Hudson Artz

MANKATO — Fairmont produced three top-three showings and set four more indoor track & field school records during Saturday’s elite Minnesota State University Varsity Showcase in Mankato.

Laura Thompson, Ellie Hernes and Hudson Artz each established new individual marks for the Cardinals, while Corene Moeller, Carissa Saxton, Mackenzie Householder and Jazlyn Geerdes combined forces in the 4×200-meter relay to etch their names in the program’s No. 1 all-time spot.

Moeller, Saxton, Householder and Geerdes exchanged handoffs to generate a time of 1:54.2 to overtake Fairmont’s previous indoor time of 1:55.6 set in 2002. Ironically, the Cardinals’ baton-wielding foursome netted sixth place at the qualifier-only competition.

Like the 4×200 relay, Hernes placed sixth in the elite meet’s 60-meter hurdles race on Saturday, but her time of 9.99 seconds matched the Fairmont indoor record set by Sierra Schultz in 2014. Hernes ran a 10.14 in Saturday’s preliminaries to qualify for the finals, while teammate Hadley Artz missed by seven-hundredths of a second (10.64) of advancing to the medal round.

Hernes, however, was just getting started on an outstanding day at MSU. The Cardinals’ record-setting hurdler earned the elite meet’s gold medal in the triple jump by clearing 36 feet, 5 inches with her fourth and final leap.

Hernes also finished fifth in the long jump with a mark of 15-9 on her first attempt before switching to a vertical jumping event. Hernes cleared 4-4 to place 20th in the high jump.

Meanwhile, back on the track, Thompson generated a pair of top-five performances among the elite running fields and eclipsed a 33-year Fairmont indoor record at the same time.

Thompson claimed the bronze medal by crossing the finish line in the 1,600-meter run in 5:12.19. The Augustana University commit also topped Andrea DeVries’ record indoor mile time of 5:23.0 set back in 1989.

Thompson also captured fifth-place honors in the elite meet’s 800-meter run by posting a time of 2:28.33, while teammate Ellie Ortega netted 23rd in the race in 2:43.13.

Thompson was not finished competing, however, as she anchored the Cardinals’ 4×400 relay that placed ninth. Moeller, Saxton and Hadley Artz ran the first three respective legs as the foursome generated a time of 4:27.08.

Moeller displayed her sprinting skills by adding a sixth-place showing of 27.59 in the open 200, Saxton took 26th in the 60-meter dash in 8.56 seconds, while Householder heaved the shot to a 20th-place mark of 28-11 to cap the Fairmont girls’ effort.

In the boys’ competition, Hudson Artz toppled a 20-year Fairmont indoor record by crossing the finish line in 52.21 in the 400-meter dash. Artz’s fifth-place meet effort overtook Ryan Nelson’s time of 52.3 that was set in 2002.

Hudson Artz hit the track again for another 400-meter run, anchoring the Cardinals’ 4×400 relay that pocketed the silver medal. David Maakestad, Blaze Geiger and Nolan Schultze combined handoffs with Artz to post a runner-up time of 3:37.26.

Armando Hernandez delivered a pair of top-10 showings during Saturday’s competition. Hernandez tied for fifth place by clearing 5-10 in the high jump before spraying the sand at 40-9 in the triple jump pit to garner eighth place.

Fairmont’s Trey Tumbleson utilized his fourth and final leap to earn ninth place in the long jump at 18-9 before moving to the track to place 26th in the open 200 in 25.37. Teammate James Johnson was 23rd in the 200 in 25.06.

Maakestad, James Johnson, Geiger and Tumbleson exchanged handoffs in the 4×200 to finish ninth in 1:38.97, while Hank Artz capped the Cardinals’ efforts by heaving the shot to an 11th-place distance of 43-6 1/2.

Fairmont opens its outdoor season — weather permitting — by playing host to New Ulm, St. Peter and United South Central in a 4:30 p.m. quadrangular Tuesday at Bob Bonk Track on the Fairmont High School campus.