ST. JOSEPH, MINN. – After a fall of standout performances, the No. 30 ranked College of Saint Benedict Cross Country Team is set to host its Fall Finale on Friday, Nov. 4 at 5 pm in Collegeville, Minn.
 
Following the Fall Finale, CSB will travel to the NCAA North Region Meet on Nov. 12 in Northfield, Minn. The NCAA Championships will be Nov. 19 in Lansing, Mich.
 
CSB earns 3 All-MIAC honors and Smith named MIAC Athlete of the Year for 2nd straight year
Junior Fiona Smith has continued to rewrite the history book for the College of Saint Benedict Cross Country Team after today (Nov. 3) earning MIAC Athlete of the Year honors for a second straight year. Smith also earned All-MIAC honors with sophomore Annie Kiolbasa and first-year Mary Kenney as the league announced special awards and all-conference honors on Thursday. Both Smith and Kiolbasa were first-team honorees and Kenney was named Honorable Mention All-MIAC.

Smith, a junior standout from Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, has had an impressive junior campaign. Smith, who earned All-American honors as a sophomore,  ran to her second straight 6K individual title at the MIAC Championship on Oct. 29. In clocking 28:14.58, she recorded the second-best 6K time in league championship history. Smith, who bettered her 2021 title-winning performance by over 14 seconds, became the sixth female student-athlete in MIAC history to win back-to-back titles, which had not been achieved since Bethel's Marie Borner won three in a row from 2007-09. Smith is the first back-to-back champion at St. Ben's and one of three women including Morgan Pierce, 2018; and Leah Wurm, 2004 to win a MIAC individual crown as well as earn MIAC MVP honors. In the recognition from the league, Smith also garnered her second straight All-MIAC first team honor.

This season, Smith has four individual titles in six races (two second place finishes) along with three MIAC Athlete of the Week honors (12 in her career). She is the first in CSB school history to win back-to-back MIAC Athlete of the Year honors and third St. Ben's student-athlete overall to win MVP honors, Now, the All-American (5^th place, 2021 NCAA Championship) will try to defend her title at the NCAA regionals in which she won as a sophomore.  On Sept. 26, she became the first-ever CSB student-athlete to be named USTFCCCA DIII Athlete of the Week. 

Annie Kiolbasa of Stillwater, Minn., earned her first-ever All-MIAC First Team honor after placing 15^th with a 23:43.5 clocking across 6K at the MIAC Championship. It was her second-best performance of the year as she registered the 22^nd best 6K time in school history at 23:10.5 at the Jim Drews/Tori Neubauer Invitational in West Salem, Wis., on Oct. 15. In addition, she finished eighth (5.9K, 22:55.7) at the Hamline Invitational on Sept. 9 and third (5K, 19:22.2) at the CSB/SJU Triangular on Sept. 3.

Mary Kenney also earned her first All-MIAC honors with her honorable mention recognition after placing 22^nd at the MIAC Championships in 24:12.1. Originally of Woodbury, Minn., she has had a solid fall with her 6K time of 23:06.9 ranking 19^th all-time at CSB and earning her a 22^nd place finish at the Jim Drews/Tori Neubauer Invitational. She was also 17^th (5K, 21:01.9) at the CSB/SJU Triangular on Sept. 3.

The trio of Smith, Kiolbasa and Kenney will lead the CSB Team as they compete at the NCAA DIII Regionals on Nov. 12 at Northfield, Minn. A year ago, the Bennies finished seventh as Smith won a regional individual title.

Bennies ranked nationally for first time since 2014
For the first time since 2014, the Bennies earned a national ranking on Oct. 20. The Bennies were ranked 30^th in the USTFCCCA DIII national poll with 55 points after earlier this year receiving points. The last time CSB was ranked nationally by the USTFCCCA was 24^th on Nov. 5, 2014. In 2014, the Bennies opened at No. 35 nationally and was ranked as high as No. 22 in week six before moving to No. 24 in week seven. The 2022 national poll includes three MIAC teams with St. Olaf, 9^th, 268 points; Carleton College, 10^th, 253 and CSB, 30th. The top three teams in the DIII poll include Chicago, 350 points, 1^st: Wartburg, 334 points, 2^nd, and SUNY Geneseo, 333 points, 3^rd.  St. Ben's, which is directed by Head Coach Robin Balder-Lanoue, is also ranked fifth for the fifth straight week in the USTFCCCA's North Region of the USTFCCCA regional rankings. CSB has been ranked in all six regional rankings this year, opening at No. 6, and moving up to No. 5 in week three.