On Nov. 1, a brisk Saturday morning, the Hamline University Cross Country teams laced up one final time to take on the top Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opponents at Highland 9-hole Golf Course in St. Paul, Minnesota, for the 2025 MIAC Championships.
Despite the Pipers having home advantage, the men’s team placed 11th out of 11. Although this might not have been the outcome the Pipers were looking for, it does not diminish the experience.
“As a staff, hosting is a great responsibility but to be able to have the competition so close to campus and so many of our other student-athletes come out to support the runners is well worth the work that goes into hosting. The team puts in tons of miles with the hopes of running their best at the end of the season,” Head Coach Devin Monson said via email.
With three seasonal and five personal bests, there were still several noteworthy achievements for the men’s team. Marking seasonal bests was senior Lucas LiaBraaten when he finished 71st overall in the eight kilometer run with a time of 28:07.7. The performance that he gave earned the Pipers 49 points. Among personal bests was sophomore Wade Tuggle, who finished right behind LiaBraaten in 79th place in the eight kilometer run with a time of 28:14.8. Tuggle’s performance earned an additional 55 points for Hamline.
The women’s team placed slightly better at 10th out of 11. One standout performance was from junior Brooke Baumann, who placed 40th and led the Pipers in the six kilometer dash with a time of 23:43.1.
Other impressive performances include Junior Anabel Bradley (External News Editor for the Oracle), who marked a personal best in the six kilometer race, placing 76th with a time of 24:50.6, as well as first-year Avery Smieja, who marked a personal best with a placement of 128th and a time of 26:43.9.
Baumann reflected on her first time competing in the MIAC championships and how the experience went for her.
“This was my first MIAC Championship, so I had to adjust to a different competition field. Coming from the [Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference] NSIC, I wasn’t as used to the hillier terrain and the different pacing styles across the field, which made it a new kind of challenge,” Baumann said via email.
With the outcome being as disappointing as it was, there are still positive elements coming out of the competition.
“We walked away with 11 lifetime PRs for the 6k/8k distance! To have 11 of the 18 run the best race of their life is a sign that we had a good day for our athletes,” Monson said via email.
The Pipers still have one more race for the season on Nov. 15, where the top seven athletes from the MIAC will compete for Hamline at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) North Regional.
