NORTHFIELD, Minn. — Two weeks ago, the Saint Mary's University cross country teams competed in the MIAC Championships — and excelled in the rather balmy, 60-degree weather conditions.
Fast-forward to Saturday afternoon, when the Cardinals toed the line for the NCAA North Regional — in far from balmy conditions.
Which didn't faze the Cardinals in the least.
Despites conditions nearly 30 degrees colder than at the conference championships — and a chilling breeze putting the feels-like temperature in the teens — the Cardinals put together, from top-to-bottom, their best performances of the season.
Coming off an honorable-mention All-MIAC performance at the MIAC Championships,
Granton Schneider (Moorhead, Minn.) picked up right where he left off on Saturday, knocking another 25 seconds off his best-ever eight-kilometer time, breaking the tape in 25:56.3 to place 56th overall.
Emily Kern (Buffalo, Minn.), meanwhile, led the time-shaving parade for the Saint Mary's women, clocking her best time of her career — in her final collegiate meet — posting a six-kilometer time of 24.17.2 to lead the Cardinal women to a 26th-place team finish.
Kendra Klobe (Glencoe, Minn.) — one of four Cardinals competing in their first-ever NCAA North Regional — knocked more than 40 seconds off her previous career-best, stopping the clock in 25:21.8, followed by Caroline Gearin (Osceola, Wis.), who delivered a career-best effort of 25:29.2. Caeli McMahon (Holmen, Wis. / 26:27.7), Amanda Tuvey (West St. Paul, Minn. / 27:14.6), and Abbie Meyer (Sauk Centre, Minn.) 27:16.8) also recorded their best times of the season, while Megan Frosch (Oconomowoc, Wis. / 27:42.5) narrowly missing her collegiate best to round out the SMU women's lineup.
Sam Morris (Hockinson, Wash.) shattered his best-ever time, posting a 28:20.5 for the SMU men, while
Isaiah Brindamour (Hinckley, Minn. / 29:22.8) and
Cade Kloss (Apple Valley, Minn. / 32:51.8) also ended the season with collegiate-best times.
UW-Whitewater took home the men's team title, finished with 74 points to edge UW-La Crosse, which was second with 83. St. Olaf (110), UW-Stout (119), and UW-Eau Claire (134) rounded out the top five. UW-Whitewater's Christian Patzka won the men's individual title with a time of 24:08.5, followed by Ethan Gregg of UW-La Crosse (24:17.9).
On the women's side, Carleton captured the region title with 41 points to easily outdistance UW-La Crosse (64), while St. Olaf 66), UW-Eau Claire (125), and UW-Stevens Point (217) made up the top five. MIAC runners grabbed the top three spots individually, with Fiona Smith winning the 6K race in 20:51.6, followed by the duo of Clara Mayfield and Hannah Preisser of Carleton, who posted times of 21:06.9 and 21:57.2, respectively.
