ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota cross country teams have had their sights set on Oct. 31 since the season began back in late August.
And it had nothing to do with Halloween or trick-or-treating.
The Cardinals had circled that date on their calendars for one simple reason—they were eager to make little noise at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships.
Mission accomplished.
And no one was heard louder than
Jovan Newsum (Glendale Heights, Ill.), who turned in an honorable-mention all-conference performance in leading the Cardinal men to an eighth-place finish.
Newsum clocked an eight-kilometer time of 26:45 to place 16th overall in earning honorable-mention All-MIAC honors.
Austin O'Hare (Rushford, Minn.), who has been chasing Newsum all season long, was the second Cardinal across the finish line, placing 38th in 27:39.
Jase Pater (Adrian, Minn. / 50th, 28:16),
Brandon Krogman (Owatonna, Minn. / 52nd, 28:20), and
Sherman Moga (Shoreview, Minn. / 58th, 28:52), rounded out the Cardinals' top five.
Erika Thiel (Burr Ridge, Ill.) and her older sister Allie Thiel were making some noise of their own in highlighting the Cardinal women's 12th-place showing. Erika, the younger Thiel—appearing in her first collegiate conference championships—posted a team-best 6K time of 25:16 to finish 59th, while Allie, the elder Theil—making her final MIAC Championships appearance—was close behind, stopping the clock in 25:49 to place 73rd. Heidi Ledermann (Mahtomedi, Minn. / 76th, 26:02), Josie Moreno (Cicero, Ill. / 78th, 26:48), and Alicia Berkenes (Buffalo, Minn. / 79th, 26:55) completed the Saint Mary's top five.
St. Olaf captured its fourth-straight men's conference title with another impressive championship performance, led by individual champion Jake Campbell. St. Olaf continued its modern-day dynasty with another outstanding performance to run its current championship streak to four. The Oles became the seventh MIAC team to win four (or more) consecutive men's cross country conference titles, and the first since Saint John's reeled off four-straight from 1996 to 1999. The latest title saw the Oles finish with a team score of 34 to win by a margin of 96 points.
Campbell surged ahead over the second half of the race to claim the individual championship and continue another Ole streak. Grant Wintheiser graduated last May after winning three individual titles in a row, so Campbell's performance continued that legacy Saturday. He completed the course in 25:36.1, and led a wave that saw three St. Olaf runners finish in the top six and five in the top 12.
The Carleton women captured their third-straight MIAC Championship, emerging from a competitive field to claim another conference crown. The Knights finished with 61 points to win by a margin of only 11 points. St. Thomas scored 72 points to earn a second-place finish and St. Olaf scored 97 to complete the top three.
Individually, Macalester's Kimber Meyer kicked it into high gear, pulling ahead of the other leaders over the second half of the race to claim the MIAC individual championship. Meyer, who finished second a year ago, completed the 6k course in 22:14.2 to win the 2015 title. Defending champion Ruth Steinke of Carleton was neck-and-neck with Meyer midway through the race, but her bid to repeat ended with a 4th-place finish and a time of 22:49.1.
