COLFAX, Wis. — Senior Mary Kenney paced the College of Saint Benedict cross country team to a 16th-place finish at the NCAA Division III North Region Championship on Saturday at Whitetail Golf Course.

The Bennies improved two spots from last year's regional result, scoring 384 points to place 16th in a 30-team field. Kenney (Woodbury,  Minn.) led the way with a time of 23:31.8, good for 47th overall among the 207 competitors. Her performance marked both an improvement in place and a slight drop in time from her 53rd-place finish (23:32.5) a year ago.

Top-ranked UW–La Crosse claimed the regional crown with 45 points behind four top 10 finishers. No. 2 Carleton took second with 71 points, and third-ranked UW–Eau Claire followed with 123. Carleton's Hannah Preisser won the individual title in 21:40.2.

First-year runner Daphne Grobstein (Golden Valley, Minn.), recently named honorable mention All-MIAC, was CSB's second finisher, taking 57th in 23:43.0. Sophomore Mollie Ping (Winona, Minn.) placed 77th in 24:06.5, while senior Rachel Olinger (Rosemount, Minn.) crossed in 85th at 24:14.2. Junior Julia Babineau (Andover, Minn.) finished 118th (24:51.9), followed by Anabella Witschen (Monticello, Minn.) in 126th (25:03.8) and senior Natalie Zielsdorf (Arden Hills, Minn.) in 141st (25:23.2).