Oles three-peat as MIAC men’s cross country champions

NORTHFIELD, Minn. – For the third consecutive season, St. Olaf College has won the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) men’s cross country championship.

The Oles cruised to victory, placing five runners in the top eight and seven in the top 16 for a total of 23 points to take first place on their home course Saturday afternoon. The championship victory is the 12th in program history. St. Olaf also won the women's race, marking the first time since 2019 that the same institution won both the men's and women's races.

Saint John's placed second in the team standings with 96 points, followed by Macalester with 104 and Carleton with 106. Bethel totaled 155 points, with Gustavus at 171, St. Scholastica at 184, Concordia at 194, Augsburg at 272, Saint Mary's at 277, and Hamline at 286.

Augsburg junior Mohammed Bati became the first men's runner in MIAC Championship history to break the 24-minute mark, finishing the race in 23:56.1 for his third consecutive individual conference title. The previous MIAC 8K/5M record was 24:23.0, set by Saint John's runner John Cragg in 1969. Bati is now the first men's runner to win three straight MIAC crowns since St. Olaf's Grant Wintheiser claimed three in a row from 2012-14.

Bati was followed across the finish line by four Oles in succession. Kevin Turlington placed second (24:50.5), followed by Andrew Skemp (25:00.1), Jack Deaver (25:06.4), and Gale Mazur Strandlund (25:07.2).

Nearly 200 student-athletes participated in this year's MIAC Men’s Cross Country Championships. The top 15 finishers earned All-Conference recognition, while finishers 16-25 were awarded Honorable Mention. The All-MIAC and Honorable Mention runners were honored at a post-meet awards ceremony, and the Oles were also presented with their MIAC Championship plaque.

Complete results can be found on the 2024 MIAC Cross Country Championship homepage, which includes meet information, results, and recaps. The MIAC would like to thank St. Olaf College for hosting this year's championships and making the event a great success.

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