ST. PAUL, Minn. – Since Saturday was Halloween,
Ward Berndt was hoping his Saint Mary's University cross country teams would give him a few treats at the season-ending Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships.
Unfortunately, the Cardinals' performances were a little too much trick and not much treat, as the SMU settled for a 10th-place finish, while the Cardinal women were 11th.
“It was one of those days,” said SMU coach
Ward Berndt. “On the guys side, we were a little worried going in about freshman inconsistency at a big meet like this, and while we didn't run that poor of a race, it wasn't quite up to what we were hoping for.
“And on the women's side, we've been battling injuries and illness all season, and while we started to get healthy this week, it was just too little, too late.”
Hamline won its fifth men's team title and second in five years, while St. Olaf was second and St. Thomas was third. Augsburg and Saint John's rounded out the men's top five.
Carleton, ranked 20th nationally, claimed the women's team title. With three runners finishing among the top eight individual finishers, the Knights posted 65 points and won conference title in convincing fashion over Bethel (91 points) and the St. Thomas (94). St. Olaf placed fourth, while Hamline rounded out the top five..
Individually, Bethel senior Dan Greeno won the men's eight-kilometer race with a time of 25:21, while Bethel senior Marie Borner won her third straight women's individual championship with a 6K time of 21:43.
David Feather (Oak Creek, Wis.) led the way for the Cardinal men, finishing 39th with the eight-kilometer course in 27:33.
Peter Borash (Bowlus, Minn.) was right on Feather's heels, stopping the clock in 27:36, while
John Vallez (Eagan, Minn. / 28:32),
Robby McGuire (Rochester, Minn. / 28:49) and Quetin Moore (Minneapolis, Minn. / 28:52) rounded out the Cardinals' top five.
On the women's side,
Rachel Folan (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) continued to lead the Cardinals' charge, as the SMU sophomore ran a 6K time of 25:27 to place 62nd overall.
Joanna Pace (Minoqua, Wis.) finished in 25:56, followed by
Ashley Acosta (Winnebago, Minn. / 25:59),
Regina Quandt (Minneapolis, Minn. / 26:03) and
Danielle Miller (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / 26:24).
