As a freshman, Jeffrey Kayfes (Buhl, Minn./Mountain Iron-Buhl HS) scored for the Saints for the first time at the 2022 MIAC Championships in 2022 on the Hyland Park Golf Course.  He found similar magic there again at a steamy Hamline Invitational, Friday evening-- which also served as the preview meet for the 2025 MIAC Championships. Kayfes led the Saints scoring for the first time in his four-year career.
Augsberg ace, Mohammed Bati, the 2024 NCAA Cross Country championship runner-up, cruised to an easy victory in a time of 25:19.0, nearly a minute ahead of St. John's runner up, Cole Stencel in 26:14.7.  The Johnnies also put Eamon Cavanaugh on the podium in 25:56.6.
Macalester put runners in positions 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 to win with a score of 45.  Carleton finished second with 54 points and St. John's took 3^rd with 73.
Kayfes and teammates Nikolas Stoufis and Ashton Niemi (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji HS) ran the entire 8km course together, sitting just outside the top 20.  Kayfes crossed the line 26^thplace in a time of 28:12.4, six tenths of a second ahead of Stoufis in 27^th, and Niemi in 28^th in a time of 28:14.3.  The Saints didn't have to wait long to close their scoring card with freshman, Connor Feldt's (Aurora, MN/Mesabi East HS) debut in the 8k distance finishing 35^th in 28:35.1, and Kai Donnelly (Burlington, VT/Green Mountain Valley School) in 36^th, two seconds further back, also finishing his first 8k in 28:37.1.  The Saints scorers spread of just 25 seconds put them in 5^th of the 9 teams, with a score of 135, just 6 points shy of Gustavus Adolphus in 4^th.     
"I was almost giddy,' said Saints head coach, Chad Salmela, of his men's team performance.  He didn't expect his team to really be in a place to finish 5th this week, and was focusing on the team warming up better and learning pacing an 8k again for returners, and just figuring it out for the freshmen a d new runners.  Stepping off the bus into a tropical 82-degrees with 70% humidity, Salmela adjusted his expectations even more.  
"This is a group of returners whom, when things go really well, they tend to do well individually. But they've rarely had great days together and risen together as a group.  We're hitting consistently with guys who've been hit-and-miss historically, but now have the experience and did their work in the off season to really lead, and deliver together, two meets in a row now, and that's fun!"
Salmela credits new blood from new places for some of the phenomenon, too. "Nik (Soufis) basically wasn't given a chance to run on his undergraduate team, but has great fitness and desire, and is giving us his best, for this one year he has of eligibility in grad school.  I just love stories like his.  I love being the place and program to give him a shot." 
Kai Donnelly (Burlington, VT/Green Mountain Valley School) has been a Saint for two seasons, just not a member of the cross country team, until now.  
Donnelly and Stoufis have scored in each of the first two meets for the Saints, and Salmela has noticed.
The first ski coach at the college, Salmela said he wanted to move into the job as the cross country running coach nine years ago for several reasons, but one big reason for him was to break down the walls for exactly athletes like Donnelly and Stoufis.  "I wanted to knock down stereotypes and silos and give people who were working hard and were fit, a chance to branch out," says Salmela.  "I wanted to break down the insecurities of everyone trying to label and organize people into neat little groups that turn inward and guard their walls.  That's easier in a lot of ways, but I think totally unnecessary in Division III." 
He sees Stoufis' and Donnelly's new roles as a scorers on the cross country team as just the fun kind of surprise that keeps him excited to coach. "It's just a win-win," says Salmela
"Some folks think you have to be something to be runner or to be something else to be a skier—that you're not 'serous' about ski racing if you run as a skier, or if you don't run track, your not a 'real' runner.  That's ridiculous.  We're plenty serious and plenty real, and we're open for business.  You never know what you're missing when you say 'no' to an athlete who shows up fit and is hungry.  I'll take that every day of the week."           
The Saints go into training mode for the remainder of September and will return to action in October for two mega meets likely to influence NCAA at-large mega meets, starting with UW Eau Claire Blugold Invitational on October 3^rd, and the Augustana Interregional Invitational October 18^th.