For a group of seniors who have never finished higher than fourth in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC), winning the Men’s Cross Country championship on Oct. 30th seemed like a lofty goal. Last year, that fourth place finish was the highlight of a season of hard work.

But after logging hundreds of miles coming into preseason this year, the 31 members of the Mac Pack are starting to see things differently. Fourth place just isn’t enough anymore.

On Saturday, the Mac Pack got a little closer to their dream of a conference title. The runners placed second out of eleven teams at the St. Olaf Invitational in Northfield, only two points behind a St. Olaf squad that finished almost 40 points ahead of Macalester last November at the MIAC meet.

Bo Rydze ’05 led the Mac runners, finishing second in the 156-runner field with a time of 27:00, a 5:26 per mile. Dylan Keith ’07 was close behind, covering the eight- kilometer course in a fourth-place time of 27:11. Roscoe Sopiwnik ’06 and Eric Olson ’05 were also in the top ten.

Tim Stendahl ’05, Tom Hammer ’07, and Matt Wegmann ’08 rounded out the top seven, all finishing in the top 30. “Getting four guys in the top ten is always a good sign of a strong team,” said Rydze. “As happy as I am that we put up a good fight against a top MIAC team, it is still frustrating to be so close and then come up short.”

Macalester Coach Matt Haugen kept the team’s long-term goals in mind for the race. “Our close loss to Olaf was significant, as we made an important statement,” Haugen said.

The results reflected the depth of the Mac team, with 28 racers on Saturday and the biggest roster in recent memory. The team had 28 runners in Saturday’s race.

“We are fortunate to have a large team with a lot of talent,” team captain Paul Singh ’05 said. “The upperclassmen have set a great example in their work ethic, and the underclassmen continue to impress with their improvement.”

Although the success of Saturday’s meet boosted morale, the Mac Pack isn’t coasting. Haugen said the team will focus on two weeks of tough training to prepare for the Oct. 1 pre-Nationals meet in Eau Claire, Wisc.

For now, the runners will continue to build their mileage and intensity, racing most weekends to prepare for their long-term goal of winning the conference. “We have a long way to go,” Singh said. “But this weekend’s race has strengthened our resolve to be the best team in the MIAC on October 30th.”