WASECA — For the third time in the past four years, the Fairmont Cardinal boys are Big South Conference big school divisional track & field champions.

The Fairmont boys held five golds, three silvers and a bronze medal to build their champion team score of 144, while the Cardinals claimed second place in the girls’ competition at 148 points, behind Waseca’s championship score of 205.5.

For the Fairmont boys, it all came down to the 4×400-meter relay.

The Cardinals went into the final event of the day with a one-point lead, needing to beat Marshall to stay in the overall lead.

Jordan Wolter led off and got around the track quick enough to be the third-opening runner to hand off the baton. Hudson Artz was close behind the two runners ahead of him and passed them coming out of the second turn.

Artz got the handoff to Andrew Moeller with about a 3-meter lead. Waseca’s Lindy Fiebiger closed on Moeller going into the third turn, but Moeller turned on the jets to get Dylan Kennedy the baton with a five-step lead. Kennedy then held off Waseca’s Colton Halla and won the race by three steps.

The Fairmont 4×400 relay team finished in 3:29.64 to hold on to the team victory.

Cardinal head coach Bob Bonk said having a strong 4×400 team brings a lot of confidence.

“It’s nice to have such a good 4×4 to end the meet,” Bonk said. “If you’re within striking distance, you feel pretty good. … That was a great way to finish. The race before the 4×4, we needed those young guys to score a little and Connor Artner came in with a big sixth to keep us in the lead. It was a great way to finish the meet.”

The Cardinal boys’ 4×800 relay team of Wolter, Artner, William Saari and Dawson Gatewood started the windy day with a fourth-place finish in 9:04.17 before Tony Nuss (17.98) and Shawn Oberbeck (18.45) placed fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 110-meter high hurdles.

Next on the track, Caden Baarts took fourth in the 100-meter dash when he crossed the finish line at the 11.7 mark.

The Fairmont 4×200 relay squad of Brandon Williams, Kennedy, Nick Thate and Baarts took gold with a time of 1:35.19, just beating Waseca’s runner-up time of 1:35.75.

In the 1,600, Moeller took sixth with a time of 4:50.32, then the Fairmont 4×100 team of Williams, Thate, Wolter and Josh Heinze finished third in 46.78 seconds.

Kennedy and Artz placed 1-2 in the 400-meter dash, respectively. Kennedy needed 51.9 seconds to take gold, while Artz finished in 51.98 for silver. The two stayed lock-step coming out of the final turn and into the straight-away, with Kennedy able to get a half-step lead.

In the 800-meter run, Moeller finished second with a time of 2:08.96, just behind Marshall’s Zach Matzner at 2:08.87. Moeller and Waseca’s Halla were sprinting down the final 100 meters to see who could gain a step, but Matzner came around the outside of the two with 30 meters left to get out in front.

Baarts and Artz placed second and fourth in the 200-meter dash, respectively. Baarts finished in 23.2 seconds, while Artz took 23.51.

Artner grabbed Fairmont three much-needed points when he finished sixth in the 3,200 with a time of 10:49.21 to give the Cardinals the one-point lead going into the 4×400.

In the field events, Hayden Berhow claimed gold in the high jump when he cleared 5-10, while Moeller tied for fourth at 5-4.

Thate cleared the 12-0 bar in the pole vault for first, while Baarts took fifth at 9-0. Berhow also placed fifth in the long jump (19-3) and triple jump (39-6 1/2), while Heinze finished eighth in the long jump (18-10 1/2) and fourth in the triple jump (39-6 3/4).

Jacob Rahn (42-9 3/4), Riley Chaffee (42-7) and Caleb Johnson (40-0 3/4) took fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively, in the shot put, while Rahn also finished sixth in the discus with a heave of 104-11 1/2.

The Cardinal girls used three first-, four second- and five third-place finishes to grab silver as a team.

Ellie Hernes claimed the first gold of the day for the Cardinals when she jumped 34-4 3/4 in the triple jump, while Rayah Quiring leapt 33-1 1/2 for fifth.

Natalie Tonne and Cadence Becker took the top two spots in the shot put when Tonne heaved the shot 34-5 3/4 for first and Cadence Becker tossed it 33-5 1/2 for second. Mackenzie Householder had a throw of 29-9 for sixth. Cadence Becker also finished third in the discus with a toss of 91-9 1/2.

