NORTHFIELD, Minn. — There's something about running in Northfield, Minn., that seems to bring out the best in Saint Mary's University of Minnesota's Austin O'Hare (Rushford, Minn.).
 
The Cardinal senior—who two weeks ago earned his first collegiate All-MIAC honor by placing 12^th individually at the conference championships held at St. Olaf in Northfield, Minn.—was back in his new-found favorite town on Saturday for the NCAA Central Regional Championships.
 
And once again, O'Hare was at the top of his game.
 
O'Hare knocked 17 seconds off his all-conference 8K time at the MIAC Championships, stopping the clock in 26:06 to place 43^rd overall and lead the Cardinals to a 21^st-place finish in the 31-team field.
 
Danielle Franke (Mounds View, Minn.) led the charge for the Cardinal women, posting a 6K time of 24:36 to lead Saint Mary's to a 23^rd-place showing in the 31-team field.
 
Loras captured the men's team title with 53 points, edging out host Carleton, while Wartburg, Nebraska Wesleyan, and Luther rounded out the top five. Mark Fairley of Central was the first individual across the finish line, clocking a time of 24:52 to edge out Carleton's Donson Cook-Gallardo by less than one-hundredth of a second. Sam Pinkowski of Wartburg was third (24:55) followed by Loras' Brien Nugent (24:57) and Timothy Sevcik (25:05).
 
Carleton claimed the women's team title, blowing away the rest of ht3e regional field. Nebraska Wesleyan was a distant second, followed by Wartburg, St. Olaf, and St. Thomas.
 
The Knights' Meg Mathison and Emily Kaegi went 1-2, with Mathison stopping the clock in 21:45, just five seconds in front of Kaegi. Casey Hovland of St. Scholastica was third in 21:57, with Bryony Hawgood of St. Olaf (22:06) and Cornell's MariKate Murphy (22;07) rounding out the top five.
 
Brandon Krogman (Owatonna, Minn.)—who, along with O'Hare, was making his final collegiate NCAA Central Regional appearance—was the second Cardinal across the finish line with a time of 27:20, with Jordan Malikowski (Royalton, Minn. / 27:59), Isaiah Olsem (Fulda, Minn. / 28:07), Ben Borash (Bowlus, Minn. / 28:16), Jon Meaden (Rosemount, Minn. / 28:26), and Tanner Moris (Crandon, Wis. / 29:09) rounding out the Saint Mary's lineup.
 
Along with Franke's 24:36, the Cardinal women also got a 25:19 from Alyssa Thiel (Berlin, Wis.), while Alicia Berkenes (Buffalo, Minn.)—the lone senior on the Saint Mary's squad) chipped in a 25:53 in her final collegiate race. Emily Ortiz (Albert Lea, Minn. / 26:38), Erika Thiel (Burr Ridge, Ill. / 27:51), Molly Sweet (Prescott, Wis. / 28:08), and Maddie Bollig (St. Croix Falls, Wis. / 29:19) completed the Cardinals' top seven.