http://miac-online.org/news/2011/11/3/MCrossCountry_1103114435.aspx

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The 2011 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Men's Cross Country Awards were announced Thursday, Nov. 3, 2011, following the 2011 MIAC Men's Cross Country Championship, which was held Saturday, Oct. 29, at Como Park Golf Course in St. Paul, Minn.

St. Thomas senior Ben Sathre (Sr., Chaska, Minn.) was honored as the 2011 MIAC Men's Cross Country Most Valuable Athlete on the strength of his dominant first-place finish at Saturday's MIAC Championship race. Meanwhile, Hamline University captured its third-straight MIAC title, which led to another MIAC Men's Cross Country Coach-of-the-Year honor for Pipers' Head Coach Paul Schmaedeke for the third season in a row.

Though the men's field was loaded with talent, Sathre was in a class all by himself Saturday, which was clear as he came down the final stretch all alone to capture the individual MIAC title. Sathre's winning time was 24:54, and he finished 32 seconds ahead of the runner-up. In the process Sathre also earned his fourth-straight All-MIAC honor, and he has won all three races he's entered this fall. Sathre won two MIAC Men's Cross Country Athlete-of-the-Week awards this fall and has five total in his career, which also includes two straight All-American honors. Sathre was the runner-up at last year's Division III Championship, and he likely has another trip to nationals and another shot at All-American honors to add to his conference accolades this fall.

Though one of Schmaedeke's runners didn’t win the race, Pipers did finish 2-3-4, with five in the Top 20 to claim the team's third-straight MIAC title. The last team to three-peat was Saint John's, with four in a row from 1996-99. Hamline finished with 45 points to beat St. Olaf by nine for its latest championship. Schmaedeke, who had five All-MIAC or Honorable Mention runners this season, has now won the last three MIAC Men's Cross Country Coach-of-the-Year honors and seven total in his career, which includes more than 30 years as a Hamline student-athlete or coach. Schmaedeke is also a member of the school's Athletic Hall of Fame.

The top 15 finishers at the MIAC Championships were named to the MIAC All-Conference team. The next 10 finishers (places 16-25) all received Honorable Mention honors. The conference-champion Pipers had all five runners earn postseason honors - three All-MIAC and two Honorable Mention. Runner-up St. Olaf had four All-MIAC runners and another earn Honorable Mention.

As part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative, the MIAC announced the sixth annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for Men's Cross Country. Members of the All-MIAC Sportsmanship team are selected by their coaches and teammates as individuals who demonstrate ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field of competition.

2011 MIAC Men's Cross Country Most Valuable Athlete - Ben Sathre, St. Thomas (Sr., Chaska, Minn.)

2011 MIAC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year - Paul Schmaedeke, Hamline

2011 MIAC Men's Cross Country All-Conference Team

2011 MIAC Men's Cross Country Honorable Mention All-Conference Team

2011 All-MIAC Men's Cross Country Sportsmanship Team
Augsburg - Joe Arnold (Sr.., Grand Rapids, Minn.)
Bethel - Justin Ivory (Jr., St. Charles, Mo.)
Carleton - Kian Flynn (Sr., Otis, Ore./Taft)
Concordia - Jake Stunek (Sr., Brainerd, Minn.)
Gustavus - Anders Bowman (Sr., Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata)
Hamline - Brendan Ruter (Jr., New London, Minn.)
Macalester - David Ellison (Sr., Minnetonka, Minn.)
Saint John's - Nick Peterson (Sr., Elk River, Minn./Rogers)
Saint Mary's - Jake Traxler (Jr., Le Center, Minn.)
St. Olaf - Pat Boland (Sr., Chesterfield, Mo./Ladue Horton Watkins)
St. Thomas - Tyler Iverson (Sr., Moorhead, Minn.)

Courtesy of MIAC