Results

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Saint John's cross country finished third out of nine teams at the MIAC Preview on Friday, Sept. 12, at the Highland 9 G.C. in St. Paul.

Macalester won the meet with 45 points thanks to all five scorers finishing in places 7-11. Carleton was second (54), followed by SJU (73), Gustavus Adolphus (129) and St. Scholastica (135).

The reigning MIAC Athlete of the Week, junior Cole Stencel (Mapleton, Minn./Maple River) finished second overall out of 116 competitors behind 2024 NCAA Division III runner-up and three-time MIAC champion Mohammed Bati of Augsburg, who won the race in 25:19.0. Stencel ran a 26:14.7 to lead the Johnnies for the second week in a row. 

And, just as he had last Friday, senior Eamon Cavanaugh (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park and River Forest) followed closely behind Stencel in third with a time of 26:55.6. Cavanaugh jumped up three spots in the final 3,000 meters. 

Sophomore Collin Berg (Buffalo, Minn.) and senior Jacob Malecha (Lonsdale, Minn./New Prague) crossed the line next for the Johnnies, finishing 20th (27:55.5) and 21st (27:57.0), respectively. Malecha passed nine runners on the leaderboard after the 2.5k mark and eight more in his final 3,000. 

Junior Peyton Martinek (Coon Rapids, Minn.) finished 32nd for the Johnnies in 28:24.1, followed by junior Lars Molenkamp (Almere, Netherlands/Oostvaarders College) in 33rd (28:31.7).

The Highland 9 G.C. will serve as the site of the 2025 MIAC Championships on Nov. 1.

SJU returns to competition with the Wisconsin-Eau Claire Blugold Invitational at 4:15 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3, at Whitetail G.C. in Colfax, Wis.