Division II teams Chico (Calif.) State (43) and Augustana (S.D.) (114) placed 1-2 and Division I Idaho was third (116), followed by Whitworth (142), UST (171), Whitman (177), Boise State (183) and Nebraska Wesleyan (206).

Tommie senior Kelly Russ took 11th in the 5,000-meter race in a field of 203 finishers in a time of 18:06.43. Alyssa Rassett-Mehl was 15th in 18:11; Taylor Berg placed 38th in 18:31; Allie Metzler was 50th in 18:36; Nikki Schminski was 70th in 18:53; Al Johnson was 73rd in 18:55.91; Emma Spoon was 77th in 19:01; and Larissa Peyton was 98th in 19:15.

Click here to see complete race results:

http://www.willamette.edu/athletics/teams/cross_country/results/2009/Oct%2003%20-%2035th%20Charles%20Bowles%20Invitational.html

The Tommies had an impressive 24-second spread among its top five finishers in the 6,000-meter race, which was held in Falcon Heights at the U of M golf course. Coach Joe Sweeney held out two of hjs top eight runners.

Ninth-ranked UW-LaCrosse (98), 16th-ranked UW-Oshkosh (112) and 12th-ranked UW-Eau Claire (117) took the first three team spots.

No. 11-ranked Bethel (136), fifth-rated Wartburg (154), 19th-ranked Carleton (174), the 14th-rated Tommies (176), 25th-ranked Luther (266) and 29th-ranked Emory (278) took fourth thrugh ninth.

Junior Alyssa Rassett-Mehl was 30th in 23:47; freshman Taylor Berg was 36th in 23:55; soph Nikki Schminski was 41st in 24:02; junior Allie Metzler was 42nd in 24:03; soph Larissa Peyton was 79th in 24:34; and senior Al Johnson was 89th in 24:40.

Berg was fourth among 154 freshmen finishers.

Click here for complete results:

https://www.nmnathletics.com//pdf4/645372.pdf?ATCLID=204801937&SPSID=38706&SPID=3309&DB_OEM_ID=8400

The Toms were ranked 11th in the last national poll and likely will stay in the top 20 when the next poll is released Wednesday.

Coach Joe Sweeney's Tommies had a solid race as they took third out of 16 teams at Saturday's St. Olaf Invitational. Despite holding out one of their top runners, the Toms placed third behind Division II Minnesota State Mankato and Winona State. The race covered 4,000 meters on a warm morning.

Junior Alyssa Rassett-Mehl was 21st in 24:00 and led six Tommies put in a 25-second pack. Kelly Russ took 23rd in 24:03; freshman Taylor Berg was 26th in 24:05; Nikki Schminski was 32nd in 24:14; Emma Spoon was 33rd in 24:24; and Larissa Peyton was 59th in 25:09.

The Tommies will run next Saturday at the 6,000-meter U of M Griak Invite in Falcon Heights.

Click here to access Division III region and national rankings:

http://www.ustfccca.org/rankings/division-iii-rankings

Despite holding out one of their top runners, the Toms placed third out of 16 teams behind Division II Minnesota State Mankato and Winona State. The race covered 4,000 meters on a warm morning.

Junior Alyssa Rassett-Mehl was 21st in 24:00 and led six Tommies put in a 25-second pack. Kelly Russ took 23rd in 24:03; freshman Taylor Berg was 26th in 24:05; Nikki Schminski was 32nd in 24:14; Emma Spoon was 33rd in 24:24; and Larissa Peyton was 59th in 25:09.

The Tommies will run next Saturday at the 6,000-meter U of M Griak Invite in Falcon Heights.

Click here for complete meet results:

http://www.stolaf.edu/athletics/crossctry/women/media/2009-10/results/2009-09-19.html

Click here to view more Greg Smith action photos:

www.gsmithsports.com

Alyssa-Rassett-Mehl led a tight pack of Tommies. (Greg Smith photo)

Kelly Russ had a solid race to start her senior season. (Greg Smith photo)

Freshman Taylor Berg had a strong debut race. (Greg Smith photo)

Helen Shea battles in a large pack. (Greg Smith photo)

Coach Joe Sweeney's Toms were scheduled to start their season last Friday in the St. John's Invitational, but that race was cancelled at the last moment. A heavy downpour in Collegeville deemed the trails that made up parts of the course too slick.

Calvin (Mich.), Middlebury (Vt.) and Washington (Mo.) took the first three spots. Central Region teams ranked were Wartburg (Iowa) at No. 4; UST at No. 11; Bethel at No. 14; Carleton at No. 18; and Luther (Iowa) at No. 29.

