BLUE EARTH — It was a day of season and personal bests for the Fairmont Cardinals.

The Cardinal girls finished nearly perfect, taking five of the top six finishes to claim first, while the Fairmont boys took second during cross country triangular action Friday at Riverside Town and Country Club in Blue Earth.

Laura Thompson led the Cardinals once again, setting a school record with an 18:37 finish for first in the 5K race.

Macy Hanson hit the chute next with a time of 19:35 for second for Fairmont, Tabitha Thatcher claimed the bronze with a time of 20:43, followed closely by Ellie Ortega in fourth at 20:56.

Hannah Neusch posted the Cardinals’ final contributing place of sixth overall with a time of 21:06.

“This is by far our best performance of the year,” Fairmont head coach Bob Bonk said of his girls team’s performance. “We had a really good week of practice and it really showed. This is a course we’ve run many times, so you know the times are legit. You couldn’t order a better day for running and that contributed to great times, but overall a great performance. … Laura set the school record today and we keep track of a team top-5 and today shattered everything we’ve done so far this year.”

Carys Gudahl (21:32) and Eleanor Hamlet (21:33) raced to the chute for seventh and eighth place, respectively, before a surge of Jackson County Central runners.

Sara Sundblad was the next Cardinal to cross the finish line, ending 12th in 22:55. Lily Higgins (23:37) placed 17th, Olivia Ortega (26:02) took 22nd, while Angelica Kerekes (27:31) was next at 23rd. Bethany Thatcher placed 24th in 27:55 and Riley Lingl placed 25th in 28:15.

Eloise Blair led the Blue Earth Area Bucs with her 14th-place finish in 23:26, then Calli Ferguson hit the chute in 15th at 25:58.

Allison Redepenning was the third Buc across the finish line with her time of 26:18 for 16th, then Elizabeth Jacobson took 18th with a time of 27:03.

Leah Becker (27:43) placed 19th, Mya Steinhauer (28:04) placed 20th and Lily Olson (28:14) placed 21st.

Mari Vargas (31:56) and Aubrey Hueper (34:57) placed 26th and 27th, respectively.

In the boys’ race, Fairmont’s Connor Artner claimed the top spot for the second consecutive week, running to a time of 17:13.

Three JCC runners separated Artner and Cardinal teammate Will Saari, who hit the chute at 17:59 for fifth before Will Niestrath took sixth in 18:27.

Ben Moeller was next across the line for the Cardinals, taking 10th in 19:09, then Gavin Artner recorded the Cardinals’ final counting place of 12th in 19:16.

“I thought the boys did well, we didn’t know a lot about JCC and they are a bit more of a veteran team than we are,” Bonk said of his boys team’s performance. “It was a good head-to-head matchup. We had season bests almost across the board. One of the frustrating things about cross country is you can’t play defense. Our guys did great, but you can’t stop other teams from having great days, too.”

Sebastian Castro set a personal-best time of 20:03 for 14th before Cooper Gudahl finished close behind at 15th in 20:16.

Ethan Grunewald (20:49) hit the chute in 18th for the Cardinals, while Parker Vetter finished 24th in 22:30 and Landon Pederson took 29th in 26:04.

Angel Martinez led the way for the BEA boys with his 11th-place finish in 19:12, then Cameron Germain took 13th in 19:40. Zaire Morrow was the third Buc in the chute, finishing 16th in 20:35. Nick Frank (24:22) placed 20th and Dominic Morrow (25:15) finished 25th.

Vern Johnson ran to a time of 25:22 in the second heat, while Eli Paz finished in 25:23 and Shane Levenhagen hit the chute at 25:46. James Greer was the final Buc, running to a time of 25:48.

Fairmont plays host to St. James Area and Waseca on the Fairmont High School campus on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 10 a.m.

BEA goes to Jackson on Thursday to face the host Huskies and St. Peter.

Varsity Girls (5K)

Team Results: 1. Fairmont 16; 2. Jackson County Central 47; Blue Earth Area 75.

Individual Results (Top 5): 1. Laura Thompson (FMT) 18:37; 2. Macy Hanson (FMT) 19:35; 3. Tabitha Thatcher (FMT) 20:43; 4. Ellie Ortega (FMT) 20:56; 5. Olivia Anderson (JCC) 20:57.

Other Fairmont Results: 6. Hannah Neusch 21:06; 7. Carys Gudahl 21:32; 8. Eleanor Hamlet 21:33; 12. Sara Sundblad 22:55; 15. Lily Higgins 23:37; 17. Olivia Ortega 26:02; 20. Angelica Kerekes 27:31; 22. Bethany Thatcher 27:55; Riley Lingl 28:51.

BEA Results: 14. Eloise Blair 23:26; 16. Calli Ferguson 25:58; 18. Allison Redepenning 26:18; 19. Elizabeth Jacobson 27:03; 21. Leah Becker 27:43; 23. Mya Steinhauer 28:04; 24. Lily Olson 28:14; 26. Aubrey Hueper 34:57; 27. Mari Vargas 31:56.

Varsity Boys (5K)

Team Results: 1. JCC 24; 2. Fairmont 34; 3. BEA 77.

Individual Results (Top 5): 1. Connor Artner (FMT) 17:13; 2. Andrew Boyum (JCC) 17:24; 3. Evan Paplow (JCC) 17:31; 4. Kie Anderson (JCC) 17:36; 5. Will Saari (FMT) 17:59.

Other Fairmont Results: 6. Will Niestrath 18:27; 10. Ben Moeller 19:09; 12. Gavin Artner 19:16; 14. Sebastian Castro 20:03; 15. Cooper Gudahl 20:16; 16. Ethan Grunewald 20:19; 23. Parker Vetter 22:30; Landon Pederson 26:04.

BEA Results: 11. Angel Martinez 19:12; 13. Cameron Germain 19:40; 17. Zaire Morrow 20:35; 24. Nick Frank 24:22; 25. Dominic Morrow 25:25; 26. James Greer 25:48; 28. Vern Johnson 28:22; 30. Shane Levenhagen 28:46.