BLUE EARTH — With a third consecutive Section 2A girls championship, a section girls head coach of the year award and a girls assistant coach of the year honor, the Class A, No. 3-ranked Fairmont Cardinals girls cross country team had much to celebrate.

Sarah Krumholz, Laura Thompson and Iliana Ramon — who were named all-section — finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, to power the Cardinals to a first-place total of 76 points in the Section 2A Meet on Thursday at Riverside Town & Country Golf Course near Blue Earth.

“I was happy that not only we qualified, but that we could win,” Fairmont head coach and Section 2 girls head coach of the year Bob Bonk said. “It’s nice to be recognized (as coach of the year), but it’s what the girls have done.”

Fairmont assistant coach Stew Murfield also was named sectional girls assistant coach of the year.

The Cardinals took a three-point victory over Belle Plaine, a team that had beaten the Cardinals twice earlier in the season.

“It’s only been very recently that they’ve come to either I-90 (Invite) or the Buc Invite, so we’d never seen them before, so I’m really happy that they come down to those two meets so we get an idea of how we match up before the section meet,” Bonk said.

Individually, Martin County West freshman Marissa Whitehead will return to the Class A State Meet at 1 p.m. next Saturday at St. Olaf College in Northfield. The No. 4-ranked runner completed her 5K race in 19:23.31 for a third overall finish and a spot on the all-Section 2A team as the Mavericks placed sixth.

Caitlin Whitehead posted a 33rd-best time of 21:24 as the Mavericks finished with 198 points. Kari Matejka and Emily Matejka finished in 21:56 and 21:57.1, respectively, while MacKenzie Petersen added a time of 22:47.5.

Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial/Nicollet junior Makenna Thurston, the No. 9-ranked runner, pocketed the section individual championship with a time of 19:59.91.

Krumholz braved the nearly 30-mile per hour winds and 40-degree temperatures to pace the Cardinals with a time of 19:25.21, tying Ramon’s 2-week old school record also set at the Buc Invite. Thompson was next, finishing in 19:45 for fifth followed by Ramon’s sixth-place time of 19:48.07.

Tabitha Thatcher added a 22nd-place finish of 20:54.97 for the Cardinals.

“We had some people counting in different parts of the race and as she approached the mile mark, she was 50th,” Bonk said. “We talked about when in the wind and in the cold, it would be a good idea to not go nuts right away, and she did a great job of moving up throughout the race and passing people.”

Lizzy Subbert completed Fairmont’s counting scores with a 21:33.38 for a 39th-place race.

The Blue Earth Area Bucs recorded 368 points for the 15th team spot. Kaitlin Johnson placed 54th for a time of 22:08.4, while Callie Stevermer ran to 59th place (22:15.5).

Melissa Hagedorn posted a 23:00.7, Arianna Nagel crossed the finish line in 23:12 and Gabby Weerts ran a 24:28.1 for BEA.

Madelia/Truman/Granada-Huntley-East Chain runner Sylvia Rodriguez made the all-section team with a 14th-place time of 20:29.2. Samantha Maul ran the 5K in 22:00.6, while Haruno Okubo (25:48.2), Marissa Lewis (25:57.6) and Samantha Moeller (25:59.6) contributed counting scores for the Jayhawks.

Grant Strukel earned a second trip to the state meet and an all-section finish to lead the Bucs boys team to 13th place with 399 points.

“It’s nice because because I’ve been there before and I still have two more years after this year,” Strukel said.

The sophomore’s time of 16:54 allowed him sixth place.

“I went out there and tried to let some of the other guys do the work and then pushed myself the second lap,” Strukel added.

Brady Olsen finished 54th (18:53.7) for the Bucs. Jacob Dikken added a 19:31.4 to the team’s effort. Blake Townsend and Cameron Germain finished in 21:13.1 and 21:17, respectively.

No. 6-ranked Lukas Pierson of St. James added another individual win to his stellar season, taking the section title in 16:31.05. The No. 5-ranked Saints were the runnerups with 79 points behind section champions and No. 2-ranked Mankato Loyola/Cleveland (67).

Connor Artner’s 32nd-place time of 17:50.5 led the Cardinals to a seventh-place total of 207 points. Nathan Willett paced a 17:58.3 for 38th place, while Andrew Moeller placed 42nd with a time of 18:04.

Charles Garbers (18:09.6) and Dayton Pasch (18:10) contributed counting scores for the Cardinals.

The Mavericks totaled 163 points for fifth place as Kolton Larson (17:22.1) and Carson Kahler (17:28) finished 16th and 17th. Zane Borchardt and Jake Whitehead rounded out the Mavericks’ team total with times of 18:02.8 and 18:22.5, respectively.

The Jayhawks finished 22nd with 660 points. Jacob Moeller paced a 20:19, while Derek Davis finished the 5K in 21:51.1. Rayph Miller ran to a time of 21:54.2, and Isaac Bergeman and Eli Bergeman recorded times of 22:14.8 and 30:51.3, respectively.

SECTION 2A MEET

@ Riverside Town & Country

Golf Course

Girls Division (5K)

Team Standings: 1. Fairmont 76; 2. Belle Plaine 79; 3. Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial/Nicollet 137; 4. Glencoe-Silver Lake 141; 5. LeSueur-Henderson 169; 6. Martin County West/Martin Luther 198; 7. Waterville-Elysian-Morristown/Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton 228; 8. St. Peter 246; 9. Norwood Young America 261; 10. Minnesota Valley Lutheran 310; 11. St. James Area 326; 12. United South Central/Alden-Conger 341; 13. Sleepy Eye United 344; 14. Maple River 362; 15. Blue Earth Area 368; 16. Sibley East 394; 17. Tri-City United 395; 18. GFW 396; 19. Mankato Loyola/Cleveland 399; 20. Madelia/Truman/Granada-Huntley-East Chain 424.

