NORTHFIELD, Minn. — As if facing several teams from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference wasn't enough, Mother Nature decided to put her two cents worth in Saturday afternoon.

And the Saint Mary's University cross country teams weren't too happy about it.

The Cardinals, getting their first look at several of the teams they will be competing against at the MIAC Championships, not only had to battle with their fellow runners, but they had to do so in near 90-degree heat.

"It was a tough, tough day to run," said SMU coach Ward Berndt, whose women's team — led by Ellen Koranda's (Blue Earth, Minn.) 14th-place time of 24:52 — placed third among the six teams competing, while the Cardinal men settle for fourth. "The heat made it tough on everyone — it hit everyone hard."

Tera Bolig (Cambridge, Minn.) added a 23rd-place time of 25:41 for SMU, while Kate Boisjolie (Austin, Minn. / 25th, 26:21), Sarah Zweber (Elko, Minn. / 26th, 26:22) and Kim Koecheler (St. Paul, Minn. / 28th, 26:37) rounded out the Cardinals' top five.

Andy Boisjolie (Austin, Minn.) was the top runner for the Cardinal men, as the SMU senior — making his first appearance of the season — stopped the clock in 30:54 to place 19th. Martin Howard (Chicago, Ill. / 20th, 33:08), Gary Borash (Bowlus, Minn. / 21st, 34:17), Andrew Rath (Hillsborough, N.J. / 22nd, 35:32) and Jon Sopcak (Steamwood, Ill. / 23rd, 36:50) completed SMU's top five.

"The times aren't nearly what they should be — and the weather certainly had something to do with that," said Berndt. "But I also didn't think we ran as well as we were capable. I knew after the week of workouts that there was a possibility we would come out flat — and we did.

"It was good for us to compete against other schools in the MIAC, to get a gauge on where we stack up," Berndt added. "I'm OK with where we are at right now, but I expect to be a lot better come the conference championships."

Hopefully Mother Nature will cooperate.