Fairmont’s final gold came in the 4×400 relay. The Cardinal team of Karalyn Closs, Laura Thompson, Corene Moeller and Joni Becker took first in 4:13.9. Closs and Thompson kept the girls in the top three through the first two legs, but after Marshall’s squad missed the handoff to the third leg, Moeller was able to take the lead and hand off to Joni Becker with a 10-meter gap behind her. Joni Becker went on to extend the gap to 15 meters as she crossed the finish line.

“That was a three-second season’s best,” Bonk said. “I thought each girl did their job and Corene Moeller really stepped up. I was a little concerened when she passed those girls at the 200 mark if she would be able to hang on, but she lengthened it out and ran fabulously. It was a great team effort and Joni ran a sub-60 at the end.”

Joni Becker also placed fifth in the 100-meter dash at 13.58 and second in the 400 with a time of 1:01.49.

Thompson took third in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:29.58 and sixth in the 1,600-meter run at 5:38.3.

Hernes finished third in the high hurdles when she crossed the finish line in 17.37, while McKayla Chambers was close behind at 17.85 for fifth. Hernes also took third in the 300-meter hurdles at 50.52, while Claire Nemmers finished fifth at 51.75 and Hadley Artz took sixth with a time of 52.55.

Fairmont placed second in both the 4×100 and 4×200.

The 4×100 team of Cadence Becker, Chambers, Brooklyn Meyer and Grace Higgins finished in 53.88, behind New Ulm’s time of 52.64, while the 4×200 crew of Householder, Jenna Gustafson, Higgins and Closs crossed in 1:53.34 behind Waseca’s 1:50.59.

The Cardinal girls’ 4×800 squad of Quiring, Carissa Saxton, Brooklyn Pfeffer and Moeller finished in 10:50.83 for third.

Bethany Linse cleared the 4-10 bar in the high jump for fifth, while Savanah Baker got over the 4-8 bar for seventh. Ellie Schultze took fourth in the pole vault when she made it over the 7-6 bar and Hernes (15-2 1/2), Meyer (14-10 1/2) and Quiring (14-7) took fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, in the long jump.

After the meet, it was announced that the Cardinal boys had earned a wild card spot in the Class AA True Team State Meet.

“Year in and year out, we have such a tough section,” Bonk said. “(Mankato) East, West and Fairmont were the top three wild cards, all in our section, plus Jordan winning. This group of senior guys, especially, have been such good seniors and such good leaders, I’m really happy they get to go back to state. We don’t have a huge team, but we have really good quality and really hard workers.”

The Cardinal boys compete at the True Team State Meet in Stillwater at 3 p.m. Saturday, while the Fairmont girls race in home quad action at 4:15 p.m. Friday.

BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE MEET (Big Schools)

BOYS DIVISION

Team standings: 1. Fairmont 144; 2. Marshall 139; 3. Waseca 132.5; 4. Worthington 125.5; 5. St. Peter 100; 6. New Ulm 30.

100: 1. Jade Riecks (SP) 11.42; 2. Tave Ball (WAS) 11.43; 3. Robert Street (WOR) 11.69.

Fairmont results: Caden Baarts 11.7, Josh Heinze 12.18, Cesar Flores 13.01.

200: 1. Jade Reicks (SP) 22.38; 2. Caden Baarts (F) 23.2; 3. Tave Ball (WAS) 23.42.

Other Fairmont results: Hudson Artz 23.51, Brandon Williams 24.36.

400: 1. 1. Dylan Kennedy (F) 51.9; 2. Hudson Artz (F) 51.98; 3. Sean Howk (NU) 52.36.

800: 1. Zach Matzner (MAR) 2:08.87; 2. Andrew Moeller (F) 2:08.96; 3. Cole Halla (WAS) 2:09.2.

Other Fairmont results: Matthew Anderson 2:25.81, Cesar Flores 2:31.51.

1,600: 1. Eli Salisbury (MAR) 4:33.2; 2. Zach Matzner (MAR) 4:33.29; 3. Christian Lietz (WOR) 4:33.94.

