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Fairmont runners place 2nd, 3rd at Metcalf Invitational

MOUNTAIN LAKE — The Fairmont girls ran to a second-place finish, while the Cardinal boys took third at the 2019 Paul Metcalf cross country invitational.

Laura Thompson led the Cardinal girls with a second-place time of 19:29.2, causing a photo finish with last year’s third-place Class A state finisher, Morgan Gehl of Murray County Central/ Fulda. Gehl won the race with a time of 19:29.1.

Thompson held a slim lead during the final 100 meters, sprinting to stay ahead of Gehl, but Gehl overtook her with 10 meters to go and won by less than a step.

Hannah Neusch was the next Cardinal to finish by crossing in 22:13.7 for 11th place before teammate Tabitha Thatcher finished in 22:40.3 for 14th. Emma Gudahl was the fourth Fairmont girl to earn a medal when she finished 15th in 22:49.4.

Fairmont’s Sara Sundblad finished 32nd in the 67-competitor race, with a time of 24:19.7, then Becca Lunn crossed the finish line in 25:39.5 for 40th.

Eleanor Hamlet was the final Fairmont competitor to finish, crossing with a time of 29:03 for 59th.

Fairmont head coach Bob Bonk said Thompson’s run was proof of her hard work preparing for the season and the girls team competed well as a whole.

“With Laura, two weeks ago if you’d have said she’d beat the girl from Luverne (Tenly Nelson) last week and be within a tenth of a second of the No. 1-ranked girl (Gehl), I wouldn’t have really believed it,” Bonk said. “She’s earned it, she had a great summer and it’s showing.

“We still probably haven’t put our strongest lineup together, but I thought the girls, we had four girls get medals in the top-15 and that’s pretty tough to do. It wasn’t just Laura, all the girls competed hard and did a nice job.”

The Martin County West/Martin Luther Maverick girls finished third overall with a total of 64 points.

Marissa Whitehead was the top Maverick, taking sixth place with a time of 21:25.7, followed by teammate Katie Hartke in eighth at 21:31.6.

Kari Matejka (23:25.7) and Caitlin Whitehead (23:35.9) gave the Mavericks back-to-back finishers at 22nd and 23rd, respectively, before Brianna Morrow finished 25th with a time of 23:41.9.

Emily Matejka took 31st with a time of 24:13.8, while Ivy Kokoruda crossed the finish line at 25:05.8 for 37th for MCW/ML.

Sara Hernandez led the Blue Earth Area Bucs with her 59th-place finish in 29:20.9, while Elizabeth Jacobson (32:09.4) finished 62nd and Aubrey Hueper (37:30.9) finished 67th.

Ella Bergeman was the first of the Madelia/Truman/Granada-Huntley-East Chain Jayhawks to finish when she crossed the line at 25:48 for 41st, while Samantha Moeller took 60th in 29:20.9.

In the boys’ race, Worthington took first with an astounding 29 points, built on four top-five finishes.

William Saari helped lead the Cardinals to third when he was the first Fairmont competitor to finish when he ran a time of 17:20.8, good for eighth place. Connor Artner was the next Cardinal finisher when he hit the chute in 13th place at 18:06.6.

Tony Ortega took 17th for the Cardinals with a time of 18:47.7, while Tyrell Zieske took 37th at 20:16.

Alex Cruz ran for the final Cardinal contributing time of 21:46.1, placing 55th in the 75-runner race.

Gavin Artner (22:44) finished 66th for the Cardinals.

Bonk said he was happy with the Cardinal boys top runners and with the team’s finish.

“It was good, it was strong,” Bonk said. “We kind of felt like we would have a good front and now we’re just hoping to get a little better depth-wise. Actually, third as a team was about, I thought, the best we could have done. St. James (Area) and Worthington are outstanding this year. I was really happy with third.”

Jake Lewis was the first Maverick boy to finish when he took seventh place at 17:13.6, helping lead to a fifth-place finish as a team. Riley Cole finished 30th for MCW/ML with a time of 19:49.2, while Kylar Larson took 32nd at 20:02.9.

