MIAC 2025 XC

Wonder how she feels about the Oles competing in four meets in three different states this weekend. Doesn’t seem like good fiscal management. Or maybe she doesn’t know and someone should drop her an email?

Big time signing for St. Scholastic from the shady streets of Blaine today. Looks like they’ve found their next Calvin.

Which one? Blaine has some studs.

Speaking of the Olaf AD, we’re hearing that she wants to add women’s flag football and the easiest path to cutting dead weight in the department is to combine the cross country teams under one coach, alumni Erika, and reduce the men’s roster size. They want both rosters to fit in one bus. And the AD is definitely not a fan of split squads competing in three different states. You can expect local competition to be a condition of Erika taking over the program.

The one way to actually get Power canned is for other teams to get better enough to push Olaf out of the top 3 or 4 in XC. Because Olaf is so used to winning the alumni would probably actually be angry for once and it'd probably be grounds for dismissal. They'd likely do the same for Erica on the women's side

Unfortunately the conference was pretty dang relatively bad last fall other than Olaf and Mo Bati, and most whiners here would rather the ceiling be lowered than the floor raised - the latter actually means working hard instead of insisting Chunko's Demise fanfics

Something monumental more related to improper conduct or mismanagement of budget would have to happen for him to actually get fired. The alumni won't care if his more qualified assistant or Erika takes over because they'll still win. As was stated on a thread long ago, the Oles continue to win despite or in spite of their coaching.

I may be in the minority here that thinks it's a dereliction of coaching duty in not taking Turlington and his 800 runners to race at BU. If I'm the Oles, It seems absurd to compete in four different meets in one weekend when he could face the best competition out East. I'm also unsure why he thinks running on a 300 without conversion would benefit athletes who haven't run on a banked track before.

The K at St. John's looks stellar too. Can Cole match St. Peter's footspeed? Will both surge to the top of the MIAC, or will Ihrke claim the crown after his school record mile last week?

Anyone think it's weird that the Oles and Johnnies are all essentially having a time trial 5K at their respective meets? If I'm an Ole or Johnny, I'm not thrilled to only race my teammates. And why are so few Bethel athletes competing this weekend?

Looks Bethel is racing the 5K, so not sure what you’re looking at. Excited to see what Hootie runs!

It doesn’t look like Hootie will have any comp if he’s trying to run close to 15:00 which I’d assume is the goal. Maybe some brave Ole will go out to hard and set the pace for him early. Love when they do that.

Well done sir!

Probably thought it was a waste of time after the slow times they dropped. No qualifiers from those meets. Bet Chunko gets yelled at Monday.

Oles peaked?

Many schools are adding women's flag football. Supposedly Oshkosh is set to announce it. I could definitely see the Ole AD wanting to make that her legacy. The Vikings are helping support teams at Concordia, Gustavus, Bethel, and Northwestern.

The Oles having to trim the roster would be better for the rest of the MIAC schools, but it does seem odd to cut men's athletes to bring in female athletes from a profit standpoint. If the Vikings pay or help pay for the coach, I'm sure cutting Powers's salary and the constant problems he creates for the admin would be a net win.

Definitely a waste of resources for the Oles to go compete in those races. They did nothing to better their chances for nationals in the 800. They a risky ran much slower with the conversion. Maybe the Ole facility is short?
And 14:20 barely made nationals last year. Maybe that will slip in this year, but driving all that way to win a race seems silly. They should save money and hire pacers or just race the Tommies or Gophers

Who would win in a fight? Thirty one foot tall Dave Ricks or one Aaron Lund?

Since this is the XC thread can we talk about how St. John's and Gustavus's fifth men at conference ran 27:26 and 27:30? Jesus. That's bad.

I also heard a rumor that uhh, their coaches are - that's it, yep! - also in trouble with their bosses for personal conduct matters and dereliction of funds! If I was a Gustie or Johnnie alumni, I'd be demanding a change.

I'm honestly surprised it took this long to see you people throw out "Olaf track is short" - sounds like you're almost out of new excuses for the whooping that Olaf/Power have been giving you the last three years.

As an Ole alum from the era when the MIAC sent 2-3 teams to XC Nats every year, I'd love nothing more than to see the conference get competitive again. At the same time though, this is probably my favorite LR thread to follow along, cause the anti-Olaf/Power takes just fail to deliver so consistently. I mean even Jonathan Marcus has lucked into making a good point once or twice. Just keep talking about how the Big O is gonna crumble any day now, while they continue to grab every piece of hardware you can only dream of holding

In 2019 Carleton won MIAC, St. Thomas was 2nd, and Olaf was 3rd in Phil's last season coaching. All 3 then went to nationals - Carleton 11th, Olaf 25th, St. Thomas 28th. Gustavus and St. John's were 4th and 6th, and their 5th guys ran upwards of a full minute faster than they did 6 years later last fall. (Hamline was 5th, that was like they basically won it. The opps got Brodeyed)

Sub 27 landed you 32nd this year, and 58th in 2019. Why is everyone else so washed now?

LOCAL TRACK COACH ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGEDLY STEALING DONUTS FROM BAKERY GRAND OPENING
Northfield, MN — What began as a celebratory ribbon-cutting reportedly devolved into a powdered-sugar crime scene Saturday morning after a local track coach was arrested in connection with the alleged theft of multiple donuts from the grand opening of the Bread People Bakery.
According to witnesses, the suspect—identified by authorities as St. Olaf College coach, Brian Power, was apprehended moments after the bakery doors opened, having allegedly “treated the sample table like a tempo run and the donut box like a finish line.”
Officers say they located the coach minutes later in his vehicle parked one block away, where he was found with powdered sugar smeared across his face, donut crumbs embedded in the driver’s seat upholstery, and a single, lone glazed donut hole resting solemnly on the passenger seat “like a survivor,” according to the police report.
Local resident Dave Ricks told reporters he saw the entire incident unfold. “I watched Power try to flee,” Ricks said. “It looked like a baby hippo with three legs learning to run. There was a lot of effort, not much speed, and zero stealth.”
Bakery staff confirmed that while no cash register was disturbed, a tray of assorted donuts appeared to have been “selectively drafted,” with chocolate frosted options disappearing first, followed by what employees described as “a panic grab of whatever was closest.”
Authorities noted that the suspect allegedly attempted to explain the incident as “carbo-loading research” and claimed the donut hole was being saved “for later, emotionally.” Police were not persuaded.
In a further twist, investigators say the coach was still wearing a stopwatch around his neck at the time of arrest. A half-completed training plan labeled “Long Run → Bakery” was also found in the glove compartment.
No injuries were reported, though one witness said a display sign was knocked over during the getaway attempt and “may never stand quite as confidently again.”
The Bread People Bakery has since reopened and issued a statement thanking the community for its support, adding that future grand openings will include “increased security, fewer open boxes, and possibly kale muffins as a deterrent.”
At press time, the lone glazed donut hole had been taken into evidence and was described by officials as “sticky, brave, and tragically alone.”