UP THE HILL — Fairmont’s Tabitha Thatcher (left), Hannah Neusch (middle) and Ellie Ortega (right) round a turn at the Big South Conference cross country meet at Mountain Lake Golf Course on Tuesday. (Photo by Kyle McAreavy)

MOUNTAIN LAKE — The Fairmont girls placed second, while the Cardinal boys finished fourth behind three combined all-conference finishes during the Big South Conference cross country meet at Mountain Lake Golf Course on Tuesday.

Class A No. 7-ranked Laura Thompson placed third with a time of 18:55.8 to lead the Cardinal girls. Thompson finished behind Class AA No. 7-ranked Ella Dufault (18:01.9) of Waseca and Kate Bucher (18:40.5) of Marshall in the big-school division.

Fairmont’s Macy Hanson also earned all-conference honors in her first Big South Conference meet with her fifth-place finish in 19:10.9.

Tabitha Thatcher (20:54.7) and Carys Gudahl (20:57.7) finished back-to-back in 15th and 16th, respectively, with Ellie Ortega, Emma Gudahl and Hannah Neusch claiming three consecutive spots.

Ortega finished 19th with a time of 21:06, Emma Gudahl took 20th at 21:19.4 and Neusch claimed 21st with a time of 21:24.6.

Eleanor Hamlet finished 26th for Fairmont with a time of 22:16.1 and Sara Sundblad took 28th in the 38-runner division with a time of 22:30.8.

Fairmont head coach Bob Bonk said the girls had many strong times.

“That was a great performance,” Bonk said. “Marshall has been a power in the bigger schools for many years. I was very, very happy to get Waseca, we haven’t beat them much in the past decade in cross country. That was a real nice win for our girls. That’s kind of what our goal was, to get second and beat Waseca. Looking at the times, this is the best we’ve run all year, by far. Not even close. Macy would have gotten the old school record if Laura had not broken it this year.”

The Fairmont girls finished second in the big-school division with 54 points behind Marshall’s 28 and in front of Waseca’s 61.

Will Saari earned all-conference honors with his sixth-place finish in the boys big-school division. Saari ran a time of 16:46.4 to lead the Fairmont boys, while Connor Artner earned an all-conference honorable mention with his 10th-place finish in 17:21.6.

Saari and Artner led the Cardinal boys to a team total of 89 points for fourth, behind Waseca (63), Marshall (50) and Worthington (27).

Tony Ortega took 21st in the 40-runner division with his time of 18:10.5, while Tyrell Zieske finished 24th in 18:20.9.

Will Niestrath took 32nd when he hit the chute at 19:40.3, then Alex Cruz, Gavin Artner and Ben Moeller claimed three consecutive places.

Cruz ran a time of 19:57 for 34th, Gavin Artner hit the chute at the 20:26.3 mark for 35th and Ben Moeller finished 36th in 20:37.

Sebastian Castro was the final Fairmont finisher with his time of 21:19.5, good for 38th.

Bonk said he was happy with the Cardinal boys’ showing.

“That was a good, solid performance,” Bonk said. “Cross country at this point in the season is pretty predictable. I think regardless of how well we ran today, we were probably going to get fourth just based on what we’ve seen all year. I’m happy to see some of the times, especially for the younger guys, it was a lot better than it has been. Very pleased with that part of things. The thing that was kind of strange, the wind was strong, but it didn’t seem to affect things much.”

In the small-school division, the Blue Earth Area girls placed fifth, while the boys took seventh.

Elizabeth Jacobson led the Buc girls with her time of 26:14.1 for 37th, Autumn Gordon finished 38th at 28:34.6 and Leah Becker hit the chute in 39th at 29:18.3.

Aubrey Hueper ran a time of 29:49 for 40th and Sara Hernandez took 41st at 30:55.4.

The BEA girls finished with 145 points, behind St. James Area (81), Pipestone (63), Redwood Valley (53) and Luverne (27).

Class A No. 3-ranked Tenley Nelson led the No. 4-ranked Luverne Cardinals with her first-place time of 18:17.3.

Grant Strukel led the BEA boys with his all-conference run of 16:53.3, placing him fifth.