Tommie coach Joe Sweeney starts his 30th season and returns six of his top seven runners from 2008. That Tommie team repeated as MIAC champion and placed 14th at nationals.

Two-time All-American Katie Theisen graduated, but UST returns senior Kelly Russ (11th MIAC, 91st NCAA); junior Allie Metzler (16th MIAC, 129th NCAA); sophomore Emma Spoon (17th MIAC, 155th NCAA); junior Raynee DeGrio (18th MIAC, 176th NCAA); sophomore Nikki Schminski (38th MIAC, 206th NCAA); and junior Alyssa Rassett-Mehl (40th MIAC, 216th NCAA).

Senior Al Johnson and junior Helen Shea also placed in the top 55 at the 2008 MIAC meet.

The Tommies could have as many as a dozen new runners this season. Freshman Taylor Berg of Eagan High ran in four state cross country meets and placed 38th both as a junior and as a senior. Kelsey Gantzer placed in the top 70 in both the 2007 and 2008 Iowa state meets for Pleasant Valley High.

The Tommies start their season Sept. 11 at the St. John’s Invite in Collegeville. In preparation for the conference and regionals meets, St. Thomas will be tested in competitive races Sept. 26 at the U of M Griak Invite; Oct. 3 at the Willamette (Ore.) Invite; and Oct. 17 at the UW-LaCrosse Invite.

Click here to view Division III women's preseason poll:

http://www.ustfccca.org/assets/rankings/div3/2009-xc/09-d3-wxc-national-pre.pdf

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St. Thomas Women's Cross Country Preseason Roster

Maria Altepeter  SO  Oshkosh, Wis./Lourdes

Megan Beaudry FR  St. Michael-Albertville

Taylor Berg FR  Eagan

Linnea Bicking SO Woodbury

Julia Brandes JR  Chanhassen/Minnetonka

Chantel Celichowski  FR  Shorewood/Minnetonka

Raynee DeGrio  JR  Grand Rapids

Nicole Flack FR  Lakeville/South

Kelsey Gantzer FR  Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley

Megan Gooley  FR Forest Lake

Jenna Gullickson  FR  Albertville/St. Michael-Albertville

*Al Johnson SR  Omaha, Neb./Millard West

Kelsey Lange SO Woodbury

Brittany Leider FR  White Bear Lake

Sally Mahmoud SO  St. Louis Park

Breann MacFadyen  FR  Owatonna

Martha McCarthy JR  Milwaukee, Wis./Pius

Allie Metzler JR  Green Bay, Wis./Notre Dame

Nara Nelson  FR  Bloomington/Jefferson

Larissa Peyton  SO  St. Cloud/Cathedral

Alyssa Rassett-Mehl  JR  Rosemount/Eastview

Kaitlin Rattigan JR  Pitman, N.J.

*Kelly Russ SR  Wayzata

Nikki Schminski SO Hermantown

Helen Shea JR  Mpls./Providence Academy

Christine Skopec  JR  Iowa City/West

Emma Spoon   SO    Verona, Wis.

Maria Zownirowycz  SO  Fridley/Totino-Grace

Jessica Zwanziger  FR  Savage/Prior Lake

At least on this day, weather won't be one of those challenges. Sunshine, blue skies, soft breeze and temperatures heading into the 60s.

From a 10:30 a.m. tipoff in a women's basketball scrimmage until the men's hockey overtime session concluded at 9:10 p.m., there were highlights galore. More than 250 Tommies were in uniform, scattered at various fields, courses, courts and pools representing 10 different teams.

As St. Thomas' sports information director, I was pulled in many directions. The worker in me focused on my behind-the-scenes roles. The fan in me wanted to soak in all the action and enjoy the competitions. The multi-tasker in me wished I could sneak in 50 minutes of running on the scenic Como Golf Course.

Game programs were prepared, copied, delivered and personally distributed, with special details for Senior Day celebrations in volleyball and women's soccer.

UST was this year's host institution for the conference cross country meet at St. Paul's Como course. Many past and current Tommies joined forces to help pull off meet operations. My jobs were to produce a 10-page program, write team previews and help distribute results.

There were two trips to Mendota Heights that night for men's ice hockey -- first to drop off roster sheets updated with Friday night's results, later to watch and collect statistics and details.

There also were scores, statistics files and summaries that I had to phone and email to both Twin Cities newspapers and to other conference sports information offices.

