MIAC Release

FARMINGTON, Minn. – Saint John's senior Cole Stencel (Mapleton, Minn./Maple River) was named the 2026 MIAC Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Year on Thursday, Nov. 5.

Stencel became the 11th Johnnie and 14th overall to win the MIAC individual championship by 13 seconds – with a time of 24.56.1 – as SJU finished third out of 11 teams last Saturday (Oct. 31) in Northfield.
 
His first-place finish was SJU's first individual crown since Chris Erichsen '08 - a 2023 inductee into the J-Club Hall of Honor - won in 2007 at the Como Park G.C. in St. Paul.

Stencel is the second Johnnie and first since Erichsen in 2007 to be named the MIAC Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Year, which was created for the 2003 season.

Stencel also ran the fastest 8k in SJU history – 23:55 – to finish eighth out of 401 runners (third among Division III runners) at Linfield's George Oja Invitational on Oct. 17 in Oregon. He has earned the MIAC Athlete of the Week Award after every weekend he competed this fall.

A third-team College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-American in 2025-26, Stencel became the first Johnnie since 2015-16 to qualify for the NCAA Championship in cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor in the same academic year in 2025-26. Stencel was crowned an indoor All-American with an eighth-place time in the mile last March and 16th to earn second-team All-American honors in the 1,500 meters in May. He broke the program's record in the 1,500 meters a week earlier on the same track with a time of 3:47.29. 

Stencel is a six-time MIAC champion, including two each indoors (1,000 meters and mile) and outdoors (1,500 meters and 5,000 meters) last spring. He is a nine-time All-MIAC honoree – two in cross country, three indoors and four outdoors – and has achieved Academic All-MIAC honors four times. 

Two of Stencel's senior teammates – Vincent Kaluza (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori) and Jacob Malecha (Lonsdale, Minn./New Prague) – were All-MIAC honorable mention. Kaluza finished 18th (26:10) and Malecha was 23rd (26:21) at the MIAC Championships.