CHAMPIONS — Fairmont’s Hadley Artz (left) and Cardinal teammate Brooklyn Meyer battle for the top two spots in the 100-meter high hurdles during Thursday’s season-opening track & field quadrangular at Wilson Field in Blue Earth. (Photo by Greg Abel)

BLUE EARTH — The Fairmont Cardinal boys and girls track & field teams both walked away from their first meet with wins.

Fairmont’s boys scored 82.33 points, while the Cardinal girls totaled 122.7 points during quadrangular action against Blue Earth Area, Luverne and Jackson County Central on Thursday at Wilson Field in Blue Earth.

Blue Earth Area’s girls team scored 39.2 points for third place, while the Buc boys totaled 23 points for fourth.

Fairmont head coach Bob Bonk said the Cardinal girls 4×800-meter relay set the tone for the meet in the opening event.

“This was our best meet in two years,” Bonk said with a laugh. “I have nothing to complain about.”

Ellie Ortega jumped ahead at the sound of the gun, but both of Luverne’s starters overtook her just before her handoff to Macy Hanson. Hanson worked her way back to second before handing the baton to Carys Gudahl, who overtook Luverne’s third leg for first as she rounded the final turn before handing off to Hannah Neusch, who cruised to a 22-second win in 10:48.8.

Hadley Artz gave the Fairmont girls their second win in two running events when she cleared the 100-meter high hurdles in 17.8 seconds, while teammate Brooklyn Meyer was close behind with a time of 18 seconds flat for second place.

BEA’s Te’a Armstrong got the Bucs their first team points with a second-place finish in the 100-yard dash in 13.5, while new Cardinal sprinter Sabrina Segar checked in at third in her first event with a time of 13.6 seconds.

Brooklyn Meyer (14 seconds) and Andrea Rojo (14.5 seconds) claimed fourth and fifth for the Cardinals.

BEA’s 4×200-meter girls crew of Addison Armstrong, Kate Armon, Lizzy Uecker and Tailor Douglas claimed second with a time of 2:02.4, while Fairmont’s (A) team of Emily Frank, Karalyn Closs, Hope Klanderud and Corene Moeller finished third in 2:02.9.

“It was kind of a rough start for everyone, getting back into the swing of things, but overall we’re just happy to get back out,” BEA head coach Tom Plocker said. “… We had a number of really fine performances. On the girls’ side of things, winning efforts from Sophie (Keister) in the high jump and the 4×100 girls were really good. Addison Armstrong in the 400, those were nice highlights.”

Laura Thompson grabbed the Cardinals another first-place finish with her time of 5:29.4 in the 1,600-meter run, while Tabitha Thatcher claimed fifth in 6:25.9.

“Our distance runners on the girls’ side did really well,” Bonk said. “Laura’s (Thompson) times were fabulous for the first meet of the year, Macy (Hanson) and Hannah (Neusch) in the two mile both ran personal bests. … I think that’s a real strength of our team right now.”

BEA’s girls just edged out Fairmont in the 4×100-meter relay. BEA’s crew of Te’a Armstrong, Sophie Keister, Lauren Bleess and Tailor Douglas finished in 55.7 seconds, while Fairmont’s Rojo, Closs, Bella Larson and Segar were a step behind at 55.9 for second place.

The Bucs’ Addison Armstrong kept her strong sprinting day going with a top finish in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:06.8, while Fairmont’s Carissa Saxton finished in second place in 1:07.4.

BEA’s Kate Armon claimed fourth in 1:11.3, while Fairmont’s Larson was a step behind in fifth at 1:11.4.

Artz took another shot at the hurdles for Fairmont, finishing second in the 300-meter low hurdles with a time of 52.4 seconds, while Jazlyn Geerdes (59.1), Rachel O’Connor (1:01.6) and Anna Utermarck (1:02.7) finished fourth through sixth, respectively.

Thompson claimed her second gold of the day with a time of 2:32.2 in the 800-meter run, while Gudahl took third in 2:50.1. BEA’s Calli Ferguson finished fifth in 3:00.2.

The Cardinals’ Moeller (28.6) and Schultze (30) took second and third, respectively, in the 200-meter dash, while Hanson (12:39.2) and Neusch (12:47.7) took the top two spots, respectively, in the 3,200-meter run.