Fairmont results: Andrew Moeller 4:50.32, Dawson Gatewood 5:04.7, Tony Ortega 5:17.68.

3,200: 1. Adam Koller (WOR) 9:57.63; 2. Eli Salisbury (MAR) 10:02.22; 3. Christian Lietz (WOR) 10:09.77.

Fairmont results: Connor Artner 10:49.21, William Saari 10:53.65, Darrian Kueker 11:19.31.

HH: 1. Bryce Paulsen (MAR) 15.98; 2. Emmett Bicket (WOR) 16.81; 3. Liam Aberle (WAS) 16.85.

Fairmont results: Tony Nuss 17.98, Shawn Oberbeck 18.45, Abram Sanchez 20.58.

300 H: 1. Jade Reicks (SP) 39.9; 2. Bryce Paulsen (MAR) 42.77; 3. Liam Aberle (WAS) 43.83.

Fairmont results: Tony Nuss 46.65, Abram Sanchez 47.53, Shawn Oberbeck 50.0.

4×1: 1. Waseca 45.45; 2. New Ulm 46.65; 3. Fairmont (Brandon Williams, Nick Thate, Jordan Wolter, Josh Heinze) 46.78.

4×2: 1. Fairmont (Brandon Williams, Dylan Kennedy, Nick Thate, Caden Baarts) 1:35.19; 2. Waseca 1:35.75; 3. St. Peter 1:40.74.

4×4: 1. Fairmont (Jordan Wolter, Hudson Artz, Andrew Moeller, Dylan Kennedy) 3:29.64; 2. Waseca 3:30.79; 3. Marshall 3:33.53.

4×8: 1. Waseca 8:31.99; 2. Worthington 8:34.44; 3. Marshall 8:56.99.

Fairmont (Jordan Wolter, Connor Artner, William Saari, Dawson Gatewood) 4th 9:04.17.

High jump: 1. Hayden Berhow (F) 5-10; 2. Joshua Deines (MAR) 5-8; 3. Ryan Sandland (SP) 5-6.

Other Fairmont resultsL Andrew Moeller 5-4, Tony Nuss 5-0.

Pole vault: 1. Nick Thate (F) 12-0; 2. Peyton Larson (WAS) 11-3; 3. Kole Guth (SP) 11-0.

Other Fairmont results: Caden Baarts 9-0, Matthew Anderson 9-0.

Long jump: 1. Joshue Deines (MAR) 20-1; 2. Matt Seberson (WAS) 19-10.5; 3. Robert Street (WOR) 19-4.

Fairmont results: Hayden Berhow 19-3, Josh Heinze 18-10.5, Justin Olson 16-0.

Triple jump: 1. Joshua Deines (MAR) 40-9; 2. Sean Souksavath (WOR) 40-7; 3. Matt Seberson (WAS) 40-5.5.

Fairmont results: Josh Heinze 39-6.75, Hayden Berhow 39-6.5, Brandon Williams 37-5.75.

Shot put: 1. Marcus Hansen (WAS) 49-11.25; 2. Yahya Black (MAR) 45-2.5; 3. Bryce Olsen (WOR) 44-9.5.

Fairmont results: Jacob Rahn 42-9.75, Riley Chaffee 42-7, Caleb Johnson 40-0.75.

Discus: 1. Marcus Hansen (WAS) 156-4.5; 2. Bryce Olsen (WOR) 135-0.5; 3. Yahya Black (MAR) 133-3.5.

Fairmont results: Jacob Rahn 104-11.5, Riley Chaffee 100-3, Noah Rahm 86-8.5.

GIRLS DIVISION

Team Standings: 1. Waseca 205.5; 2. Fairmont 148; 3. Marshall 105.5; 4. St. Peter 100.5; 5. New Ulm 49; 6. Worthington 36.

100: 1. Odell Frye (WAS) 12.67; 2. Paige Kalis (NU) 13.34; 3. Saphi McFarquhar (MAR) 13.48.

Fairmont results: Joni Becker 13.58, Grace Higgins 14.11, Kaylean Thingstad 14.32.

200: 1. Odell Frye (WAS) 26.03; 2. Tayler Eggers (WOR) 27.04; 3. Bailey Newman (WOR) 27.33.

