FAIRMONT — The Class A, No. 3-ranked Fairmont Cardinals girls cross country team’s ‘Big 3’ have been the team’s driving force all season.

Senior Iliana Ramon, junior Sarah Krumholz and eighth-grader Laura Thompson have all finished in the top 10 of nearly every race this season, including the Section 2A Meet. Krumholz, Thompson and Ramon packed a 4-5-6 finish to earn the Cardinals a third straight section title and fifth consecutive state appearance.

“Some of the races, we’ve had 200 runners, so that’s not anything to be taken for granted. That’s an amazing season for all of them,” Cardinals head coach Bob Bonk said. “The thing that’s been so wonderful about those three that I’ve said so many times is that they really are strong supporters of each other. … It’s very much cooperation, help each other out and be happy for each other. They’ve just been incredibly consistent all year.”

The Cardinals team has made the trip to the state meet 24 times in the last 33 years, including 11 of the last 13, to net third-place finishes in 1989 and 2014, and runner-up honors in 1986 and 1987.

Fairmont won the state title in 1988 and, most recently, 2016 when “everything went perfectly,” Bonk said. This year, the level of competition is higher, with more teams having a chance at the state crown.

“This is the third year now of the 5K in cross country for girls, and I think this is by far the best year,” Bonk said. “The times that are in the top 25 right now would have been maybe top 10 the other two years.”

Among the teams hoping to dethrone the Cardinals are Perham and Luverne, who finished second and third, respectively, last year in addition to Winona Cotter, Stewartville, Annandale and Belle Plaine. Right now, however, Bonk believes Perham is favored going into Saturday’s 1 p.m. meet at St. Olaf College in Northfield.

“They’ve (Perham) got some younger runners that just jumped in there in the middle of the season now. One through seven, head-to-head, they just look like they’ve got a pretty big edge on everybody else,” Bonk added. “But the success of our season isn’t going to live and die on that 20-minute race either. I know that these girls are going to give it everything they have and be satisfied with the outcome.

“Having said that, I know that we want to place as high as we can.”

Throughout the season, the Cardinals boasted a 97 percent winning rate with the depth of their team improving. The Nos. 4-7 runners in Lizzy Subbert, Emma Koehler, Tabitha Thatcher and Hannah Neusch have been hitting their strides and peaking at the right times as the season winds down. Anna Sundblad and Megan Hawkins will serve as alternates.

“They’re definitely the strongest right now that they’ve been all year,” Bonk said about the runners. “They’re, in many ways, the key to the team because as long as the top 3 keep running so strong, those girls are the ones who are probably going to make the biggest difference one way or another.”

Emma Gudahl also will make the trip with the Cardinals as a precaution for any unforeseen illnesses and/or other health issues.

“This’ll be great experience for (Emma) as a younger runner,” Bonk said. “We can only dress nine to be ready to run, but we’ll have 10 practicing and going to state.”

To be able to defend their crown, Bonk jokingly said it’ll take “a little luck,” but the experience of the team may help in the race.

Along with the Cardinals team, Martin County West’s No. 4-ranked individual runner Marissa Whitehead is heading back to the state meet. The freshman was last year’s state runner-up behind fellow freshman and No. 2-ranked Tierney Wolfgram of Math & Sciences Academy of Woodbury. Whitehead earned her second state appearance in as many years on the heels of a third-place finish at the section meet.

Also returning from last year’s state top 10 finishers are Austin Pacelli’s Kayla Christopherson, who is ranked sixth, Kira Sweeney of Staples-Motley and No. 11-ranked Murray County Central runner Morgan Gehl.

On the boys’ side, Blue Earth Area’s Grant Strukel will be making his second trip to the Class A state meet. Strukel, a sophomore, placed sixth at the section meet to advance.

Strukel will look to improve upon his 54th-place finish from last year, running against defending champion and No. 3-ranked Declan Dahlberg from Mounds Park Academy of St. Paul.

State runner-up Matt Steiger of La Crescent, who is ranked second, and fifth-place finisher and current No. 11-ranked Ethan Olson of Moose Lake/Willow River/Barnum will be at the 2 p.m. boys state race as well.

In the team portion, all four of the current top-ranked teams are back from last year’s race. Those teams consist of runner-up Perham (1), Mankato Loyola/Cleveland (2), La qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd (3) and Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin (4).

No. 11-ranked Mora won the Section 5 title to get a chance at back-to-back state championships.