PELLA, Iowa — It was the final meet of the regular season, it's safe to say the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's cross country team saved their best for last.
 
Jovan Newsum (Glendale Heights, Ill.) placed 45th overall—leading three Cardinals in the top 100—as Saint Mary's raced to a 16th-place finish at the NCAA Central Regional Saturday afternoon at Central College.
 
On the women's side, coach Ward Berndt must have felt like he was watching a rerun of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships, as Erika Thiel (Burr Ridge, Ill.) and her older sister, Allie Thiel, once again finished 1-2 to pace the Cardinals to a 27th-place showing.
 
Newsum—who became the first male runner in program history to compete in the NCAA National Championships a year ago—posted a near-repeat of his honorable-mention all-conference 26:45 8K performance at the MIAC Championships, stopping the clock in 26:48 en route to his 46th-place individual showing.
 
With his time of 26:48, Newsum has a shot at qualify as an individual for his second straight NCAA National Championships appearance, but will have to wait until Sunday when the entire championship field is announced.
 
Austin O'Hare (Rushford, Minn.) was the second Cardinal across the finish line, stopping the clock in 27:37, followed by Jase Pater (Adrian, Minn. / 28:02), Brandon Krogman (Owatonna, Minn. / 28:08), and Sherman Moga (Shoreview, Minn. / 29:22).
 
Central's Cole Decker captured the men's individual crown, clocking a time of 25:05 to edge UW-Superior's Charles Corbett, who stopped the clock in 25:14. Jake Campbell of St. Olaf (25:28), Hart Hornor of Carleton (25:30), and Loras' Timothy Sevcik (25:34) rounded out the top five individual finishers.
 
St. Olaf ran away with the men's team title, totaling 62 points to easily outdistance runner-ups Central and Loras, who each finished with 127 points. Wartburg (171) and Luther (188) rounded out the top five.
 
There certainly were no first-time jitters for Erika Thiel—competing in her first NCAA regional meet—who clocked a career-best six-kilometer time of 24:28 to lead the way for the Cardinals, while Allie Thiel added a 26:16 effort in her final collegiate meet. Josie Moreno (Cicero, Ill.) was the third Cardinal across the line with a time of 26:29, followed by Alicia Berkenes (Buffalo, Minn. / 26:57), Emily Ortiz (Albert Lea, Minn. / 27:44), Paige Schernecker (Manawa, Wis. / 28:40), and Sarah Kahle (Austin, Minn. / 28:50).
 
Carleton's Ruth Steinke outkicked Cornell's Abrah Masterson to win the individual regional title, stopping the clock in 21:45, while Masterson was second in 21:47. Cornell's Sanjuanita Martinez placed third (21:56), with Piper Bain of St. Olaf (22:05), and Kimber Meyer of Macalester (22:11) rounding out the top five.
 
MIAC schools finished 1-2-3 in the women's team standings, as St. Thomas took home the top prize with 118 points, edging both Carleton (127) and St. Olaf 164). Loras (180) and Luther (192) completed the top five.