Saint John's cross country hosts its 29th annual Fall Finale at 4:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8, near the water tower in Collegeville.

THE START: Friday's Fall Finale consists of a women's 5k and men's 8k, both of which begin together at 4:30 p.m.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's finished fourth out of 11 teams at the 2025 MIAC Championships last Saturday (Nov. 1) at the Highland 9 G.C. in St. Paul. No. 21 St. Olaf fourth-straight with 33 points, followed by Carleton (84), Macalester (96), SJU (102) and Gustavus Adolphus (121). Augsburg's Mohammed Bati won his fourth-consecutive MIAC individual title in 24:32.

A pair of Johnnies earned All-MIAC honors by finishing in the top 15. Junior Cole Stencel (Mapleton, Minn./Maple River) led the way in fourth place out of 163 runners with a personal-best time of 25:26, while senior Eamon Cavanaugh (Oak River, Ill./Oak River and Park Forest) was 10th in 25:54.

Junior Lars Molenkamp (Almere, Netherlands/Oostvaarders College) was next for SJU in 29th (26:49) and senior Jacob Malecha (Lonsdale, Minn./New Prague) crossed the finish line close behind in 32nd (26:58). Freshman Raegan Lopez (Lakeville, Minn./North) rounded out the Johnnies' five in 46th (27:26).

Three Johnnies who scored for the team in their second-place finish a year ago have battled injuries all fall. Junior Vincent Kaluza (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori) was All-MIAC in 14th place as a sophomore last year and claimed 55th (27:46) Saturday with senior Nick St. Peter (Maple Grove, Minn.), who made his season debut 56th (27:46). Senior Aiden Chalmers (Chaska, Minn./Minnetonka), who finished 23rd at last year's conference meet, did not compete.

SJU's PARTICIPANTS: SJU's top-eight runners – Stencel, Cavanaugh, Molenkamp, Malecha, Kaluza, St. Peter, Lopez and Chalmers - will not compete Friday in preparation for the NCAA North Regional, which is scheduled for noon next Saturday, Nov. 15, at Whitetail G.C. in Colfax, Wis.

WHO WILL BE HERE: The Johnnies are scheduled to be joined on the men's side by student-athletes from Concordia-Moorhead, Gustavus Adolphus, Division I Minnesota, Oak Hills Christian and Division I South Dakota State. The Bennies will race against Concordia, Gustavus, Northwestern (Minn.), Division II St. Cloud State and the St. Cloud State Run Club.

LAST YEAR'S RACE: The Johnnies ran uncontested aside from an unattached competitor and Will Harder of Division I South Dakota State, who finished first with an 8k time of 26:42, at last year's Fall Finale held on Nov. 8 (2024) in Collegeville.

Liam Sheeley '25 led the Johnnies in second place, seven seconds behind Harder, in 26:49. Classmates Ethan Leonard '25 and A.J. Skinner '25 followed in third (27:34) and fourth (27:37), respectively.