You reached this page through the archive. Click here to return to the archive.

Note: This article is over a year old and information contained in it may no longer be accurate. Please use the contact information in the lower-left corner to verify any information in this article.

Ole Men's Harriers Finish Sixth in Regionals

Mark Bresnan
November 13, 2000

The St. Olaf men's cross-country team narrowly missed qualifying for nationals Saturday at the Central Region Championships, taking sixth place while giving the best Ole team performance in recent memory. Senior captain Mark Bresnan (Indianola, Iowa) led the strong black and gold pack to the finish line, earning an individual berth to the NCAA meet.

St. Olaf's scoring five were named to the all-region team, led by Bresnan in 22nd place with a fine time of 26:29 for the eight kilometer course. Mark Sullivan (West Bend, Wis.) led a trio of Ole sophomores also featuring Rob Hillard (Columbia, Mo.) and Chris Coffey (Chapel, Neb.). Junior Andrew Cole (Mankato, Minn.) rounded out the scoring in 33rd place. The squad ran as a group throughout most of the latter half of the race, hosted by Wartburg College. Their spread of fifteen seconds from first to fifth runner was tops in the meet.

Nebraska Wesleyan won the men's team title, followed by Wartburg and MIAC champion St. Thomas. Only nine points separated the Oles from Hamline in fourth, and St. John's bested the black and gold by six points to grab the last team berth. The small margin was made all the more impressive by St. Olaf's mediocre race at the conference meet two weeks ago, where they lost to the Pipers by 29 and the Johnnies by 52.

Bresnan earned the trip to Spokane, Wash. by claiming the fifth and final spot for individuals from non-qualifying teams. He earned All-American honors at the outdoor track championships last spring, but will make his first NCAA appearance as a harrier. Coach Bill Thornton agreed with the athletes and the Ole faithful, recognizing the meet as the best team effort since he returned to lead the squad in 1997.

Contact Pat Buresh at 507-786-3315 or buresh@stolaf.edu.