WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University of Minnesota cross country coach Ward Berndt was looking forward to Saturday's Saint Mary's Alumni Open.
 
After a grueling preseason, the Cardinal was excited to see his Cardinals in a competitive atmosphere.
 
And Berndt liked what he saw.
 
The Cardinal women,  led by Allie Thiel's (Burr Ridge, Ill.) five-kilometer time of 22:15, posted a fourth-place effort, while the Saint Mary's men, behind Austin O'Hare's (Rushford, Minn.) four-mile time of 23:42, equaled that fourth-place team finish.
 
Heidi Ledermann (Mahtomedi, Minn.), running in her first collegiate race, was the second Cardinal across the finish line, clocking a time of 22:25, while Erica Thiel (Burr Ridge, Ill. / 22:41), Alicia Berkenes (Buffalo, Minn. / 23:19), and Emily Ortiz (Albert Lea, Minn.) / 23:32) rounded out the Cardinals' top five.
 
On the men's side, Jase Pater (Adrian, Minn.) was right on O'Hare's heels, stopping the clock in 23:51. Brandon Krogman (Owatonna, Minn.) added a 24:07, followed by Sherman Moga (Shoreview, Minn. / 24:31) and Jovan Newsum (Glendale Heights, Ill. / 24:32).
 
St. Thomas took home the women's team title, edging runner-up Winona State by two points. On the men's side, UM-Duluth was the team champion, easily outdistancing runner-up Luther by 39 points.
 
Jordan Paschke and Raissa Hansen of Winona State went 1-2 in the women's 5K race, posting times of 19:54 and 20:02, respectively, while UM-Duluth took the top three spots in the men's race, as Henry Jessen (23:19), Isaac Overmyer (23:21), and Josh Peterson (23:24) all finished with five seconds of each other.
 
The Cardinals are now off until Sept 18, when they head to South Bend, Ind., to take part in the Notre Dame Catholic Invitational.