BLUE EARTH — Every time Fairmont senior Laura Thompson and freshman Macy Hanson step onto a cross country course lately, it seems like another Cardinal school record falls.

Ironically, the long-distance phenoms just seem to be lowering their own record times at 5,000 meters.

Thompson and Hanson produced Fairmont’s storied girls program’s best-ever finishes during Tuesday’s Buc Invitational by crossing the finish line in first and second places, respectively.

Thompson, who’s ranked No. 5 in the latest Class AA cross country state poll, eclipsed her own record-setting pace of 18:23.8 established during last Thursday’s I-90 Invitational at Cedar Creek Park in Fairmont. Thompson covered the Riverside Town & Country Club’s 5K in a school-best 18:10.

Thompson also became the Cardinals’ all-time leader for points with 1,613 to overtake Fairmont Hall of Famer Leah DeVries’ mark of 1,601 set in 1990.

Hanson, who holds the No. 7 spot in the Class AA state rankings, lowered the program’s all-time No. 2 individual mark of 18:25.6 — set at the I-90 Invite last week — to 18:18 during Tuesday’s race near Blue Earth.

Hanson and Thompson powered Fairmont to a winning combined time of 151:15 to outdistance St. James Area’s runner-up time of 169:04.

Carys Gudahl captured fourth place overall for the Cardinals with a time of 21:24, Emma Gudahl produced a seventh-place mark of 22:10, while Audrina Suckow rounded out the counting times with a 22:59 to net 10th place individually.

Eleanor Hamlet posted a mark of 23:05 to finished just one place behind Suckow overall in 11th for Fairmont, while Lily Higgins contributed a time of 24:58 to claim 21st overall. Kendra Blomster and Rylee Maday completed the Cardinals’ winning ways by running 24:59 and 25:27 to garner 22nd and 23rd, respectively.

Aubrey Woodwick crossed the finish line in 13th place with a time of 23:12 to guide the host Bucs to a fourth-place team total of 175:42, while St. James Area placed third with 170:33.

Calli Ferguson and Sidney Eitzmann contributed a pair of marks of 23:27 to share the 14th individual spot for Blue Earth Area, while Lola Lundquist and Lauren Bleess completed the home team’s counting scores. Lundquist ran a 24:35 to place 20th overall, while Bleess pocketed 25th at 26:33.

Aubrey Hueper trailed Bleess by one spot with a time of 26:34 for 26th overall, while Elizabeth Jacobson finished 27th in 27:36.

Leah Becker, Addison Smith, Hope Goette and Reagan Bromeland completed the Bucs’ overall performance. Becker took 30th in 29:03, Smith generated a time of 29:36 for 32nd, Goette crossed the finish line in 31:34 for 34th, while Bromeland chipped in a 31:39 for 35th overall.

In the boys’ 5K race, Gavin Artner captured fourth place overall with a time of 17:58 to steer Fairmont to a third-place team total of 133:26.

Will Niestrath garnered seventh overall with a mark of 18:13 for the Cardinals, while Cooper Gudahl contributed an 11th-place time of 22:10. Selvin Forsythe and Ben Moeller completed Fairmont’s counting scores by placing 18th (19:23) and 21st (19:42).

Landon Weber (27th, 20:21), Isaac Stone (30th, 21:17) and Andrew Haugen (35th, 22:14) rounded out the Cardinals’ effort.

Angel Martinez netted 23rd place in 19:48 to top the host Bucs’ fourth-place team total of 170:27.

Devin Haase ran a 20:57 to claim 29th for BEA, Marcus Eckles crossed the line in 37th (24:58), Seth Mathews took 38th (25:55), while Gibson Haase was 39th (26:05) to cap the counting marks.

Fairmont and Blue Earth Area compete in the Big South Conference Meet at 4 p.m. next Tuesday in Pipestone.