Fairmont results: Karalyn Closs 28.22, Jenna Gustafson 28.67, MacKenzie Householder 29.36.

400: 1. Lexi Herman (WAS) 59.46; 2. Joni Becker (F) 1:01.49; 3. Danya Estrada (MAR) 1:03.56.

Other Fairmont results: Carissa Saxton 1:07.44, Rayah Quiring 1:07.69.

800: 1. Lexi Herman (WAS) 2:23.99; 2. Kate Bucher (MAR) 2:29.08; 3. Laura Thompson (F) 2:29.58.

Other Fairmont results: Corene Moeller 2:39.2, Emily Frank 2:48.74.

1,600: 1. Madison More (SP) 5:18.13; 2. Ana McCabe (WAS) 5:26.19; 3. Ella Dufault (WAS) 5:27.93.

Fairmont results: Laura Thompson 5:38.3, Tabitha Thatcher 6:06.3, Hannah Neusch 6:15.24.

3,200: 1. Ella Dufault (WAS) 11:31.46; 2. Ana McCabe (WAS) 11:48.41; 3. Madison More (SP) 11:57.72.

Fairmont results: Tabitha Thatcher 13:14.48, Hannah Neusch 13:20.59.

HH: 1. Madison Gehloff (WAS) 16.33; 2. Augusta Boyer (WAS) 16.62; 3. Ellie Hernes (F) 17.37.

Other Fairmont results: McKayla Chambers 17.85, Brooklyn Meyer 18.04.

300 H: 1. Madison Gehloff (WAS) 48.72; 2. Augusta Boyer (WAS) 49.57; Ellie Hernes (F) 50.52.

Other Fairmont results: Claire Nemmers 51.75, Hadley Artz 52.55.

4×1: 1. New Ulm 52.64; 2. Fairmont (Cadence Becker, McKayla Chambers, Brooklyn Meyer, Grace Higgins) 53.88; 3. Waseca 54.16.

4×2: 1. Waseca 1:50.59; 2. Fairmont (MacKenzie Householder, Jenna Gustafson, Grace Higgins, Karalyn Closs) 1:53.34; 3. St. Peter 1:54.05.

4×4: 1. Fairmont (Karalyn Closs, Laura Thompson, Corene Moeller, Joni Becker) 4:13.9; 2. Waseca 4:16.24; 3. Marshall 4:20.78.

4×8: 1. Marshall 10:24.7; 2. Waseca 10:33.98; 3. Fairmont (Rayah Quiring, Carissa saxton, Brooklyn Pfeffer, Corene Moeller) 10:50.83.

High jump: 1. Olivia Owens (NU) 5-2; 2. Claire Nuessmeier (SP) 5-0; 3. Jenna Mortier (MAR) 4-10.

Fairmont results: Bethany Linse 4-10, Savanah Baker 4-8, Cadence Becker 4-6.

Pole vault: 1. Erika Ebert (NU) 8-9; 2. Saphi McFarquhar (MAR) 8-6; 3. Caitlin Salfer (SP) 8-0.

Fairmont results: Ellie Schultze 7-6, MacKenzie Householder 6-6, Rachel O’Connor 6-0.

Long jump: 1. Paige Kalis (NU) 17-0; 2. Odell Frye (WAS) 16-4.75; 3. Amelia Carlson (SP) 15-11.

Fairmont results: Ellie Hernes 15-2.5, Brooklyn Meyer 14-10.5, Rayah Quiring 14-7.

Triple jump: 1. Ellie Hernes (F) 34-4.75; 2. Amelia Carlson (SP) 34-2; 3. Alli Madden (SP) 33-8.5.

Other Fairmont results: Rayah Quiring 33-1.5, Emily Frank 32-2.

Shot put: 1. Natalie Tonne (F) 34-5.75; 2. Cadence Becker (F) 33-5.5; 3. Emily Meier (MAR) 33-2.5.

Other Fairmont result: MacKenzie Householder 29-9.

Discus: 1. Mackenzie Paul (WAS) 96-11.5; 2. Rayna Baumgarn (WAS) 96-1.5; 3. Cadence Becker (F) 91-9.5.

Other Fairmont results: Natalie Tonne 87-5.5, Sophie Johnson 64-0.5.