Fairmont’s 4×400-meter relay team of Klanderud, Moeller, Saxton and Thompson worked to third in 4:42.4 to close out the girls’ side of the meet on the track.

The Cardinals had major success in the field events as well.

Natalie Tonne claimed gold in both the shot put (35’9) and discus (85’10.5) for Fairmont.

Te’a Armstrong claimed second in the shot put for BEA with a throw of 32’3, while Segar hucked the shot 29’9.25 for fourth and the Cardinals’ Alexa Bush made a throw of 26’3 for fifth.

BEA’s Chloe Groe finished third in the discuss with a toss of 65’9, while Bush claimed fifth for the Cardinals with a throw of 63’5.

The Bucs’ Keister claimed gold in the high jump, clearing the 4’8 bar, while Klanderud took second for the Cardinals when she made it over 4’6.

Ellie Hernes returned to the long jump pit for the Cardinals, claiming gold with a leap of 15’9, while Brooklyn Meyer (14’7.25), Artz (14’0) and Frank (13’9) claimed third through fifth, respectively.

Frank added a second-place finish in the triple jump with a hop and a skip to 31’6.75, while Jazlyn Geerdes took third at 30’11.

Schultze added a tie for first in the pole vault when she cleared the bar at 7’6, matching Luverne’s Elise Jarchow.

O’Connor took third for the Cardinals, clearing 7’0 to tie with BEA’s Jazmyn Lunz.

“We just wanted to have the kids come out and have fun and I think they did that,” Bonk said. “… Our field events were good across the board, both boys and girls. … I think we had a good day.”

Hudson Artz claimed three golds for the Cardinal boys tracksters. He finished the 200-meter dash in 23.5 seconds, the 400-meter in 51.9 and anchored the 4X400 relay team with Ethan Geerdes, Blaze Geiger and Kainen Craig to take first in 3:49.6.

BEA’s Cameron Germain finished second in the 800-meter run in 2:19.3, while Fairmont’s Taylor Austin (2:30.8), Ty Nawrocki (2:32.9) and Alex Cruz (2:35.2) placed third through fifth, respectively.

Gavin Artner finished second in the 3,200 meter run for the Cardinals with a time of 13:31.2, while the Cardinals’ 4X100-meter relay team of Elijah Johnson, Armando Hernandez, Geiger and Prince Lebbi claimed second in 49.6 seconds.

Noah Rahm took second for the Cardinals in both the shot put (41’8.25) and the discuss (108’7.5), while Sawyer Tordsen finished third in both, with a heave of 41’5.5 in the shot put and a toss of 104’7 in the discuss.

BEA’s Nick Frank claimed fourth in both throws. Frank tossed the shot 40’3.5 inches, while throwing the discuss 103’5. Luke Norman added a fifth-place finish in the discuss for the Bucs with a tossof 102’0.

Tumbleson cleared the 5’2 bar in the high jump to tie for first for the Cardinals, while Isaiah Lockwood added a gold in the triple jump (36’3.25) and a silver in the long jump (18’2). Lebbi took fourth in the long jump with a leap of 17’3.

Fairmont plays host to Martin County West in a 4:30 p.m. dual meet Tuesday, while BEA travels to Wells to face USC on Tuesday.

Blue Earth Quad

Girls Division

Team Standings: 1. Fairmont 122.7, Luverne 73.3, Blue Earth Area 39.2, Jackson County Central 33.8.

4X800: 1. Fairmont (Ellie Ortega, Macy Hanson, Carys Gudahl, Hannah Neusch) 10:48.8; 2. Luverne 11:10.1; 3. JCC 11:44.6; 4. Luverne 11:54.5.

High Hurdles: 1. Hadley Artz (F) 17.8; 2. Brooklyn Meyer (F) 18.0; 3. Elise Jarchow (L) 18.6; 4. Peyton Hanson (J) 18.8.

Other Fairmont time: Jazlyn Geerdes 19.6.

BEA time: Lauren Survis 21.2.

100: 1. Gracie Zewiske (L) 13.2; 2. Te’a Armstrong (B) 13.5; 3. Sabrina Segar (F) 13.6; 4. Brooklyn Meyer (F) 14.0.

Other Fairmont times: Andrea Rojo 14.5, Riley Lingl 17.9.

