Cardinals see drastic improvement at BSC meet
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JACKSON - The Jackson Golf Club is notorious for its hilly terrain. Its deep slopes and rising peaks are perfect for golfers looking for a challenge. Prep cross-country runners faced this difficult environment on Tuesday afternoon while competing in the Big South Conference Meet.
Fairmont head coach Andrew Moeller didn't expect many personal best times. The course's adversity can prevent that from happening. He just hoped to see Cardinal runners improve on their last run on this course, at the Sept. 24 JCC Tri for Health.
Moeller's team did just that. 10 Fairmont individuals beat their September times with drastic upgrades. Cole Hanson led the boys with a second-place finish, while Sophia Streit and Brooklyn Stone sat at 13th and 14th, helping both Cardinal teams to fourth-place marks in the Large Schools division.
"I was pleased," Moeller said. "I haven't gotten a chance to see all the guys’ results yet and everything. From what I was seeing, just how we competed and where we lined up against everybody else, I'm happy with it."
"We've run here this year before, so we have an advantage that way," he continued. "We sort of knew where you could start to really feel it in the race. Just being aggressive in the right spots, but also settling down in the other spots, makes a big difference."
The Cardinals take on the MSHSL Section 2AA Championships next Thursday at Benson Park in North Mankato.
Girls results
Streit and Stone set the table for the Cardinals yet again. After maneuvering the early congestion in lap No. 1, the duo continued pacing one another through the rest of the course. They each crossed the finish line less than a second apart. Streit (21:29.4) finished 13th, and Stone (21:30.0) placed 14th.
"We kind of had an idea of where they would finish up at, so I thought they executed to be right there and follow where they were on paper," Moeller said.
Ellie Drever was Fairmont's third finisher. The eighth grader set the tone consistently to pace a 27th-place mark with her time of 22:52.0. Seventh grader Nallely Ortiz Hernandez had another strong performance in her third straight varsity race of 2026. Her 34th-place finish was less than six seconds off her personal best time. Addison Lintelman (23:44.5) and Delaney Klug (24:25.2) rounded out the girls’ scorers with 39th and 43rd place finishes.
Boys results
Cole Hanson placed in the top two for the seventh time this season after Tuesday's 5,000-meter race. Seeing a minute-plus improvement from the last time he ran at Jackson Golf Club, the freshman finished at 17:05.3 and just behind St. Peter's Enzo Gazzola.
"I don't have to question very often if Cole [Hanson] left everything out there or not. He really works at it," Moeller said. "Being a freshman and the Big South Conference runner-up is obviously a big accomplishment for him."
Devin Hanson (18:27.0) and Michael Hamlet (18:28.0) finished a second apart in 12th and 13th place, respectively. Hamlet missed his personal best by two seconds. Holden Junkermeier had a season-best time of 19:43.0 to help his 25th-place finish. Isaac Laidig placed 39th with a time of 20:10.0.
"Comparing course to course really doesn't justify everything. But when you're looking at the same course, especially in the same year, you can really look at growth, and I thought our growth was pretty exponential," Moeller said.