Caught in the Web

My most time-consuming duties involve Tommiesports.com -- adding news, headlines, cutlines, photos and statistics, that evening and beyond. On Monday, I was still adding details, loading photos and, ahem, fixing a couple of typos and errors.

Managing an athletic website is like being a dog owner. Both tasks keep you active and can bring joy to many people. Dogs are man's best friend. Websites can be fans' best friend. Just like dogs, websites need to be fed, groomed, and paid attention to, seven days a week. Dogs wag their tails. For better or worse, athletic websites have become the tails that wag the dog in the sports information world.

On pleasant autumn days like last Saturday, with family opportunities and yardwork calling, it wasn't easy spending 11 hours in my sports bubble in St. Paul. At moments like this, I jokingly wonder if I have the best job in college sports, or the worst.

Of course, I'm hardly the only St. Thomas employee making sacrifices on nights and weekends. My peers who are athletic trainers, equipment managers, coaches, facility managers, officials, and administrators also put in long hours. We do it because we take pride in our tasks, and because we embrace our student-athletes and what Division III athletics offers.

PHOTO: Kelly Russ (Eli Adams photo)

Diary

Here's a quick recap of some of my stops that day:

--7 a.m.: Wake up, log onto laptop at kitchen table, work two hours writing details for game-day programs in men's hockey, soccer and volleyball that still need printing.

--9:30 a.m.: Join my wife for a 60-minute walk on a sunny, crisp morning, with youngest son Peter, 3, in tow in the cushy Burley stroller. I was thankful I could free up 45 minutes on Friday night to take our young Spiderman trick-or-treating before I left for men's hockey game.

--11 a.m.: Drive to FedEx Kinko's in Eagan to pickup cross country programs

--11:25 a.m.: Arrive in office at UST, finish women's soccer game day sheet. Start writing volleyball Senior Day sheet.

PHOTO: Top, Spiderman, webbed crusader; bottom, UST's web man

--12:45 p.m.: Back in the car, I'm driving to South Campus for soccer. I handoff laptop and roster sheets to Jesse Meehan, a volunteer intern, who covers the event like a blanket.

--1:05 p.m.: I'm speeding down I-94 on way to Como Golf Course to drop off cross country programs. I also need to help our student crew set up their live webcast -- one of the first of its kind in Division III cross country history.

--1:45 p.m.: Head back to St. Thomas to get volleyball sheet finished and printed for 3 p.m. match.

--1:58 p.m.: Check Augsburg's live stats for football update -- 7-7 tie as halftime nears. Whoa, Ben Wartman already has 153 rushing yards. No time to check Gustavus website for men's soccer videocast.

--1:59 p.m.: Check the website for the conference CC webcast... uh, oh... no sound. I hope they get on the air soon.

--2:05 p.m.: Print Senior Day sheets for volleyball and hand them and the second laptop to associate AD JoAnn Andregg, who's working her second long day in a row. I sure hate to miss seeing the 25-2 Tommie volleyball team, but at least the statistics will be covered in my absence. Trying to capture in-game volleyball stats brings to mind the classic "I Love Lucy" episode where candy flies off the conveyor belt. Thankfully, instead of Lucy and Ethel as employees, I can rely on Hamline grads Katie and Tina, the Stat Crew scoring wizards who were hired for this task.

--2:07 p.m.: I drive past soccer field to view scoreboard -- 1-1 tie with Gustavus, halftime just ended. Tommie women are a big second-half team this season. They'll need that magic to claim the outright MIAC championship.

--2:09 p.m.: Back on the interstate, too much static to hear St. Olaf-Concordia football score on Faribault radio. Toms need a win and Cobber loss to take over MIAC lead. Switch to WCCO Radio -- more negative ads for U.S. Senate race. Who would have guessed two guys with mild names like "Norman" and "Allen" could sling so much mud?

--2:20 p.m.: Back at Como, and parking's a nightmare. I slide my 2000 Pontiac minivan into a creative parking spot alongside a pile of tree brush. I hurry to the clubhouse, where webcast students explain that the laptop and wireless card aren't compatible. Someone from our streaming partner, Minnesota Sports Broadcasting Network, is bringing out a new laptop. They hope to be on the air by 2:45 p.m.

--2:25 p.m.: I see St. Thomas videographer Brad Jacobsen and photographers Mike Ekern and Eli Adams, who are on hand to document the two races. They will be busy over the next few weeks with sports, and we are lucky to have such talented, committed pros in these roles. They don't just shoot images, but they tell stories. They help our website come alive.

