Saint John's cross country competes at the NCAA North Regional at noon Saturday, Nov. 14, on St. Olaf's campus in Northfield. – Live Results | Regional Website

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's finished third out of 11 teams at the 2026 MIAC Cross Country Championships two weeks ago (Oct. 31) at St. Olaf. Senior Cole Stencel (Mapleton, Minn./Maple River) won the race by 13 seconds, with a time of 24:56.1, to become the 11th Johnnie and 14th overall to win the MIAC individual championship. 

The host Oles claimed the team title with 36 points after four of their runners finished in the top 10. Carleton finished four points ahead of the Johnnies in second (88), while SJU totaled 92 total points. Macalester (115) was fourth, followed by Bethel (128) and Gustavus Adolphus (158). 

Senior Vincent Kaluza (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori) was next behind Stence in 18th for the Johnnies, crossing the line in 26:10.3. Senior Jacob Malecha (Lonsdale, Minn./New Prague) took 23rd in 26:21.1 and freshman Quinn Carroll (West Fargo, N.D./Shanley) took 26th (26:33.6) in his first MIAC race.  

Freshman Tanner Long (Savage, Minn./Prior Lake) finished 39th (26:49.9), followed by Lars Molenkamp (Almere, Netherlands/Oostvaarders College) in 40th (26:50.4) and sophomore Erick Montalvo (St. Paul, Minn./Roseville Area) in 46th (26:54.5).Saint John's finished third out of 11 teams at the 2026 MIAC Cross Country Championships last Saturday (Oct. 31) at St. Olaf. Senior Cole Stencel (Mapleton, Minn./Maple River) won the race by 13 seconds, with a time of 24:56.1, to become the 11th Johnnie and 14th overall to win the MIAC individual championship. 

The host Oles claimed the team title with 36 points after four of their runners finished in the top 10. Carleton finished four points ahead of the Johnnies in second (88), while SJU totaled 92 total points. Macalester (115) was fourth, followed by Bethel (128) and Gustavus Adolphus (158). 

Senior Vincent Kaluza (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori) was next behind Stence in 18th for the Johnnies, crossing the line in 26:10.3. Senior Jacob Malecha (Lonsdale, Minn./New Prague) took 23rd in 26:21.1 and freshman Quinn Carroll (West Fargo, N.D./Shanley) took 26th (26:33.6) in his first MIAC race.  

Freshman Tanner Long (Savage, Minn./Prior Lake) finished 39th (26:49.9), followed by Lars Molenkamp (Almere, Netherlands/Oostvaarders College) in 40th (26:50.4) and sophomore Erick Montalvo (St. Paul, Minn./Roseville Area) in 46th (26:54.5).

THE JOHNNIES' SEVEN: Each team is permitted to race seven student-athletes at the NCAA Regional, of which five count toward the team score. SJU is scheduled to send these seven to Northfield: Carroll, Kaluza, Malecha, Molenkamp, Montalvo, Stencel and senior Max McCoy (Bennington, Neb./Mount Michael Benedictine). Long is scheduled to be the alternate.

TO QUALIFY FOR NATIONALS: The field for the 2026 NCAA Division III Championships is expected to be announced no later than 2 p.m. CT Sunday, Nov. 15, on ncaa.com. Each of the 10 regional champions earn an automatic bid to nationals and 22 teams will receive an at-large berth. In addition, 70 individuals - the top seven runners not on qualifying teams - earn automatic selection based on their finish at the regional. The men's race begins at noon next Saturday, Nov. 21, at Carleton's Bill Huyck Championship Course in Northfield.

WHO WILL BE THERE: The 34-team NCAA North Region consists of schools from the Midwest Conference, Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference, Upper Midwest Athletic Conference and the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: Augsburg, Beloit (Wis.), Bethany Lutheran, Bethel, Carleton, Carroll (Wis.), Carthage (Wis.), Concordia-Moorhead, Concordia (Wis.), Edgewood (Wis.), Gustavus Adolphus, Hamline, Lawrence (Wis.), Macalester,  Martin Luther, Minnesota-Morris, Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.), North Central (Minn.), Ripon (Wis.), SJU, Saint Mary's, St. Norbert (Wis.), St. Olaf, St. Scholastica, Wisconsin-Eau Claire, No. 5 Wisconsin-La Crosse, Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Wisconsin-Platteville, Wisconsin-River Falls, No. 7 Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Wisconsin-Stout, Wisconsin-Superior, Wisconsin-Whitewater and Wisconsin Lutheran.

SJU'S REGIONAL HISTORY: The Johnnies have 36 top-eight finishes in their last 43 NCAA Regionals (dating back to 1982), including five titles and 23 top-five finishes.

LAST YEAR'S RACE: SJU finished 13th out of 31 teams at last year's NCAA Regional held Nov. 15 (2025) at Whitetail G.C. in Colfax, Wis. Top-ranked La Crosse won the meet with 30 points, followed by then-No. 13 Stevens Point (110), then-No. 12 Platteville (120), then-No. 20 St. Olaf (128) and then-No. 27 Whitewater (166). SJU was 13th with 352 points, one point behind Macalester in 12th (351) and six points from Carleton in 11th (346). Augsburg's Mohammed Bati won the race in 24:23.

Stencel led the Johnnies with an All-Region (top 35) performance of 23rd place – out of 214 runners – with an 8k time of 25:31.

Eamon Cavanaugh '25 was next in 68th (26:17), followed by three Johnnies in succession: Kaluza in 87th (26:44.1), Malecha in 88th (26:44.7) and Molenkamp in 89th (26:45.3).

