NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Freshman Cadyn Vanderwal set the pace for the St. Scholastica men's cross country team in his collegiate debut Friday, finishing 14th overall at the Ole Opener 5K, hosted by St. Olaf College.

Vanderwal crossed the line in 16:31.5 to lead the Saints in their 2026 season opener.

Macalester's John Ihrke claimed the individual title in 15:57.2, edging teammate Caleb Hatlevig, who finished second in 16:00.0. Bethel's Hootie Hage placed third in 16:09.7.

Macalester placed three runners inside the top five and all five scorers in the top 20 to win the team title with 34 points. St. Olaf finished runner-up with 44 points, while third place finished with 73.

Ashton Niemi (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji HS) was the Saints' second finisher, placing 21st in 16:36.3. From there, freshmen accounted for the remainder of St. Scholastica's scoring five. Adrian Rausch finished 28th in 16:52.8, Austin Matrious placed 30th in 16:56.1 and Parker McKinney rounded out the scoring in 52nd with a time of 17:43.8.

The Saints finished fifth in the team standings, just three points behind Luther in fourth.

Head coach Chad Salmela was encouraged by what he saw from a young Saints lineup in its first competition of the season.

"We knew we had a strong freshman class and we showed that those freshmen have done good work in the short off-season," Salmela said.

"I think today showed what we have the potential to do, but you don't notice the subtleties without looking carefully, because beyond Ashton, we're scoring all freshmen, who still have so much to learn and adapt to. While finishing last might not seem like it should satisfy, I like what I saw out there today."

St. Scholastica will take next weekend off from competition before traveling to Cold Spring, Minnesota, on Sept. 18 for the Toni St. Pierre Invitational, hosted by the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University.