ST. JOSEPH, Minn. - The College of Saint Benedict cross country team will begin its 2026 season out west for the UCCS Rust Buster, hosted by University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Saturday, Sept. 5. The Bennies will begin their 5k race at approximately 10 a.m. MT. 

 

CSB begins its 30th season under the direction of Robin Balder-Lanoue. Balder-Lanoue has led the cross country team to 16 top-five finishes in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC), including four times third or better. Saint Ben's has finished third five times at the MIAC meet (1997, 2002, 2013, 2022 and 2023). Twelve times, the Bennies have finished top-eight in the NCAA DIII North Region with four top-five finishes. Balder-Lanoue has coached 29 All-MIAC selections, 25 All-MIAC Honorable Mention athletes, 40 All-Region athletes and five NCAA Division III All-Americans, and one individual national champion - Fiona Smith. 

 

Saint Benedict returns one Honorable Mention All-MIAC honoree from a season ago in sophomore Daphne Grobstein (Golden Valley, Minn./Hopkins). In her first collegiate season, Grobstein finished 23rd overall at the MIAC Championships after crossing the finish line with a time of 23:09.8.  

 

The CSB cross country team will feature eight new faces this season. First-years Michelle Chicas Melendez (Worthington, Minn./Worthington), Brynn Heinsohn (White Bear Lake, Minn./White Bear Lake Area), Jaclyn Jurek (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area), Signe Linne (Richfield, Minn./Richfield), Madison Petersen (St. Peter, Minn./St. Peter), Addy Strommes (Eden Valley, Minn./Eden Valley-Watkins), Julianne Thomas (Blaine, Minn./Totino-Grace) and Sophia Wolf (Spokane, Wash./Lewis and Clark) will all make their collegiate debuts Saturday morning. 

 

For information regarding the race, click here. The match will feature live results, which can be accessed here.