Cameron Germain had a strong finish to take 17th place in BEA’s triangular meet on Sept. 3.

The Blue Earth Area cross country teams were back in action on Thursday, Sept. 3, for their second contest of the year. After traveling to Jackson for their first meet, the BEA runners played host to the St. James Area Saints and the Fairmont Cardinals at Minn-Iowa Golf Course north of Elmore.

It was a chance for the spectators of the event to view two of the finest teams in Class A. The St. James Area boys placed third at State in 2019 and the Fairmont girls finished 11th. Both squads have a number of runners off of those squads returning this season.

The girls competition was first and the Cardinals dominated the 5K race and finished with 15 points. The Saints took second place with 48 points while the Buccaneers tallied 83.

Eloise Blair was the top finisher for the Bucs with a time of 27:31 which was good for 16th place.

Mya Steinhauer’s time of 29:10 put her in 20th place.

Finishing in the 21st spot was Leah Becker with a time of 30:47. Lily Olson was right behind Becker with a time of 30:54 which was good for 22nd place.

Allison Redepenning took 23rd place with a time of 30:55 and Elizabeth Jacobson, who is still recovering from a hamstring injury, finished 24th with a time of 31:11.

St. James Area won the boys race with 19 total points. Fairmont finished the 5K contest in second place with 44 points and BEA was third with 75 points.

Angel Martinez raced to a 10th place finish with a time of 20:22. Cameron Germain finished 17th with a time of 21:36 and Blair Lunz had a time of 21:49, which put him in 19th place.

The next Buc runner to cross the finish line was Damion Mahlstedt with a time of 22:16 and a 22nd place finish. Zaire Morrow’s time of 25:34 was good for 27th place.

Dominic Morrow finished in 29th place with a time of 27:16. Eli Paz took 31st place with a time of 28:58. James Greer’s time of 29:09 was good for 32nd place. Vern Johnson was 33rd with a time of 30:29 and Shane Levenhagen finished 34th, running the course in 33:35.

The BEA junior high girls team had three runners compete in the 2.5K race.

Destinee Griffey placed second overall with a time of 13:05. Addison Smith and Hope Goette finished in 11th and 12th place respectively. Smith’s time was 15:06 and Goette finished in 15:16.

Four Buccaneer boys took part in the junior high 2.5K race.

BEA’s top finisher was Devin Haase with a time of 11:06 which was good for 11th place.?Marcus Eckles finished 15th with a time of 13:08. Hayden Vereide had a time of 13:14 to put him in 17th place and Gibson Haase finished in 18th place with a time of 14:00.

The cross country teams traveled to St. Peter for a triangular meet on Thursday, Sept 10.

Blue Earth Area will host a triangular meet on Friday, Sept. 18, at Riverside Town and Country Club. Jackson County Central and Fairmont will be BEA’s competition in that meet.