Isaiah Johnson ran a time of 20:35.8, good for 40th, and Todd Morrow took 47th at 21:20.8 for MCW/ML.

Grant Strukel led the BEA boys to an eighth-place team finish with his time of 17:38.7, placing him ninth. Cameron Germain ran a time of 21:31.4 for 50th, while Carson Strukel took 61st at 22:10.2. Damion Mahlstedt (22:43.1) finished 65th, while James Greer (28:40.8) finished 74th.

BEA head coach Tom Plocker said he was happy to have his team back running in the invite.

“This was the first time we’d been to this meet in eight years,” Plocker said. “We’re happy to be back here in a great venue and the site of our (Big South) conference meet.

“It was all good performances, the first 5Ks of the year for everybody, so they got their feet wet in that distance. It was a fine start to the official race distance.”

Jacob Moeller was one of two Jayhawks to run the boys race, finishing in 41st at 20:42.8, while Colin Wihlm took 63rd at 22:38.3.

The Cardinals, Mavericks, Bucs and Jayhawks all run at Tri-City United’s invitational at the Montgomery Golf Course at 4 p.m. next Thursday.

2019 Paul Metcalf Invite

Varsity Girls (5K)

Team Results: 1. Murray County Central/Fulda 38; 2. Fairmont 55; 3. Martin County West/Martin Luther 64; 4. Worthington 96; 5. Mt. Lake Area/Comfrey 119; 6. Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial/Nicollet 162; 7. United South Central 165.

Individual Results (Top 15 medalists): 1. Morgan Gehl (MCCF) 19:29.1; 2. Laura Thompson (FMT) 10:29.2; 3. Moriah Bullerman (Adrian) 20:47.1; 4. Gracie Bucher (Windom Area) 20:56.8; 5. Sena Uli (WOR) 21:11.8; 6. Marissa Whitehead (MCW/ML) 21:25.7; 7. Olivia Anderson (JCC) 21:31.5; 8. Katie Hartke (MCW/ML) 21:31.6; 9. Acevedo Paola (St. James Area) 22:00.5; 10. Josie Harms (MCCF) 22:09.1; 11. Hannah Neusch (FMT) 22:13.7; 12. Brylei Schrier (MCCF) 22:26.1; 13. Ella Stapek (MCCF) 22:36.8; 14. Tabitha Thatcher (FMT) 22:40.3; 15. Emma Gudahl (FMT) 22:49.4.

Other Fairmont results: 32. Sara Sundblad 24:19.7; 40. Becca Lunn 25:39.5; 59. Eleanor Hamlet 29:03.

Other MCW/ML results: 22. Kari Matejka 23:25.7; 23. Caitlin Whitehead 23:35.9; 25. Brianna Morrow 23:41.9; 31. Emily Matejka 24:13.8; 37. Ivy Kokoruda 25:05.8.

BEA results: 60. Sara Hernandez 29:20.9; 62. Elizabeth Jacobson 32:09.4; 67. Aubrey Hueper 37:30.9.

M/T/GHEC results: 41. Ella Bergeman 25:48; 61. Samantha Moeller 29:27.9.

Varsity Boys (5K)

Team Results: 1. Worthington 29; 2. St. James Area 47; 3. Fairmont 119; 4. Jackson County Central 131; 5. Martin County West/Martin Luther 142; 6. Windom Area 149; 7. Mt. Lake Area/Comfrey 164; 8. Blue Earth Area 183; 9. Murray County Central/Fulda 209.

Individual Results (Top 15): 1. Christian Lietz (WOR) 16:50.3; 2. Adam Koller (WOR) 16:54.1; 3. Mikele Walu (WOR) 16:55.6; 4. Seth Pierson (SJA) 16:58.3; 5. Jordan Melendez (WOR) 17:05.3; 6. Caleb Rivera (SJA) 17:06.8; 7. Jake Lewis (MCW/ML) 17:13.6; 8. William Saari (FMT) 17:20.8; 9. Grant Strukel (BEA) 17:38.7; 10. Jackson Miest (SJA) 17:39.7; 11. Patrick Green (WIN) 17:40.9; 12. Juan Castaneda (SJA) 17:49.6; 13. Connor Artner (FMT) 18:06.6; 14. Cameron Alm (WIN) 18:12.4; 15. Vite Mauricio (SJA) 18:29.1.

