The MIAC Weekly Notebook

MIAC runners take their marks on Saturday

The 2011 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Men’s Cross Country Championships will take place Saturday, Oct. 29, at Como Park Golf Course in St. Paul, Minn. The women's race will begin at 2:15 p.m., with the men’s race to follow at 3:15 p.m. The 2011 MIAC Cross Country Championships are hosted by Saint Mary's University.

Hamline University is the defending men's champion and enters the weekend looking for its third-straight title. Pipers' senior Devin Monson is the defending individual champion and headlines a group of 11 returning All-MIAC runners. On the women's side, St. Olaf College will try to win its second-straight championship this weekend behind defending champion Maren Westby. The Oles also bring back runner-up Emma Lee, and that duo leads a group of 10 returning All-Conference runners. Complete previews for both the men and women are linked below.

2011 MIAC Men's Cross Country Championships preview
2011 MIAC Women's Cross Country Championships preview
2011 MIAC Cross Country Championships Web site

Conference championships, playoff berths on the line

This is the final week of the regular season in the MIAC for volleyball, men's soccer and women's soccer, and while some of the berths to the conference's postseason tournaments have already been clinched, there are still bids up for grabs in all three sports, with all three regular-season championships yet to be decided.

In volleyball, five of the six playoff spots have been locked up as Concordia, Saint Benedict, St. Thomas, Bethel and Augsburg have all punched their tickets to the 2011 MIAC Volleyball Playoffs. Concordia, Saint Benedict and St. Thomas are all 8-1 in conference play and leading the charge for the MIAC title and No. 1 seed. In men's soccer, Carleton is the only team to lock up a playoff spot at this point, and the Knights have an inside track on the MIAC title with 22 points and a two-point lead in the standings. In women's soccer, the playoff picture is still pretty cloudy, with Saint Benedict sitting in first and just two points separating Carleton, Concordia and St. Olaf.

For complete playoff and conference championship updates, visit the MIAC Web site throughout the week. All three Playoff fields will be announced along with sites and schedules on Saturday.

Puck drops to start 2011-12 season with MIAC Men's Hockey Showcase

The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) is ready for the opening face-off of the 2011-12 men's hockey season, which will take place at the 2011 MIAC Men's Hockey Showcase. This marks the third-straight year of the popular season-opening event, and the second in a row at Fogerty Arena in Blaine, Minn.

The 2011 MIAC Men's Hockey Showcase will feature all nine conference teams in action with nine games spread out over three days on Fogerty's North and South rinks. There will be three games each Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with a complete schedule listed below. Admission will be $5 per person and children 5-and-under will be admitted free. The only passes accepted will be MIAC sport and media passes, and all money raised through admission goes directly to offset the cost of the event.

For those who can't make it to Fogerty, there will be a number of ways to stay connected to the action. Saint Mary's University will be providing live stats online for all games, and all of Friday's and Sunday's games will be taped and available on-demand courtesy of Webcast America following each day. Both the MIAC and Saint Mary's have Web pages dedicated to the event. Also, follow the MIAC's social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) for additional coverage from the Showcase. For additional information about the MIAC Hockey Showcase click here.

St. Thomas scores huge win over Bethel

No. 3-ranked St. Thomas (8-0 overall, 6-0 MIAC) rode a 133-yard rushing day by Colin Tobin and Tim Albright's strong leg in Saturday's 23-13 road win over No. 10-rated Bethel. Albright ran his PAT made streak to 59 and converted all three field goals he tried, including a 48-yarder, the longest by a St. Thomas kicker since 1990. The UST defense has allowed just 20 points in four October victories. St. Thomas, which is ranked second nationally in rushing defense at 55.6 yards a game, limited the MIAC's leading rusher, BU's Brandon Marquardt, to 10 yards on 10 carries. The balanced Tommie defense has 24 different players with a tackle-for-loss, 13 different players with a sack, eight different players with interceptions, and six different players with a forced fumble or fumble recovery. UST can secure an automatic berth into the NCAA playoffs and a conference title share with a win Saturday at home against Gustavus.

Concordia's super set streak; Milestones and records at Augsburg
The No.9-ranked Concordia volleyball team has won 27 straight sets in a streak that dates back to Sept. 21. That streak is a school record and ties the MIAC record for most consecutive sets won. The Cobbers are 9-0 during that stretch and have pushed their overall record to 21-3. Concordia has now won at least 20 matches in eight of the past 10 seasons. CC is also 8-1 in league play and recently clinched their 11th straight MIAC playoff berth.

Greg Holker tied former coach Rolf Eriksen for the most victories as an Augsburg men's soccer head coach on Friday in the Auggies 3-0 home win over Hamline. In his eighth season as Augsburg's head coach, Holker improved to 81-51-18 in his career, tying Eriksen's number of victories in his Auggie career. On the football field, Tyler Maxwell (FY, Prior Lake, Minn.) scored two touchdowns and set a new Augsburg single-season record for rushing scores. He now has 13 touchdowns on the season (12 rushing, one receiving), breaking the school's single-season school record for rushing touchdowns -- 10, set by Marcus LeVesseur in 2004. With 144 carries for 740 rushing yards this season, Maxwell has a chance to eclipse Augsburg s other single-season rushing records, also set by LeVesseur in 2004 rushes (256) and rushing yardage (1,024).

This year, the MIAC enters its second season with weekly television exposure in the Twin Cities and beyond thanks to GameON! The weekly sports show features "The MIAC Minute" each week, where host/producer Rod Simons sits down for an interview with a coach, student-athlete or administrator from the conference.

This week, Simons welcomes Bethel men's hockey coach Charlie Burggraf to the set to talk about all things hockey. The show will air Sunday, which will also be the final day of the 2011 MIAC Men's Hockey Showcase, so they'll promote that event, and they'll take a look ahead at the upcoming hockey season and the Royals' chances in the MIAC. Fans who are ready for the puck to drop won't want to miss GameON! this week.

Tune in to GameON! every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. on MY29 in the Twin Cities. For MIAC fans outsite the metro area, visit the show's home page to watch full archived episodes. Fans are also invited to attend the weekly tapings, which are Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at Seven Steakhouse/Sushi/Ultralounge & Skybar on the corner of Hennepin and 7th in downtown Minneapolis.

In addition to the MIAC home page, stay connected to the conference through its various social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.