WINNEBAGO — Laura Thompson took first in her heat, while Will Saari finished fifth in the fastest boys’ heat to lead the Cardinals at the Buc cross country invitational.

Thompson ran a time of 19:09 in the 5K run at Riverside Town & Country Club, while Carys Gudahl finished second for the Cardinals with her time of 21:32, placing her seventh overall.

The meet’s final results did not include St. James Area’s girls times after the Saints did not record them on their team sheet because the team did not have the seven runners neccessary to count as a complete team.

Hannah Neusch took third for Fairmont with her time of 22:12, good for 11th overall, while Emma Gudahl placed 12th with her time of 22:22.

Ellie Ortega finished in 22:27 for 13th and Tabitha Thatcher ran a time of 22:52 for 15th. Sara Sundblad gave the Cardinal girls their seventh and final time of 23:23 for 16th overall.

The Cardinals finished with a combined time of 153:57, placing them second behind Belle Plaine’s 148:14.6.

Elizabeth Jacobson led Blue Earth Area with a time of 27:37, while Leah Becker finished in 28:43.

Addison Smith hit the chute at 29:28, Autumn Gordon crossed the finish line in 29:47 and Sara Hernandez finished in 30:35.

Fairmont head coach Bob Bonk said the meet was good preparation for the conference and section meets coming soon.

“It was OK,” Bonk said. “I think mentally, it’s a letdown after hosting the I-90. Coming back in five days, I guess I look at this more as a really good workout in many ways. I like the format of the meet, but I think it needs more teams to make it more competitive in the sense that a lot of people end up running by themselves or in a pair.

“It’s hard to run real fast in that situation. We weren’t nearly as good as we were in the I-90, but I didn’t expect us to be. It was nice to have a meet on the section course and now we can get fired up for conference and section the next couple of weeks.”

The Fairmont boys took third as a team with a combined time of 133:18, behind Belle Plaine’s 129:29.2 and St. James Area’s 119:31. BEA finished fourth with a combined time of 147:94.

Saari led the Cardinal boys with a time of 17:02, good for fifth in his heat and sixth overall, while Connor Artner ran a time of 17:44 for 12th overall.

Tony Ortega was the third Fairmont finisher when he crossed the finish line in 14th place at 18:12, while Tyrell Zieske finished in 18:57 for 17th.

Alex Cruz ran a time of 20:02, placing him 20th, while Will Niestrath placed 25th at 20:04.

Ben Moeller gave the Cardinals their final contributing time of 21:17, placing him 29th.

Gavin Artner ran a time of 21:38 for 30th and Sebastian Castro finished in 31st place with a time of 22:14.

Grant Strukel led the Bucs with his 10th-place finish in 17:41, while Angel Martinez used a time of 19:55 to place 23rd.

Cameron Germain ran a time of 20:09 for 26th, Carson Strukel finished in 20:23 for 27th and Nate Phippen ran a time of 23:09 for 32nd.

Damion Mahlstedt hit the chute at 23:49, placing him 33rd and Nick Blum’s time of 24:08 and 34th-place finish was BEA’s final contributing time.

Aiden Stitner ran a time of 24:48 for BEA placing him 35th, while James Greer finished in 25:02 for 36th.

Fairmont and Blue Earth Area compete in the Big South Conference Meet at Mountain Lake Golf Course at 4 p.m. next Tuesday.

Buc Invitational

Varsity Girls (5K)

Team Results: 1. Belle Plaine 148:14.6; 2. Fairmont 153:57. Incomplete: Blue Earth Area, St. James Area.

Individual Results (Top 10): 1. Laura Thompson (FMT) 19:09; 2. McKenna Herrmann (BP) 20:05.1; 3. Malina Koepp (BP) 21:00.1; 4. Belle Jeurissen (BP) 21:13.5; 5. Sydney Weiland 21:14.1; 6. Savanna DeYoung (BP) 21:14.1; 7. Carys Gudahl (FMT) 21:32; 8. Aly Jeurissen (BP) 21:39.9; 9. Mackenzie Murphy (BP) 21:46.8; 10. Kalina Wolf (BP).

Other Fairmont Results:11. Hannah Neusch 22:12; 12. Emma Gudahl 22:22; 13. Ellie Ortega 22:27; 15. Tabitha Thatcher 22:52; 16. Sara Sundblad 23:23; 17. Eleanor Hamlet 23:33.

BEA Results: 18. Elizabeth Jacobsen 27:37; 19. Leah Becker 28:43; 20. Addison Smith 29:28; 21. Autumn Gordon 29:47; 22. Sara Hernandez 30:35.

Varsity Boys (5K)

Team Results: 1. St. James Area 119:31; 2. Belle Plaine 129:29.2; 3. Fairmont 133:18; 4. Blue Earth Area 147:94.

Individual Results (Top 10): 1. Caleb Rivers (SJA) 16:21; 2. Drew Hastings (BP) 16:30.5; 3. Troy Parulski (SJA)16:41; 4. Seth Pierson (SJA) 16:44; 5. E Gerres (BP) 17:00.8; 6. Will Saari (FMT) 17:02; 7. Jackson Miest (SJA) 17:07; 8. Juan Castaneda 17:27 (SJA); 9. Marco Crispin 17:29 (SJA); 10. Grant Strukel (BEA).

Other Fairmont Results: 12. Connor Artner (FMT) 17:44; 14. Tony Ortega (FMT); 17. Tyrell Zieske (FMT) 18:57; 24. Alex Cruz (FMT) 20:02; 25. Will Niestratch (FMT) 20:04; 29. Ben Moeller (FMT) 21:17; 30. Gavin Artner (FMT) 21:38; 31. Sebastian Castro (FMT) 22:14.

Other BEA Results: 23. Angel Martinez 19:55; 26. Cameron Germain 20:09; 27. Carson Strukel 20:23; 32. Nate Phippen 23:09; 33. Damion Mahlstedt 23:49; 34. Nick Blum 24:08; 35. Aiden Stitner 24:48; 36. James Greer 25:02.