Saint John's races at the 2026 MIAC Championships at noon Saturday, Oct. 31, on St. Olaf's campus in Northfield. – Live Results | Championships Website

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's finished ninth out of 32 teams – fourth among NCAA Division III programs – at Linfield's George Oja Invitational back on Oct. 17 in Salem, Ore.

Senior Cole Stencel (Mapleton, Minn./Maple River) ran the fastest 8k in SJU history in a stacked field, taking eighth out of 401 runners in Oregon. Stencel crossed the line with a personal-best 23:55.3. SJU finished five places ahead of Carleton (309-359). 

Division I Portland won the race with 48 points, followed by Division II Western Oregon (72), George Fox (156), Division I Eastern Washington (166) and Division I Seattle (173).

Senior Vincent Kaluza (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori) took 63rd with a personal-best time of 25:08.0, followed by freshman Quinn Carroll (West Fargo, N.D./Shanley) in 25:47.4 for 107th. Senior Jacob Malecha (Lonsdale, Minn./New Prague) took 110th with a 25:48.6, while sophomore Erick Montalvo (St. Paul, Minn./Roseville Area) was three runners behind him with a 25:50.8.

Senior Max McCoy (Benington, Neb./Mount Michael Benedictine) finished 119th with a time of 25:53.9. Freshman Tanner Long (Savage, Minn./Prior Lake) was next for SJU with a 26:24.1.

MEANWHILE, IN COLD SPRING: SJU finished fourth at its second home invite of the year Oct. 17 at River Oaks G.C. in Cold Spring, with six Johnnies running to personal-best times. 

Sophomore Nolan Pfeilsticker (Plainview, Minn./Plainview-Elgin-Millville) led the second team with a PR of 27:12.4 to finish 17th. Junior Adam Marable (Crystal, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) finished 29th with a 27:39.9, followed by senior Jack Montgomery (Long Lake, Minn./Orono) in 31st (27:53.9), sophomore Mason Anderson (Redwood Falls, Minn./Redwood Valley) in 36th (28:03.7) and sophomore Ian Mills (Glenwood, Minn./Minnewaska Area) in 39th (28:19.1). 

Freshman Jason Aldorfer (Northfield, Minn.) finished 42nd with a time of 28:27.6, freshman Colin Johnson (St. Paul, Minn./Como Park) added another PR in 28:42.3 and sophomore John Steines (St. Paul, Minn./DeLaSalle) crossed the finish line in 28:42.5 in 49th.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK…AGAIN: Stencel was named the MIAC Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week for the fourth time this season on Oct. 20. The MIAC weekly honor is Stencel's fifth in cross country and sixth overall (outdoor track last spring).

SJU'S MIAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: The Johnnies have finished among the MIAC's top two squads in 26 of the past 46 seasons, including nine MIAC titles (1981, 1982, 1983, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2006 and 2007). SJU has 22 top-five finishes in the last 25 conference meets. 

LAST YEAR'S RACE: SJU finished fourth out of 11 teams at last year's MIAC Championships on Nov. 1 (2025) at the Highland 9 G.C. in St. Paul.

Then-No. 21 St. Olaf won its fourth-straight conference title with 33 points, followed by Carleton (84), Macalester (96), SJU (102) and Gustavus (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. Stencel led the way in fourth place out of 163 runners with a personal-best time of 25:26, while Eamon Cavanaugh '25 was 10th in 25:54.

Senior Lars Molenkamp (Almere, Netherlands/Oostvaarders College) was next for SJU in 29th (26:49) and Malecha crossed the finish line close behind in 32nd (26:58). Raegan Lopez rounded out the Johnnies' five in 46th (27:26).