Angel Martinez ran a time of 19:31 for 41st, while Carson Strukel placed 45th at 19:57.4.

Cameron Germain was close behind with his time of 20:00.9 for 46th, Aiden Stiltner finished 52nd at 24:20.5 and Shane Levenhagen placed 53rd at 27:01.2.

The Bucs totaled 178 points, placing seventh behind Windom Area (147), Jackson County Central (107), Luverne (105), Redwood Valley (88), Pipestone (82) and Class A No. 3-ranked St. James Area (21).

Fairmont and host BEA hit the course at Riverside Town and Country Club in Winnebago for the Section 2A Meet at 4 p.m. Oct. 24.

“I feel good (going into the section meet),” Bonk said. “I think realistically our girls have a chance to go to state and that’s been our goal since the first day of practice. … The boys will be in the top half of the meet and that’s kind of what we’ve been doing in most of the meets this year. We’re excited for it, we’re going to keep working hard.”

Big South Conference

Cross Country Meet

Varsity Results

Boys Division (5K)

Team Results (Big): 1. Worthington 27; 2. Marshall 50; 3. Waseca 63; 4. Fairmont 89; 5. St. Peter 141.

Team Results (Small): 1. St. James Area 21; 2. Pipestone 82; 3. Redwood Valley 88; 4. Luverne 105; 5. Jackson County Central 107; 6. Windom Area 147; 7. Blue Earth Area 178.

All-BSC Big (Top 7): 1. Adam Koller (WO) 15:56.4; 2. Zach Matzner (M) 16:05; 3. Christian Lietz (WO) 16:06.8; 4. Jordan Melendez (WO) 16:29.3; 5. Mikele Walu (WO) 16:30.3; 6. Will Saari (F) 16:46.4; 7. Matthew Feldkamp (WA) 16:47.6. Honorable Mention: 8. Jenson Meyer (M) 17:01.8; 9. Eli Johannsen (WA) 17:12.3; 10. Connor Artner (F) 17:21.6; 11. Tanner Fales (M) 17:21.9; 12. Zach Leibfried (M) 17:23.5; 13. Isaac Feldkamp (WA) 17:37.3; 14. Alec Langerud (WO) 17:42.4.

Other Fairmont results: 21. Tony Ortega 18:10.5; 24. Tyrell Zieske 18:20.9; 32. Will Niestrath 19:40.3; 34. Alex Cruz 19:57; 35. Gavin Artner 20:26.3; 36. Ben Moeller 20:37; 38. Sebastian Castro 21:19.5.

All-BSC Small (Top 7): 1. Seth Pierson (SJ) 16:12.5; 2. Caleb Rivera (SJ) 16:30.4; 3. Troy Parulski (SJ) 16:31.6; 4. Jayson Peyerl (RV) 16:42.1; 5. Grant Strukel (BEA) 16:53.3; 6. Jackson Miest (SJ) 16:54.3; 7. Mason Clark (RV) 16:58.9. Honorable Mention: 8. Brayden Tofteland (L) 17:07.1; 9. Juan Castaneda (SJ) 17:13.6; 10. Marco Crispin (SJ) 17:14.1; 11. Seth Lingen (P) 17:33.3; 14. Patrick Green (W) 17:37.9.

Other BEA Results: 41. Angel Martinez 19:31; 45. Carson Strukel 19:57.4; 46. Cameron Germain 20:00.9; 52. Aiden Stiltner 24:20.5; 53. Shane Levenhagen 27:01.2.

Girls Division (5K)

Team Results (Big): 1. Marshall 28; 2. Fairmont 54; 3. Waseca 61; 4. St. Peter 121; 5. Worthington 127.

Team Results (Small): 1. Luverne 27; 2. Redwood Valley 53; 3. Pipestone 63; 4. St. James Area 81; 5. Blue Earth Area 145.

