; 7. Tri-City United 235; 8. Mankato Loyola 247; 9. Jordan 251; 10. Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s/Sleepy Eye Public/New Ulm Cathedral 289; 11. WEM/JWP 298; 12. St. Peter 330; 13. United South Central 341; 14. Glencoe Silver Lake 345; 15. LeSueur-Henderson 354; 16. St. James 366; 17. Blue Earth Area 372; 18. Minnesota Valley Lutheran 400; 19. Sibley East 433; 20. GFW 477. Incomplete: Madelia/Truman/ Granada-Huntley-East Chain; New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva; Medford.

Individual Results (top 15 All-Section): 1. Marissa Whitehead (MCW) 19:04; 2. Beth Stevermer (USC) 19:35; 3. Jenna Pavich (F) 19:36; 4. Delilah Baedke (TCU) 19:37; 5. Iliana Ramon (F) 19:38; 6. Sarah Krumholz (F) 19:39; 7. Makenna Thurston (LCWM/N) 19:42; 8. Mackinzee Miest (SJ) 19:53; 9. Izzy Lind (SP) 19:55; 10. Malayh Metcalf (GSL) 19:59; 11. Katie Barclay (J) 20:04; 12. Emily Berger (BP) 20:09; 13. Jaylee Hanvelt (TCU) 20:14; 14. Kyla Haas (ML) 20:15; 15. Tabitha Thatcher (F) 20:18.

Other Area Results: 16. Laura Thompson (F) 20:19; 19. Sylvia Rodriguez (MTGHEC) 20:26; 20. Lizzy Subbert (F) 20:29; 27. Molly Hawkins (F) 20:41; 28. Brooke Anderson (MCW) 20:53; 39. Mariah Halvorson (BEA) 21:32; 46. Emily Matejka (MCW) 21:56; 54. Caitlin Whitehead (MCW) 22:13; 58. Jasmine Longley (MCW) 22:15; 64. MacKenzie Petersen (MCW) 22:48; 74. Arianna Nagel (BEA) 23:04; 83. Melissa Hagedorn (BEA) 23:31; 91. Samantha Maul (MTGHEC) 23:42; 92. Callie Stevermer (BEA) 23:42; 93. Marissa Waddell (BEA) 23:42; 103. Gabby Weerts (BEA) 24:11; 109. Madelyn Wade (MCW) 24:26; 124. Samantha Moeller (MTGHEC) 25:54; 139. Daniela Rodezno (MTGHEC) 28:16; 142. Amanda Jacobson (BEA) 28:38.

Boys Division (5K)

Team Standings (top 2 teams advance to state): 1. Mankato Loyola 78; 2. GFW 78; 3. Jordan 101; 4. Glencoe Silver Lake 146; 5. Marin County West/Martin Luther 158; 6. Belle Plaine 171; 7. St. James 172; 8. Fairmont 230; 9. St. Peter 322; 10. Tri-City United 358; 11. Blue Earth Area 358; 12. LeSueur-Henderson 373; 13. WEM/JWP 379; 14. Norwood Young America 386; 15. Maple River 412; 16. Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial/Nicollet 415; 17. Minnesota Valley Lutheran 440; 18. United South Central 445; 19. Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s/Sleepy Eye Public/New Ulm Cathedral 512; 20. New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva 520; 21. Sibley East 574; 22. Medford 712; 23. Madelia/Truman/Granada-Huntley/East Chain 727.

Individual Results (top 15 All-Section): 1. Owen Keiser (J) 16:40; 2. Landon Javens (ML) 16:45; 3. Carson Kahler (MCW) 16:59; 4. Lukas Pierson (SJ) 16:59; 5. Ryan Albrecht (GFW) 17:00; 6. Austin Schroepfer (GSL) 17:01; 7. Grant Strukel (BEA) 17:01; 8. Symon Keiser (J) 17:04; 9. Javier Victorino (GFW) 17:06; 10. Kaden Cameron (WEM/JWP) 17:09; 11. Michael Meyer (GSL) 17:14; 12. Hugo Ruiz (TCU) 17:15; 13. Nathan Willett (F) 17:15; 14. Bailey More (SP) 17:16; 15. Brady Omtvedt (ML) 17:21.

Other Area Results: 30. Josh Bjerken (MCW) 17:53; 32. Andrew Moeller (F) 17:54; 34. Kolton Larson (MCW) 17:56; 38. Dawson Burkhardt (MCW) 18:06; 41. Brady Olsen (BEA) 18:14; 53. Easton Gregory (MCW) 18:28; 54. Isaiah Johnson (MCW) 18:28; 57. Zane Borchardt (MCW) 18:36; 59. Dayton Pasch (F) 18:43; 60. Darrian Kueker (F) 18:43; 64. Seth Becker (BEA) 18:55; 66. Cody Lane (F) 19:00; 72. Ben Huinker (F) 19:05; 83. Noah Wolter (F) 19:25; 121. Gunnar Fering (BEA) 20:37; 125. Jacob Dikken (BEA) 20:53; 126. Jacob Moeller (MTGHEC) 20:56; 135. Derek Davis (MTGHEC) 21:17; 143. Eric Becker (BEA) 22:11; 145; Blake Townsend (BEA) 22:14; 154. Aaron Dahl (MTGHEC) 24:50; 155. Isaac Bergeman (MTGHEC) 26:03; 157. Karsan Davis (MTGHEC) 29:06; 158. Eli Bergeman (MTGHEC) 32:15.