Other BEA time: Grace Schavey 16.2.

4X200: 1. Luverne 2:01.9; 2. BEA (Addison Armstrong, Kate Armon, Lizzy Uecker, Tailor Douglas) 2:02.4; 3. Fairmont (Emily Frank, Karalyn Closs, Hope Klanderud, Corene Moeller) 2:02.9; 4. JCC 2:03.6; Fairmont (Anna Utermarck, Ellie Plumhoff, Jozie Hoefker, Emma Scheppmann) 2:07.9.

1,600: 1. Laura Thompson (F) 5:29.4; 2. Tenley Nelson (L) 5:42.1; 3. Jenna DeBates (L) 5:42.4; 4. Grace Ingebretson (L) 6:12.2.

Other Fairmont times: Tabitha Thatcher 6:25.9, Emily Hagen 7:14.5, Olivia Ortega 7:51.1.

4X100: 1. BEA (Te’a Armstrong, Sophie Keister, Lauren Bleess, Tailor Douglas) 55.7; 2. Fairmont (Andrea Rojo, Karalyn Closs, Bella Larson, Sabrina Segar) 55.9; 3. Luverne 57.3; 4. Fairmont (Hannah Linse, Ellie Plumhoff, Angelica Kerekes, Jozie Hoefker) 1:01.1; 5. BEA (Ruby Ziegler, Jackie Martinez, Hope Goette, Sarah Dohm) 1:06.1.

400: Addison Armstrong (B) 1:06.8; 2. Carissa Saxton (F) 1:07.4; 3. Elsa Landherr (J) 1:08.6; 4. Kate Armon (B) 1:11.3.

Other Fairmont times: Bella Larson 1:11.4, Emily Frank 1:14.5.

Other BEA time: Elizabeth Jacobson 1:15.1.

300 Hurdles: 1. Peyton Hanson (J) 52.3; 2. Hadley Artz (F) 52.4; 3. Elise Jarchow (L) 58.5; 4. Jaxlyn Geerdes (F) 59.1.

Other Fairmont times: Rachel O’Connor 1:01.6, Anna Utermarck 1:02.7.

BEA time: Lauren Bleess 1:05.1.

800: 1. Laura Thompson (F) 2:32.2; 2. Elizabeth Wagner (L) 2:41.3; 3. Carys Gudahl (F) 2:50.1; 4. Olivia Anderson (J) 2:56.7.

Other Fairmont time: Emily Hagen 3:06.6.

BEA times: Calli Ferguson 3:00.2, Leah Becker 3:22.5, Aubrey Hueper 3:28.7.

200: 1. Gracie Zewiske (L) 26.9; 2. Corene Moeller (F) 28.6; 3. Ellie Schultze (F) 30.0; 4. Kenra Thorson (L) 30.4.

Other Fairmont time: Karalyn Closs 31.7.

BEA times: Lizzy Uecker 31.5, Grace Schavey 35.4, Ruby Allis 36.3, Allie Cervantes 42.4.

3,200: 1. Macy Hanson (F) 12:39.2; 2. Hannah Neusch (F) 12:47.7; 3. Elese Paplow (J) 13:25.4.

4X400: 1. Luverne 4:13.3; 2. JCC 4:40.5; 3. Fairmont (Hope Klanderud, Corene Moeller, Carissa Saxton, Laura Thompson) 4:42.4; 4. Fairmont (Ellie Ortega, Ellie Schultze, Anna Utermarck, Bella Larson) 4:53.5; 5. BEA (Calli Ferguson, Hope Goette, Leah Becker, Aubrey Hueper) 5:37.

Shot put: 1. Natalie Tonne (F) 35’9; 2. Te’a Armstrong (B) 32’3; 3. Jadyn Hart (L) 31’6; 4. Sabrina Segar 29’9.25.

Other Fairmont scores: Alexa Bush 26’3, Abigail Cihoski 25’9.5.

Other BEA scores: Chloe Groe 26’1, Marianna Rincon 23’8, Ella Survis 23’1, Taylor Ripley 20’8.

Discuss: 1. Natalie Tonne (F) 85’10.5; 2. Jadyn Hart (L) 73’0; 3. Chloe Groe (B) 65’9; 4. Riley Poelaert (J) 65’2.

