WINONA, Minn. — When the Saint Mary's University cross country teams toed the starting line Friday afternoon at the Saint Mary's No-Limit Invitational, it had been nearly three weeks since their last competition.
 
Fortunately for coach Ward Berndt, the Cardinals were rust-free.
 
The Cardinal men, led by Aaron Haley (Plainview, Minn.) posted a second-place effort, while the Saint Mary's women—with Katie Stolz (Forest Lake, Minn.) in the lead—finished third.
 
"It was a good meet for us," said Berndt. "We've been training really hard, and for several of our runners, this was their first 6K or 8K race. I was very happy with everyone's performance."
 
And no one made Berndt happier than Haley.
 
As good as the Cardinal senior was in his last meet—winning the four-mile Saint Mary's Alumni Open by more than a minute—Haley was even more impressive on Saturday, touring the 8K course in a time of 27.23 to beat teammate Jovan Newsum (Glendale Heights, Ill.), who clocked a second-place time of 28:10.
 
Austin O'Hare (Rushford, Minn.) was the third Cardinal across the finish line, stopping the clock in 29:11, followed by Jase Pater (Adrian, Minn. / 29:26), Sherman Moga (Shoreview, Minn. / 29:40), Brandon Krogman (Owatonna, Minn. / 30:31) and Andy Meyer (Tucson, Ariz. / 31:41).
 
Stolz led the way for the Saint Mary's women, notching a 6K time of 24:36 to place seventh overall. Clare Siska (Rochester, Minn.) added a time of 26:19, with Mary Hayes (Chicago, Ill. / 27:01), Paige Schernecker (Manawa, Wis. / 27:17), Josie Moreno (Cicero, Ill. / 27:53), Jessica Burns (Chanhassen, Minn. / 28:18) and Ashley Bollig (Saint Croix Falls, Minn. / 28:42) rounding out the Cardinals' top seven.
 
Winona State swept the team titles, edging Saint Mary's by 11 points on the men's side, while topping claiming the top five spots in cruising to a 47-point win on the women's side.
 
The Cardinals are back in action next Friday, traveling to Eau Claire, Wis., to take part in the UW-Eau Claire Invitational.