All-BSC Big (Top 7): 1. Ella Dufault (WA) 18:01.9; 2. Kate Bucher (M) 18:40.5; 3. Laura Thompson (F) 18:55.8; 4. Bellamy Sukalski (M) 19:03.6; 5. Macy Hanson (F) 19:10.9; 6. Matalee Sample (M) 10:11.2; 7. Jersey Leyson (M) 19:23.5. Honorable Mention: 8. Hadley Stuehrenberg (SP) 19:28.1; 9. Allyson Sample (M) 19:38.3; 10. Callie Dufault (WA) 19:39; 11. Cameen McFarquhar (M) 19:45.6; 12. Miracle Tucker (M) 19:47.5; 13. Brianna Simpson (M) 20:16.2; 14. Evie O’Brien (WA) 20:30.7.

Other Fairmont Results: 15. Tabitha Thatcher 20:54.7; 16. Carys Gudahl 20:57.7; 19. Ellie Ortega 21:06; 20. Emma Gudahl 21:19.4; 21. Hannah Neusch 21:24.6; 26. Eleanor Hamlet 22:16.1; 28. Sara Sundblad 22:30.8.

All-BSC Small (Top 7): 1. Tenly Nelson (L) 18:17.3; 2. Maddie LeSage (RV) 19:05.3; 3. Jenna DeBates (L) 19:48; 4. Paola Acevedo (SJ) 19:52.8; 5. Gracie Bucher (W) 20:05; 6. Brooklyn VerSteeg (L) 20:12.9; 7. Jasmine Barnes (RV) 20:22.3. Honorable Mention: 8. Olivia Anderson (J) 20:24.1; 9. Elizabeth Wagner (L) 20:33.9; 10. Avarie Brecher (P) 20:49.3; 11. Naomi Wallace (P) 20:57.9; 12. Olivia Stoterau (RV) 21:10.4; 13. Grace Ingebretson (L) 21:27.9; 14. Jadyn Wormstadt (W) 21:31.9.

BEA Results: 37. Elizabeth Jacobson 26:14.1; 38. Autumn Gordon 28:34.6; 39. Leah Becker 29:18.3; 40. Aubrey Hueper 29:49; 41. Sara Hernandez 30:55.4.

JV Results

Boys Division (5K)

Team Standings (Big): 1. Marshall 23; 2. Worthington 47; 3. Waseca 63.

Team Standings (Small): 1. St. James Area 23; 2. Windom Area 66; 3. Luverne 66; 4. Pipestone 87; 5. Redwood Valley 105.

Top 5 (Big): 1. Alejandro Bernal (WO) 18:39.1; 2. Brett Regnier (M) 19:10; 3. Aidan Rosenboom (M) 19:14; 4. Alex Henry (M) 19:17.8; 5. Hudson Dieken (M) 19:20.2.

Fairmont Results: 31. Andrew Haugen 22:10; 37. Blake Hilgendorf 22:53.6; 49. Alex Kastning 25:39.3; 50. Tait Johnson 25:49.4.

Top 5 (Small): 1. Austin Knickrehm (SJ) 18:11.1; 2. Levi Miest (SJ) 18:42.8; 3. Ryan Pierson (SJ) 19:01.5; 4. Thomas Green (W) 19:05.3; 5. Aaden Nauman (W) 19:08.1.

Girls Division (5K)

Team Results (Big): 1. Marshall 18; 2. Fairmont 73; 3. Worthington 73; 4. Waseca 77.

Team Results (Small): 1. Redwood Valley 15.

Top 5 (Big): 1. Saphi McFarquhar (M) 21:20; 2. Beret Pederson (M) 21:37; 3. Anna DeGroot (M) 22:14.9; 4. Lilly Halla (WA) 22:25.3; 5. Skyla Lamfers (M) 22:36.9.

Fairmont Results: 6. Samantha Domeier 22:43.1; 13. Ava Terfehr 24:28.3; 21. Justine Eisenmenger 25:39.2; 22. Bethany Thatcher 26:16.2; 23. Rylee Maday 26:17.4; 25. Emily Kerekes 27:03.3.

Top 5 (Small): 1. Rachel Huhnerkoch (RV) 23:06.8; 2. Emma Holtz (WI) 23:19.7; 3. Madalyn Munsell (RV) 23:24.8; 4. Arianna boldt (WI) 23:31.1; 5. Brooklyn Goelz (P) 23:50.3.

BEA Results: 22. Reagan Bromeland 36:59.1; 23. Clarine Greer 36:59.2.