NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The 2024 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) women's cross country season reaches its apex this Saturday when runners from across the conference head to the St. Olaf College Cross Country Course for the 2024 MIAC Cross Country Championships.
This will be the fifth conference championship meet hosted by the Oles since 1991. St. Olaf last hosted the MIAC Cross Country Championships in 2021. The women’s 6K race leads off Championship Saturday at 11 a.m. and will be followed by the men’s 8K race at noon.
CHAMPIONSHIP 101
Carleton is the two-time defending MIAC team champion, having earned the program's 13th conference title in 2023. The Knights are also the defending NCAA Division III champions.
Since 1981, five different schools have won MIAC women's cross country championships. St. Thomas holds the MIAC record with 17 total team titles, including the first nine from 1981-89. Carleton ranks second all-time with 13 team championships, followed by St. Olaf with 10.
St. Thomas has had the most individual champions with 10, while Carleton and St. Olaf have the next most with six, and Bethel, Macalester, and Saint Benedict have each had five race winners. The MIAC is guaranteed to have a new individual champion this season - Saint Benedict's Fiona Smith won the previous three conference titles and finished last year's in a record 21:11.0 before going on to win the 2023 NCAA Division III national title weeks later.
HANDING OUT THE HARDWARE
Once the results of the 2024 MIAC Cross Country Championship are tabulated and deemed final, a short awards ceremony for both women's and men's races will follow around 1:00 p.m. The top 15 runners in each race will be honored with All-Conference distinction, while runners finishing in places 16-to-25 will be named Honorable Mention. The championship team will also be honored with the presentation of the MIAC Championship plaque.
Individual awards for Athlete, Rookie, and Coach of the Year will be announced on Thursday, November 7.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Those traveling to St. Olaf should be advised that parking is limited and will be on a first-come, first-served basis. The West Lot, Main Lot, and Rand Lot are recommended; however, spectators are welcome to park in any campus lot up the hill and walk down to the course.
Bicycles and non-service animals are strictly prohibited at the course. Please leave bikes and pets at home.
Fans who are not traveling to Northfield will have access to unofficial results soon after the action concludes courtesy of Fast Finish Results.
The MIAC has a championship home page for the event that will serve as the online home of the meet. The championship page will include results and recaps as they become available.
| Championship Home Page | Top Times | Course Map | Parking | Unofficial Meet Results |
AROUND THE MIAC
Augsburg first-year Alwena Brix (Plouay, France | Lycee Jean Mace, Rennes) was the Auggies’ top finisher at the Tori Neubauer Invitational on 10/19. Brix finished the 237-runner race in 27:07.1.
Bethel senior Josie Harms (Slayton, Minn. | Murray County Central) finished the Tori Neubauer Invitational on 10/19 in 15th place. Harms crossed the finish line in a season-best 6K time of 23:08.7.
Carleton junior Hannah Preisser (Chapel Hill, N.C. | Carrboro) clocked a personal-best time of 20:56.0 and was the top Division III finisher at the 19-team Linfield Invitational. Preisser broke 21 minutes for the first time and placed third overall in the 180-racer field. The next-closet D-III runner finished more than 55 seconds later. Her performance led the No. 11-ranked Knights to a third-place team finish, behind only regionally-ranked NCAA Division I programs from Oregon State University and the University of Portland.
Concordia first-year Ashley Nelson (Rice, Minn. | Sartell) posted a PR as she went under 24 minutes in the 6K for the first time in her career. Nelson’s time of 23:56 was an eight-second personal best and placed her 43rd out of the 237 overall runners at the meet.
Gustavus junior Molly Liston (Richfield, Minn. | The Blake School) took second place overall in a field of 237 runners at the Tori Neubauer Invitational on 10/19. Liston crossed the 2K mark in ninth place, moved up to eighth at the 3K, fourth at the 4K, and then held second place through the 5K and finish line with a season-best time of 22:23.3.
Hamline sophomore Anabel Bradley (Cedar Rapids, Iowa | John F. Kennedy) took 42nd place out of 264 competitors at the Augustana Interregional Invite on 10/19. Bradley covered the 6K course in 24:52.6.
Macalester first-year Kate Fox (Seattle, Wash. | Roosevelt) led the way for the Scots at the Augustana Interregional Invite on 10/19. Fox placed 75th out of 264 runners with a time of 22:53.7 in the 6K race.
Saint Benedict graduate student Lucy Lyngen (Rogers, Minn. | DeLaSalle) set a PR with a 6K time of 23:27.5 at the Augustana Interregional Invite on 10/19. The result came ten days after Lyngen set the program 4K record of 14:45.7 at the Bob Waxlax Invitational on 10/9.
St. Catherine first-year Mist Sit (Edina, Minn.) led the way for the Wildcats with a PR of 24:55.8 at the Tori Neubauer Invitational on 10/19. Sit finished 80th in a field of more than 200 runners.
Saint Mary's first-year Maya Slavin (St. Charles, Minn.) paced the Cardinals with a time of 23:28:40 on 10/19 at the Augustana Interregional Invite. Slavin topped her previous 6K PR by 22 seconds. She has been the Cardinals’ top finisher at every race this season.
St. Olaf junior Lauren Walda (Fort Wayne, Ind. | South Side) ran the third-fastest 6K time in program history to lead the Oles to a sixth-place team finish in a field that included 11 nationally-ranked teams at the Connecticut College Invite on 10/19. Walda clocked in at 21:23.40, which was more than 25 seconds faster than her previous personal-best 6K time.
St. Scholastica sophomore Regan DeWitt (Bemidji, Minn.) came up just shy of a personal-best 6K time at the Tori Neubauer Invitational on 10/19. DeWitt placed 12th overall with a time of 22:59.6, just 1.4 seconds shy of a PR.