10/13/06

The men's cross country program at St. Scholastica has been pushing for a UMAC championship for a number of years, inching closer with each successive season. With results like the ones at the Millikin Classic in Forshythe, Illinois on Friday afternoon, this may just be the year.

Their 7th place team finish was marked by three personal best times from Saints runners on the 8,000 meter course a the Hickory Point Golf Course.

Jason Kask's 19th place time of 27 minutes flat was his best 8K time and leaves him second on the CSS all-time 8K results list, behind only Andy Prevost's 26:29 run in the 2000 season.

Not to be left behind, freshman Dan Conley continues to improve from an injury as he, too, raced to a personal best at Millikin, placing 31st overall with a 27:37 that puts him sixth among CSS runners on an 8K course.

Tyler Kjorstad, also a member of St. Scholastica's first ever Nordic ski team that will hit the trails this winter, added yet another personal best to the Saints efforts in Illinois, clocking a 28:46 for 57th place.

In the race for the 2005 UMAC championship, Martin Luther College edged the Saints by only 14 points, and though a different course with more hills than the relatively flat course the Saints just raced on at Millikin, the winning time at the 2005 UMAC meet, 27:33, was more than a half of a minute slower than Kask's PR at Millikin.