--2:45 p.m.: Men's results are done. Tommies place third, just ahead of fourth-place Bethel. St. Olaf edges Hamline for first place. Toms have four runners in top 20 with senior Matt Boumeester taking 11th for All-MIAC honors. Tommie Ben Sathre takes 14th and is first freshman finisher in race.

--2:55 p.m.: Webcast is finally on the air. Four students who barely understand the sport are doing a very good job setting the scene and getting the info to the listeners.

--3:20 p.m.: Women's race just finishing... Bethel and Carleton will be hard to beat. Tommies are battling and in tight pack, but not sure if they can make it three championships in a row.

--3:40 p.m.: Results guru hands me unofficial women's results. Wow! Five points separate first three teams... and Tommies take first, just ahead of Bethel and Carleton. A few minutes pass and results are confirmed.

--3:45 p.m.: I dash to the clubhouse to get results to webcasters, who have been reporting a probable Bethel team victory. On the way, I spot three Tommie runners who haven't heard the final outcome. I hold up the result sheet and get to see their faces light up as they comprehend the final scores. Best moment of day.

--5:10 p.m.: Back on the road, on way to Mendota Heights to drop off hockey game sheets. Waiting for football score updates on WCOO Radio. Drats -- Tommies lose, 22-20.

--5:35 p.m.: Decision time -- should I stop for some real food, or break out the 11 Fun Size candy bars I borrowed from the kids' Halloween stash? Candy it is. Pull in parking lot at UST. See JoAnn Andregg, who gives me the good news for women's soccer (3-1 win) and volleyball (3-0 win). Three MIAC women's titles in one day. Not bad. Most schools don't win three team championships all year.

--5:45 p.m.: Retrieve stat files off two laptops, send to Gustavus and Augsburg. Add quick afternoon summary story for website. Eventually add individual stories on cross country, women's soccer, volleyball, football and men's soccer. Format action photos from football game taken by freelancer Greg Smith, a Bethel graduate who's overworked and underpaid but loves shooting Division III events. In fact, he's also shooting that night's hockey game. Fans can order action images from Greg's website (www.gsmithsports.com) or from UST's new photo store (http://www.tommiesports.com/news/PhotoStore.html)

--7:35 p.m.: No time to finish women's hockey sheet for tomorrow's game. I'll have to drive back in Sunday noon. Leave for home, one last sporting event yet to go. On way out the door, I see assistant football coach Joe Lepsche, who's coming back into the office. Joe fills me in on last-minute loss to Auggies.

Homestretch

--8:05 p.m.: I arrive home, and in my fatigue, I mistakenly kiss the dog and rub my wife's belly.

--8:10 p.m.: I take Peter back in the minivan to catch the last period of hockey game with St. Scholastica. Peter is thrilled to watch the Zamboni clean the ice. I realize I'm wearing shorts at a hockey game in November. That means that either I have bad fashion sense, or hockey season has arrived too early.

--8:45 p.m.: Hockey game is zipping along and Tommies cling to 2-1 lead into the final minutes. Tommie penalty. Now 90 seconds left, timeout, Saints pull goalie for two-man advantage. Saints power-play goal with 1:13 left, now 2-2. Uh, oh... Saints score again with 1:01 to go, take 3-2 lead. Tough to beat Saints on All Saints Day, I guess. Toms pull goalie with 46 seconds to go, need miracle... and get it. Tommies score with 33 seconds left. Three goals scored in first 58:47, now three more in 40 seconds. Game ends in overtime with 3-3 tie.

--9:30 p.m.: Get scoresheet from official scorer Dave Wright, the voice of the Tommies, hockey historian and an all-around pro. Peter and I head home, where I call newspaper with scores and record a Tommie Ticker hotline update. I get back on laptop to type up hockey results, send stat file to St. Scholastica and Collegehockeystats.net. Next, I add story to UST website.

--11:30 p.m.: When my wife dozes off during Saturday Night Live, I sneak back to laptop to check my e-mail. I open letter from my niece, Sarah Stender, who's in the Army. She explained that she's heading back to Iraq this week for her second tour of duty there. Sarah's twin brother Nathan's serves in the Navy and likely will go to Afghanistan in 2009. I'm so proud of their commitment and strength at age 24. I'm reminded my life is pretty good. Even the hardest days in my job would be considered a picnic for my niece, nephew and their fellow servicemen and women.
 
--1:45 a.m.: I wake up from a deep sleep and remember that I forgot to write up the swimming team's results for Tommiesports.com. Oh, well, you can't get to everything. Even with Daylights Savings, there are only 25 hours in a day.