NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The No. 23-ranked St. Olaf College men's cross country team finished 20th of 35 teams at the Running of the Cows "Pre-Nationals" meet on Saturday at Carleton College's Bill Huyck Championship Course.

In a field with 17 nationally-ranked teams, including nine of the top-15 in this week's U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national poll, St. Olaf was 20th with 611 points despite having four of its top-five runners post personal-best eight-kilometer times. The Oles finished behind four unranked teams and two teams ranked below them in the national poll in the Men's Maize Championship Division race.

Junior Corbin Hobert was the lone Ole in the top 100 by finishing 82nd in a personal-best time of 25:38.1 Sophomore Connor Hitchcock was St. Olaf's No. 2 finisher in 115th (25:49.4), followed by senior Quinn McCabe in 145th (26:03.9). Hitchcock and McCabe's times were the fastest of their careers at the 8K distance.

Junior Garrett Seppanen and senior Lex Kaye were separated by less than two seconds in 163rd (26:10.2) and 165th (26:12.1), respectively, to round out the Oles' top five.

In the Men's Open race, St. Olaf placed fifth of 16 teams, led by a 24th-place performance from sophomore Ian Guasco in 26:43.1.

The Oles will return to the course on Saturday, Oct. 17 at the SJU+CSB Autumn Classic at River Oaks Golf Course in Cold Spring and the Connecticut College Invitational at Harkness Memorial State Park in Waterford, Conn.