Hamline, Carleton Aim to Defend in MIAC

Hamline and Carleton will look to defend their 2009 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles when the conference hosts its 2010 championship at Como Golf Course in St. Paul on Saturday afternoon.

The Hamline men, ranked #20 in NCAA Division III, are the Central region's top-ranked team. They won last year's MIAC title with a narrow 61-66 win over St. Olaf.

Going into this year's contest, St. John's, ranked #34 in D3 and the #3 team in the Central Region, appears the Pipers' strongest challenger. St. Olaf is ranked #7 regionally, while St. Thomas, third in 2009, is ranked #9.

The Tommies Ben Sathre, second individually in 2009, is the top returnee in the meet. He's expected to be challenged for this year's title by Concordia's Tom Sederquist and Hamline's Devin Monson.

There's a complete preview of the men's competition HERE.

If the Carleton women are to defend their 2009 title, they'll need to fight back a strong challenge from cross-Northfield rivals St. Olaf.

The Ole women the top-ranked MIAC heading into the conference -- they're ranked #12 nationally and #2 in the Central Region. Carleton is #25 in D3 and the #5-ranked team in the Central.

In addition, St. Thomas, third last year, is ranked #6 regionally, while Bethel and Gustavus are the Central Region's #7 and #8 teams, respectively.

Simone Childs-Walker, the runner-up in 2009, is the favorite to win the individual title won the last two years by Bethel's Marie Borner.

There's a complete preview of the women's competition HERE.

MIAC Championship competition gets underway at 2:15 p.m. on Saturday with the men's race, followed at 3:15 by the women.

Look for results of the meet HERE.