With each team losing just one senior, and with a strong group of returning runners, Berndt believes that, if his teams stay healthy, this could be the year that the Cardinals make some noise in the MIAC.

“Each year I get more and more excited, and each year we are getting better and better,” Berndt said. “As far as I can tell, we have had a much better summer than in years past, and if things go well, we could move up a bit in the (conference) standings.”

On the men's side, the Cardinals return six of their top seven runners, including the top four in David Feather (Oak Creek, Wis.), David Borash (Bowlus, Minn.), Robby McGuire (Rochester, Minn.) and Jake Traxler (LeSueur, Minn.) — and that experience certainly puts a smile on Berndt's face.

“This is a pretty young team, but one that has experience and one that has an opportunity to really be good,” Berndt said. “As long as we stay healthy, we can really improve.”

On the women's side, the Cardinals return six seniors who are no stranger to the rigors of collegiate cross country. Joanna Pace (Minoqua, Wis.), Emily Dee (Racine, Wis.), Mackenzie Ferguson (Arcadia, Wis.), Brittany Kuehn (Sauk Rapids, Minn.), Danielle Miller (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) and Sarah McDonough (Des Plaines, Ill.) all return.

And, according to Berndt, this talented group of seniors will not only be leaders, but mentors as well, as the Cardinals will welcome eight first-year competitors into the fold this season.

“For those seniors, there's no question they want to go out on a high note,” Berndt said. “Besides those six, the team is incredibly young, so we are going to need some solid leadership from our upperclassmen.

While each Cardinal squad returns a solid nucleus, depth will be an issue for both.

“Last year we started to figure out that injuries are a part of collegiate running, and you need to overcome them as best you can,” explained Berndt. “We were really never at full strength a year ago, and it hurt us down the stretch.

“Hopefully, this year we can keep away from the injury bug,” Berndt added. “If we stay healthy, the potential is there to have a really solid season.”