Other Fairmont Results: 17. Tony Ortega 18:47.7; 37. Tyrell Zieske 20:16; 55. Alex Cruz 21:46.1; 66. Gavin Artner 22:44.

Other MCW/ML Results: 30. Cole Riley 19:49.2; 32. Kylar Larson 20:02.9; 40. Isaiah Johnson 20:35.8; 47. Todd Morrow 21:20.8.

Other BEA Results: 33. Angel Martinez 20:05.6; 50. Cameron Germain 21:31.4; 61. Carson Strukel 22:10.2; 65. Damion Mahlstedt 22:43.1; 74. James Greer 28:40.8.

MTGHEC Results: 41. Jacob Moeller 20:42.8; 63. Colin Wihlm 22:38.3.

Jr. High Girls (1 Mile)

Team Results: 1. Fairmont 31; 2. St. James Area 56; 3. Worthington 62; 4. Mt. Lake Area/Comfrey 84; 5. Murray County Central/Fulda 109.

Individual Results (Top 10): 1. Macy Hanson (FMT) 7:56.8; 2. Carys Gudahl (FMT) 8:47.8; 3. Rylie Cother (JCC) 9:00.4; 4. Ellie Ortega (FMT) 9:04.8; 5. Ava Terfehr (FMT) 9:05.3; 6. Hunter Penning (Adrian) 9:08.1; 7. Katelyn Ojeda-Callejas (SJA) 9:11.6; 8. America Trejo-Esqueda (SJA) 9:13.3; 9. Emma Holtz (WIN) 9:19.5; 10. Kendie Thiner (WOR) 9:20.9.

Other Fairmont Results: 29. Rylee Maday 10:39.8; 37. Paige DeBoer 11:20.9; 41. Norah Traetow 11:37.7.

BEA Results: 44. Leah Becker 11:47.4; 50. Reagan Bromeland 13:17.3; 53. Clarine Greer 14:54.4.

MCW/ML Results: 33. Emily Borg 11:04.2; 49. Samantha Duncan 13:15.6.

MTGHEC Results: 21. Autumn Lewis 10:14.2; 47. Coral Osborn 11:58.

Jr. High Boys (1 Mile)

Team Results: 1. St. James 41; 2. Mt. Lake Area/Comfrey 65; 3. Jackson County Central 75; 4. Worthington 79; 5. MTGHEC 116; 6. Fairmont 135.

Individual Results (Top 10): 1. Kody Wassman (MLA) 7:11.5; 2. Tim Salentiny (HLO) 7:14.5; 3. Levi Miest (SJA) 7:32.4; 4. Ryan Pieson (SJA) 7:38.9; 5. Ben Spaeth (JCC) 7:42; 6. Quinn Landherr (JCC) 7:42.3; 7. Thomas Green (WIN) 7:45.7; 8. Zach Klassen (MLA) 7:45.8; 9. Josiah DeMaris (MTGHEC) 7:50.5; 10. Ethan Malberg (WOR) 7:51.3.

Fairmont Results: 20. Will Niestrath 8:22.9; 41. Ben Moeller 9:12.3; 42. Andrew Haugen 9:15.7; 53. Alex Kastning 10:14.7; 61. Tait Johnson 12:16.9.

BEA Result: 62. Hayden Vereide 12:20.3.

MCW/ML Results: 26. Josh Miller 8:33.9; 54. Gabriel Striemer 10:19.3.

Other MTGHEC Results: 37. Luke Kester 8:55; 40. Kyle Pietsch 9:08.8; 50. Keegan Hastad 10:05.4; 57. Alex Garcia 11:03.2; 65. Isaac Jelokov 12:41.5.

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