Nick St. Peter '26 ) and Raegan Lopez rounded out the Johnnies' seven in 115th (27:33) and 124th (27:41), respectively.

FEATURE STORY: It's certainly been a memorable season for Saint John's cross country standout Cole Stencel.

In fact, you could say it's been downright … shin-sational.

The Johnnie senior became the first SJU runner since 2008 to capture an MIAC title when he won the men's race in a time of 24:56.1 at the conference meet on Oct. 31 in Northfield. 

The Maple River High School graduate finished 13 seconds in front of St. Olaf junior Garrett Seppanen, who came in second. But Stencel was even faster at the George Oja Invitational on Oct. 17 in Salem, Ore., finishing in a time of 23:55 to set an eight-kilometer program record. 

He's earned MIAC men's cross country athlete of the week honors after every weekend he's competed this fall and was named conference runner of the year when the MIAC's annual awards were announced earlier this month.

Best of all, he's been doing it pain-free – avoiding the shin issues that plagued him earlier in his collegiate career.

"It's been really satisfying because it feels like all the hard work I've put in – not just this season, but for all four of the years I've been here – has started to pay off," said Stencel, who will attempt to earn his second-straight berth in the NCAA Division III national meet when the Johnnies take part in the North Regional competition, scheduled for noon Saturday (Nov. 14) at St. Olaf in Northfield.

"I've found as long as I'm able to stay healthy, I can run pretty well. So that's been a big focus for me. I'm making sure to take care of the little things like stretching and strengthening exercises. I've been working on the muscles that help you maintain an even keel when running and not go out of control.

"I made a point this summer to do most of my running on gravel and other softer surfaces instead of pavement," he continued. "That's helped cut down some of the wear-and-tear I've noticed on my shins in the past."

Indeed, Stencel battled through a stress reaction (a prelude to a stress fracture) in his shins as a freshman in track and field, then dealt with shin splints as both a sophomore and junior.

Yet even that hasn't stopped him from compiling a pretty impressive distance running resume.

He is now a two-time All-MIAC performer in cross country and has achieved all-conference distinction six times (indoor and outdoor) in track and field. That included MIAC indoor titles in the 1,000 meters and mile and outdoor titles in the 1,500 and 5,000 last spring.

"Cole is very process-oriented rather than outcome-oriented," SJU cross country coach Maxwell Kuzara '17 said. "He opens his mind to his biggest dreams, then focuses on the daily steps needed to get there. In a lot of ways, his performances and accomplishments have helped take our program to a new level, but his contributions have gone far beyond that. 

"His genuine leadership and the example he sets for the rest of our team have made a lasting mark on our program, and his impact will be felt long after he graduates from Saint John's. He'll be leaving quite a legacy."

It's been a satisfying experience for a small-town kid (his family has a farm just south of Mapleton on which they raise cattle, goats and chickens) who initially wasn't sure he'd be good enough to run collegiately.

"I had no idea what that would take," he said. "It wasn't until (Kuzara) and some other people started to reach out to me that I even realized it was a possibility.

"Then I get here and it was intimidating because there are so many talented guys. I'd never trained with runners who were that much better than me before. I didn't have that in high school. I did a lot of stuff solo. Here, I was able to work with people who really pushed me. That was scary at the start. But it's ended up helping me a lot."

Beyond operating the farm, Stencel's mother Stephanie is an occupational therapist and his father Jay is a civil engineering instructor at South Central College in Mankato.

Stencel, a physics major, hopes to one day pursue a career in the mechanical engineering field himself. He is in the process of applying to graduate schools now, including places like Montana State and Vanderbilt.

"I'm looking at mechanical engineering and he's in civil engineering," Stencel said of his father. "So there's a little difference there and he likes to kid me about it.

"But he's been so helpful when it comes to giving me advice and tips. He went to Vanderbilt for grad school and that's a big reason why I'm looking there. He's been a huge influence on me."

The Stencels are a running family. Older brother Will ran in high school and younger sister Sophia, a junior at Maple River, finished ninth overall at the Class A state meet last weekend in a three-kilometer time of 18:50.2. The race was won by Saint John's Prep senior Margaret Duffy in a time of 17:25.2.

"She has even more talent than me," Stencel said of Sophia. "I can't wait to see the things she goes on to do.

"Running has developed into a huge part of our family life. My parents are constantly going back and forth between her meets and mine. But they are always there to support us."

Stencel has one more track and field season ahead, and he's considering using an additional year of eligibility made possible by the adoption of the 5-for-5 rule at the Division I and II levels.

"I'm not sure if that's the route I want to go yet," he said. "I know it would be a big challenge to step up to that level. But Coach Kuzara threw the idea out to me. He thinks it's something I could do.

"It means a lot that he sees that kind of ability and potential in me. He's been an extremely influential person in my life during my time here. He's helped me develop not just as a runner, but as a person. 

"I wouldn't be where I am now without him."

And, right now, Stencel is on the cusp of earning a second-straight trip to the national meet. The team champion at each of the 10 region meets, as well as 22 at-large selections, advance to the national meet (scheduled for Nov. 21 at Carleton in Northfield).

So do the first seven individual runners in each region who are not part of a qualifying team.

"My goal is to get back there," Stencel said. "Last year, I learned what it was like to compete against so many other talented runners in a single race. I was honestly just happy to be there.

"If I qualify this time, my goal will be to perform better and compete against some of the people in that top group. I'll go in feeling more confident than I did a year ago."