Other Fairmont scores: Alexa Bush 63’5, Vanessa Bliesmer 60’2, Jaylyn Van Gelderen 50’2.75.

Other BEA scores: Marianna Rincon 60’1, Taylor Ripley 57’8.

High jump: Sophie Keister (B) 4’8; 2. Hope Klanderud (F) 4’6; 3. Elizabeth Wagner (L) 4’6; 4. (tie) Vanessa Bliesmer (F), Emma Haren (J), Hannah Linse (F), Shaye Dietz (F), Mia Wenzel (L) 4’4s.

Long jump: 1. Ellie Hernes (F) 15’9; 2. Tiana Lais (L) 14’10; 3. Brooklyn Meyer (F) 14’7.25; 4. Hadley Artz (F) 14’0.

Other Fairmont score: Emily Frank 13’9.

BEA scores: Lizzy Uecker 12’5, Hope Goette 9’7, Ally Caldwell 8’8, Allie Cervantes 6’10.

Triple jump: 1. Maci Farmer (J) 31’10.5; 2. Emily Frank (F) 31’6.75; 3. Jazlyn Geerdes (F) 30’11; 4. Kendra Thorson (L) 30’2.75.

Other Fairmont score: Anna Utermarck 28’7.25.

Other BEA score: Kate Armon 24’9.5.

Pole vault: 1. (tie) Ellie Schultze (F) & Elise Jarchow (L) 7’6; 3. (tie) Peyton Hanson (J), Rachel O’Connor (F) & Jazmyn Lunz (B) 7’0.

Other Fairmont scores: Sabrina Segar 6’6, Emily Hagen 5’6.

Boys Division

Team Scores: 1. Fairmont 82.33; 2. JCC 78.67; 3. Luverne 76; 4. BEA 23.

4X800: 1. JCC 9:39.6; 2. Luverne 9:50.5; 3. BEA 10:02.4; 4. Fairmont (Will Saari, Ty Nawrocki, Isaac Sheard, Connor Artner) 10:08.1.

High Hurdles: 1. Trevin Ssali-Gaustad (J) 16.6; 2. Ridge VanWesten (J) 19.9.

100: 1. Ashton Sandbulte (L) 11.3; 2. Arekel McLaughlin (L) 11.8; 3. Riley Anderson (BEA) 11.9; 4. Lashad Smith (L) 11.9; 5. James Johnson (F) 11.9.

Other Fairmont times: Prince Lebbi 12.4, Elijah Johnson 12.9, Hunter Perzam 13.0.

Other BEA times: Bruk Sonnicksen 12.7, Travis Hefner-Reiniking 13.8.

4X200: 1. JCC 1:39.7; 2. Luverne 1:40.4; 3. Fairmont (Prince Lebbi, Trey Tumbleson, Isaiah Lockwood, Armando Hernandez) 1:42.1; 4. BEA (Jacob Olson, Aaron Lorenz, Austin Skaden, Austin Stauffer) 1:48.3; 5. Fairmont (Ethan Geerdes, David Barrientos, Adrian Sanchez, Hank Artz) 1:54.7.

1,600: 1. Camden Janiszeski (L) 4:48.6; 2. Owen Janiszeski (L) 5:15.1; 3. Evan Paplow (J) 5:18.1; 4. Clayton Cavness (J) 5:25.3.

Fairmont times: Alex Cruz 5:43.6, Connor Artner 5:46.9, Landon Weber 6:03.6.

4X100: 1. JCC 49.1; 2. Fairmont (Elijah Johnson, Armando Hernandez, Blaze Geiger, Prince Lebbi) 49.6; 3. Luverne 51.0; 4. BEA (Waylen Douglas, Jacob Olson, Riley Anderson, Jack Norman) 51.3; 5. Fairmont (Jacob Wiemers, Landon Gilbertson, Connor Gronewald, Andrew Haefner) 54.2; 6. BEA (Julian rodriguez, Marcus Eckles, Parker Stauffer, Carson Meyers) 58.2.

400: 1. Hudson Artz (F) 51.9; 2. Gabriel Wolff (J) 1:00.4; 3. Quinn Landherr (J) 1:00.6; 4. Blaze Geiger (F) 1:00.8.

Other Fairmont times: Ian Hatfield 1:03.9, Adrian Sanchez 1:08.6.

