FAIRMONT — The Cardinals’ streak of five consecutive team appearances in the Class A state cross country meet came to an end during last Thursday’s Section 2 Meet in Montgomery, but Fairmont will still have runners to cheer on.

Fairmont freshman Laura Thompson will make her third appearance in three opportunities at the state meet and her first as an individual, while senior teammate Sarah Krumholz will return to Northfield today to try to gain all-state status once again. Thompson and Krumholz will compete in the 2 p.m. girls state race at St. Olaf College.

Fairmont head cross country coach Bob Bonk said he is proud of his runners for qualifying as individuals.

“It’s always a thrill to go to state,” Bonk said. “I think that’s the ultimate goal for any high school athlete in any sport, not just cross country. For Sarah, she was on the team that qualified for state when she was in ninth grade, but the night before she fell off the bleachers while we were taking a picture and she turned her ankle and couldn’t run. Since then, she’s run great every year and made it to the state meet with the team. This year especially, making it in that final spot by less than a second, it’s great for her to get there.

“For Laura, the first time she was able to qualify was seventh grade and now as a ninth-grader, this will be her third time there. Not to say it’s ho-hum, she’s really focused on running well and she wants to do well.”

Fairmont sophomore William Saari is taking his first shot at the state meet after finishing in the final qualifying spot at the section meet. Saari will compete in the 1 p.m. Class A boys race at St. Olaf College.

“William was a great surprise,” Bonk said. “Going into the sectional race, he wasn’t one of the guys expected to make it. He’s been a big-meet performer, he tends to have his best performances in those important meets, especially in the section meet. He ran a very smart race at sections, he kind of stayed in that second pack most of the way and really powered through at the end. I’m very proud of Will, he ended up being the top sophomore in the section.”

Thompson placed fifth with a time of 19:24.49 in the 5K run at the Section 2A Meet last week, while Krumholz finished ninth with a time of 19:54.2. Krumholz beat out Victoria Flores of Le Sueur-Henderson by only 25-hundredths of a second to claim the final state-qualifying spot.

Martin County West’s Marissa Whitehead placed sixth overall in the race with a time of 19:29.33, which qualifies her for the state meet as an individual as well.

Saari placed 11th in the boys race and like Krumholz, took the final qualifying spot.

Saari finished with a time of 16:48.23 in the 5K run, while area competitors Grant Strukel of Blue Earth Area (16:18.1) and Carson Kahler of Martin County West (16:31.6) finished second and fifth, respectively, to qualify for the state meet as individuals.

Saari, Strukel and Kahler will face a tough field that returns four of last year’s top 10 finishers. Sophomore Geno Uhrbom of Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin placed third last year and leads the top returners, while junior Cooper Lennox of Mora, junior Jacob Bright of Staples Motley and junior Harris Anderson of Math & Science Academy also will fight for the top spot.

Thompson, Krumholz and Whitehead will face a girls field with two-time defending individual champion, Tierney Wolfgram, a sophomore from Math & Science Academy. The rest of last year’s top 10 all return this season in the girls race as well.

Lauren and Grace Ping of Cotter both return, sophomore Morgan Gehl from Murray County Central/ Fulda, freshman Tenley Nelson of Luverne, senior MaKenna Thurston of Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial/Nicollet, junior Ava Hill of Mesabi East of Aurora, senior Kayla Christopherson of Austin Pacelli, and sophomore Emma Fashert of Annandale round out the top 10 with the addition of Whitehead, who placed seventh last year.

Bonk said because the field of runners is incredibly talented, it can be easy to fall out of a race plan.

“It’s easy to get wrapped up at a wicked pace at the start with a lot of really good runners,” Bonk said. “Everyone there is good, so it might not feel like you’re doing as well as in other races, but you need to have confidence. Everyone’s race strategy has really been figured out for a while now, this wouldn’t be the time to change anything.”

Whitehead finished seventh in last year’s state competition with a time of 18:59, while Thompson placed 14th in 19:17 and Krumholz finished 22nd in 19:32, making all three of them all-state competitors.

In the boys’ race, Strukel finished 27th in 16:49, just missing the cut for all-state honors in 2017.

In the boys team portion, the Perham Yellowjackets are returning to defend their state team title from last season. St. James Area returns to try to improve on its runner-up finish from last year while, Mankato Loyola/ Cleveland (third), Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd (fourth), North Shore (fifth), Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin (seventh) West Central Area of Barrett (eighth) and Staples-Motley (10th) all return as teams looking to improve.

On the girls’ side in Class A, eight teams return from last season, including the defending champion Perham Yellowjackets. Cotter of Winona will look to improve on its runner-up state finish, while Luverne (sixth), Jordan (ninth) and Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd (10th) all look to climb the standings on Saturday.