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WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University cross country coach Ward Berndt could not have asked any more of his Cardinal men's team in their season opener Saturday afternoon.

Well, maybe he could have gotten one of his runners to fill in the third overall place finish.

After all, SMU grabbed four of the top five places.

Peter Borash (Bowlus, Minn.) and Aaron Haley (Plainview, Minn.) grabbed the top two spots and Jake Traxler (Le Center, Minn.) and John Soucheray (Woodbury, Minn.) finished fourth and fifth, as the Cardinals earned first-place honors in the SMU Alumni Open.

“We knew it was going to be a tight race between us and Winona State and the guys just took it upon themselves that they weren't going to be denied,” said SMU coach Ward Berndt, whose Cardinals edged Winona State by four points to bring home the team crown. “Everyone ran a great race — I couldn't be happier with the way every one performed.”

Borash cruised the four-mile course in 21:16 to take home individual honors, with Haley clipping at his heels, finishing in 21.18. Winona State's Billy Eifert was the only non-SMU runner in the top five, finishing third in 21:25, with Traxler adding a 22:08 for fourth and Soucheray stopping the clock in 22:18 to finish fifth.

Katie Stolz (Forest Lake, Minn.) lead the way for the Cardinal women, touring the 5-kilometer course in 21:48 to finish 18th overall. Winona State claimed the top seven individual places to breeze to the team title — easily outdistancing runner-up Luther and third-place Saint Mary's.

“Overall, I thought the ladies did a nice job,” Berndt said. “We had a lot of young people kind of getting their feet wet today, and so it's always nice to get that first meet under your belt.

Beth Scott (Rochester, Minn.) was the second Cardinal to cross the finish line, clocking a time of 22:19, while Allie Thiel (Burr Ridge, Ill. / 22:32), Katherine Mockler (Dubuque, Iowa / 22:38) and Kristen Thelen (Rochester, Minn. / 22:59) rounded out SMU's top five.

“For a first meet, I thought both teams ran well,” Berndt said. “We've still got work to do, but it was a good start.”

The Cardinals are now off until Sept. 15, when they travel to Northfield, Minn., to take part in the St Olaf Invitational.