Incomplete Teams: New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva and Medford.

Individual Results (Top 15 All-Section): 1. Makenna Thurston (LCWM/N) 18:59.91; 2. Izzy Lind (SP) 19:14.38; 3. Marissa Whitehead (MCW/ML) 19:23.31; 4. Sarah Krumholz (F) 19:25.21; 5. Laura Thompson (F) 19:45.67; 6. Iliana Ramon (F) 19:48.07; 7. Beth Stevermer (USC/AC) 19:56.13; 8. Malayh Metclaff (GSL) 20:04.33; 9. Mackinzee Miest (SJ) 20:05.44; 10. Elizabeth Schmidt (BP) 20:08.87; 11. Cassandra Stolt (BP) 20:15.60; 12. Lauren Dimler (WEM/JWP) 20:18.79; 13. Judy Larson (NYA) 20:18.82; 14. Sylvia Rodriguez (MTGHEC) 20:29.18; 15. Grace Feder (GFW) 20:32.08.

Other Area Results: 22. Tabitha Thatcher (F) 20:54.97; 33. Caitlin Whitehead (MCW/ML) 21:24.10; 39. Lizzy Subbert (F) 21:33.38; 48. Kari Matejka (MCW/ML) 21:55.92; 49. Emily Matejka (MCW/ML) 21:57.05; 50. Hannah Neusch (F) 21:57. 38; 51. Emma Koehler (F) 21:58.63; 52. Samantha Maul (MTGHEC) 22:00.57; 54. Kaitlin Johnson (BEA) 22:08.31; 60. Callie Stevermer (BEA) 22:15.48; 66. MacKenzie Petersen (MCW/ML) 22:47.44; 67. Jasmine Longley (MCW/ML) 22:48.21; 77. Melissa Hagedorn (BEA) 23:00.66; 80. Arianna Nagel (BEA) 23:11.93; 82. Brianna Morrow (MCW/ML) 23:13.14; 102. Gabby Weerts (BEA) 24:28.04; 121. Haruno Okubo (MTGHEC) 25:48.18; 124. Marissa Lewis (MTGHEC) 25:57.58; 125. Samantha Moeller (MTGHEC) 25:59.53; 127. Emma Germain (BEA) 26:22.85; 133. Thejen Luoth (MTGHEC) 27:52.85; 138. Amanda Jacobson (BEA) 30:17.28.

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Boys Division (5K)

Team Standings: 1. Mankato Loyola/Cleveland 67; 2. St. James Area 79; 3. GFW 114; 4. Glencoe-Silver Lake 125; 5. Martin County West/Martin Luther 163; 6. Belle Plaine 186; 7. Fairmont 207; 8. Tri-City United 212; 9. LeSueur-Henderson 289; 10. Norwood Young America 290; 11. St. Peter 303; 12. Waterville-Elysian-Morristown/ Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton 392; 13. Blue Earth Area 399; 14. Sibley East 404; 15. Maple River 447; 16. United South Central/Alden-Conger 458; 17. Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial/Nicollet 464; 18. New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva 496; 19. Sleepy Eye United 508; 20. Minnesota Valley Lutheran 509; 21. Medford 536; 22. Madelia/Truman/ Granada-Huntley-East Chain 660.

Individual Results (Top 15 All-Section): 1. Lukas Pierson (SJ) 16:31.05; 2. Mitch Johnstone (MLC) 16:39.83; 3. Drew Hastings (BP) 16:41.88; 4. Hugo Ruiz (TCU) 16:42.27; 5. Javier Victorino (GFW) 16:49.33; 6. Grant Strukel (BEA) 16:53.99; 7. Lane Schwarz (LH) 16:57.96; 8. Jakob Rusten (GSL) 16:58.85; 9. Bailey More (SP) 17:01.60; 10. Kyle Siemon (BP) 17:05.54; 11. Landon Javens (MLC) 17:07.83; 12. Troy Parulski (SJ) 17:08.59; 13. Seth Pierson (SJ) 17:10.31; 14. Will Pioske (GFW) 17:13.19; 15. Jerrett Peterson (MLC) 17:13.33.

Other Area Results: 16. Kolton Larson (MCW/ML) 17:22.04; 17. Carson Kahler (MCW/ML) 17:27.98; 32. Connor Artner (F) 17:50.47; 37. Easton Gregory (MCW/ML) 17:57.47; 38. Nathan Willett (F) 17:58.24; 40. Zane Borchardt (MCW/ML) 18:02.78; 42. Andrew Moeller (F) 18:03.99; 47. Charles Garbers (F) 18:09.55; 48. Dayton Pasch (F) 18:10.00; 52. Cody Lane (F) 18:20.48; 53. Jake Whitehead (MCW/ML) 18:22.45; 54. Brady Olsen (BEA) 18:23.63; 57. William Saari (F) 18:27.20; 72. Isaiah Johnson (MCW/ML) 19:08.85; 78. Todd Morrow (MCW/ML) 19:14.57; 90. Jacob Dikken (BEA) 19:31.38; 110. Jacob Moeller (MTGHEC) 20:18.93; 124. Blake Townsend (BEA) 21:13.08; 125. Cameron Germain (BEA) 21:16.93; 130. Derek Davis (BEA) 21:51.04; 131. Angel Martinez (BEA) 21:51.86; 132. Gunnar Fering (BEA) 21:52.66; 133. Rayph Miller (MTGHEC) 21:54.15; 138. Isaac Bergeman (MTGHEC) 22:14.79; 149. Eli Bergeman (MTGHEC) 30:51.30.