ST. PAUL, Minn. – The No. 29-ranked St. Olaf College women's cross country team finished as the runner-up at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Highland 9 Cross Country Trailhead.

Led by All-MIAC performances from senior Lauren Walda and sophomore Abi Lindquist, St. Olaf took second in the 11-team field with a total of 80 points, 50 behind team champion and No. 11-ranked Carleton College. The Oles were 36 points ahead of third-place Gustavus Adolphus College in its 15th consecutive top-three performance at the MIAC Championships.

Walda became just the third Ole – and one of 15 runners in recorded conference history – to earn four All-MIAC accolades in women's cross country by placing fifth (21:55.1) to lead the way for St. Olaf. The performance was the third consecutive top-five conference finish for Walda, who has placed in the top 10 in all four of her seasons.

Lindquist improved 10 spots on last season's performance and claimed her first All-MIAC accolade in 12th with a personal-best six-kilometer time of 22:34.3. Seniors Isabel Wyatt, Molly Kate McCloskey, and Ella Landis rounded out St. Olaf's five scorers with a trio of Honorable Mention All-MIAC results with their top-25 finishes.

Wyatt crossed the line in 20th (23:04.5), followed by McCloskey in 21st (23:07.4), and Landis in 22nd (23:08.7), with Wyatt and Landis turning in season-best times in the process.  

St. Olaf will shift its focus to the NCAA Division III North Region Championships, which will be run at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15 at Whitetail Golf Course in Colfax, Wis. The team's runners who will not run at the regional will conclude their seasons at the Cannon River Closer 5K on Thursday, Nov. 6 at 5 p.m. on the Oles' home course.