BEA times: Zaire Morrow 1:00.8.

300 Hurdles: 1. Ridge VanWesten (J) 45.9; 2. Kainen Craig (F) 47.3; 3. Gabe Smith (B) 48.7; 4. Ethan Geerdes (F) 49.7.

Other Fairmont time: Trey Tumbleson 51.2.

800: 1. Camden Janiszeski (L) 2:08.9; 2. Cameron Germain (B) 2:19.3; 3. Taylor Austin (F) 2:30.8; 4. Ty Nawrocki (F) 2:32.9.

Other Fairmont times: Alex Cruz 2:35.2, Landon Weber 2:43.5.

Other BEA times: Eli Paz 3:18.8, Marcus Eckles 3:31, Gibson Haase 3:48.8.

200: 1. Hudson Artz (F) 23.5; 2. LaShad Smith (L) 24.4; 3. Eli Radtke (L) 24.9; 4. Evan Insichienmay (J) 25.3.

Other Fairmont times: Gage Borntrager 26.9, Isaac Sheard 28.1, Hunter Perzam 30.1.

BEA times: Bruk Sonnicksen 26.6, Travis Hefner-Reiniking 29.0, Julian Rodriguez 30.4.

3,200: 1. Andrew Boyum (J) 11:27.4; 2. Gavin Artner (F) 13:31.2.

4X400: 1. Fairmont (Ethan Geerdes, Blaze Geiger, Kainen Craig, Hudson Artz) 3:49.6; 2. Luverne 3:55.8; 3. BEA (Cameron Germain, Damion Mahlstedt, Blair Lunz, Angel Martinez) 4:00.8; 4. Fairmont (Elijah Johnson, Ty Nawrocki, Kellen Stenzel, Isaac Sheard) 4:24.1.

Shot put: 1. Zach Ahrendt (L) 43’3; 2. Noah Rahm (F) 41’8.25; 3. Sawyer Tordsen (F) 41’5.5; 4. Jordan Friedrichsen (L) 40’3.5.

Other Fairmont scores: Hudson Artz 34’2.5, Hank Artz 31’8.

BEA scores: Nick Frank 40’3.5, Jack Norman 37’0, Luke Norman 36’11, Blake Ripley 32’0, Zach Benson 29’5, Carson Meyers 25’3, LaVerne Thorson 21’9.

Discuss: 1. Ethan Teunissen (L) 112’2.5; 2. Noah Rahm (F) 108’7.5; 3. Sawyer Tordsen (F) 104’7; 4. Nick Frank (B) 103’5.

Other Fairmont scores: Blake Hatfield 76’5, Hunter Perzam 59’2.

Other BEA scores: Luke Norman 102’0, Blake Ripley 87’3, Jack Norman 77’7, Zach Benson 64’8, LaVerne Thorson 53’0, Carson Meyers 52’2.

High jump: 1. (tie) Trey Tumbleson (F), Evan Insichienmay (J) & Trevin Ssali-Gaustad (J) 5’2s; 4. (tie) Alex Koster (J), Ian Hatfield (F) & Kyler Wolters (F) 4’6s.

Long jump: 1. Trevin Ssali-Gaustad (J) 18’10.5; 2. Isaiah Lockwood (F) 18’2; 3. Alex Koster (J) 17’6.5; 4. Prince Lebbi (F) 17’3.

Other Fairmont scores: Kyler Wolters 16’4, Armando Hernandez 13’3.

BEA scores: Austin Skaden 14’9, Bruk Sonnicksen 14’4, Parker Stauffer 9’7.

Triple jump: 1. Isaiah Lockwood (F) 36’3.25; 2. Ethan Rahm (L) 35’2.75; 3. Austin Stauffer (B) 34’9.5; 4. Kyler Wolters (F) 33’11.

Other Fairmont scores: Trey Tumbleson 32’10, Gage Borntrager 32’2.75.

Other BEA score: Alex Dikken 28’5.5.

Pole vault: 1. Eli Radtke 9’0; 2. (tie) Kainen Craig (F) & Quinn Landherr (J) 8’0s; 4. (tie) Reese Adkins (J) & Tyler Rolfs (L) 7’6s.

Other Fairmont scores: Taylor Austin 6’6, Gage Borntrager 6’0.

BEA score: Derek Lium 6’6.