Looking back on the Fairmont Cardinals boys cross country team’s last two seasons, head coach Bob Bonk noticed a trend in its performances.

“We’ve beaten about 70 percent of our opponents in those meets, so often we’d get like third out of 10 or something like that. I’d like to see us get maybe more firsts this year,” he said.

With the top runners returning and a few wild cards, the Cardinals have a shot of doing just that this season. Returning for another varsity season are seniors Nathan Willett and Dayton Pasch and junior Andrew Moeller. All three have trained extensively, running between 300 and 400 miles this summer.

“Those guys are enthused about cross country,” Bonk said. “They’re working every bit as hard as the girls and I think they have a nice team chemistry among those high school guys.”

After not running cross country last season, Kellen Rodriguez has emerged as a potentially essential part to the Cardinals team this year.

“The guy has just transformed physically. Last spring, he came out for (track for) the first time and had a really good track season,” Bonk said. “He’s looking good, and he will definitely be part of the varsity this year.”

Others with varsity experience include senior Noah Wolter and juniors Darrian Kueker and Dylan Kennedy, who is nursing a knee issue heading into the season. After that, Bonk said the other top spots open with a group of underclassmen that have the talent to fill them.

“We do have decent sophomores and freshmen, and I think one or more of those guys will be in the mix,” Bonk said.

The Cardinals have a solid group of runners from grades 9-12, but only have one junior high runner in Jack Hagen.

“A lot of times in cross country, we tend to pick up people as they move through the grades, so we surely hope that will be true,” Bonk said. “We’d like to have more guys and if anybody’s still out there not doing anything, we’d take them.”

The key to the team’s success early on will be eliminating the gap between runners, something that the Cardinals have struggled with in the past. Last year, Fairmont was more successful in narrowing the gap, and plan to continue the pattern this year.

“I think we have the potential to have a really good pack there and not much separation among the top guys, so that’ll be the key,” Bonk said.

If they stick to the game plan, Bonk believes his team has a chance, even being in a talented section. Mankato Loyola/Cleveland and Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop both went to the Class A state meet last year and enter the season ranked No. 2 and 3, respectively, in the coaches preseason poll.

“Belle Plaine had a terrific year last year, too, and they have a lot of guys back, so there’s a lot of good teams in our section,” Bonk added. “To get over the hump and get in the top two, we’re going to have to run really fast because it’s a very good section this year, probably the best it’s been in a decade or so.”

The Cardinals are keeping the end goal in mind, but for now, the main focus is to open the season strong as Fairmont plays host to the season-opening Early Bird Invite at 9:30 a.m. Friday at Fairmont High School.