WXC runs Cannon River Closer

• Women’s cross country took a 50-15 loss at St. Olaf College’s Cannon River Closer. They were competing with less than half the runners, only seven Scots compared to the Oles’ 16.
• Sophia Fan ’28 led the Scots with an 11th place finish, right in front of Julia Castellano ’26 in 12th. 
• This was the end of the season for the Scots outside of the top seven runners. The seven quickest Scots will next head to the NCAA regional tournament on Nov. 16.

Riley 6th in Cannon River Closer

• Jack Riley ’28 led the men’s cross country team in 6th place but couldn’t beat the St. Olaf College Oles for the win. The team lost 47-15 to the Northfield college.
• Quinn Hoisington ’27 followed Riley in at 8th and Caleb Hatlevig ’28 came up in 10th place, the two just two seconds apart.

Football still searching

• In their last game until championship week, football fell 33-3 against Augsburg University’s tight defense.
• Noah Bresson ’25 managed a season high 16 tackles, leading the team this season with 67.
• Quarterback Justin Potts ’25 had a strong game, forcing a fumble after a long Auggie drive.
• The team will push to end the season with a win on Nov. 16 against St. Scholastica College, who took a tight two point win from the Scots in early October.

Women’s hoops sets up for a strong season

• After losing the season opener against Webster University 84-71, women’s basketball followed it up with two wins.
• The first win, against Sewanee, showed the Scots dominating throughout, starting with and keeping a lead to win the game 76-59.
• Both games were played in St. Louis, hometown of Peyton Starks ’25. No home loyalties resided, as Starks led both games with 20 and 24 points respectively, earning her fourth career MIAC Offensive Player of the Week accolade.
• The second win came from a nail biting home-opener against Martin Luther College, tied  at halftime. The Scots kept the energy of a roaring crowd high, with a halftime fan participation knockout game and free jerseys. 
• An especially strong 4th quarter confirmed the 69-61 win for the Scots.
• Despite that opener loss against Webster, Samantha Smith ’28 debuted strong for the Scots, with 18 points in her first game.

Men’s basketball falters, makes the rebound

• Three home games have shown an upwards trajectory for these hooping and hopping Scots.
• The Scots fell 56-43 to Luther College on Nov. 8, after coming out hot. A tough deficit after the first half couldn’t be overturned by their stronger post-halftime performance.
• Another strong second half, the next night, in a contentious game against Wartburg. Despite a promising buzzer three pointer attempt by Eric Wentz ’26, the Knights won 69-67.
• The team brought it home in a third game, in a testy matchup against the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Mac gained and held a lead, and despite the Falcons’ attempts to claw back in the closing minutes of the game, a final score of 74-70 was secured and the bird defeathered.
• With the Falcons within four points inside the final 30 seconds, they threatened a layup that could have cut the lead down to a precarious two points. Noah Shannon ’26, showing the Fighting Fold what they had missed out on as he sat out much of the 2023-24 season, arrived on the scene with a crucial rearview block, icing the game for the Scots.
• Kaden Holdbrook ’27 led the team in points in each game, averaging almost 23 points.

Volleyball finishes season with win

• Against Saint Mary’s University (Minn.) on Nov. 9, the Scots romped to a 3-0 victory to close their season on a high.
• 10 kills by Adisa Preston ’25 in her final three Scots sets led the team and put her over the 1,000-kill milestone for her career. Hannah Morrow ’27 marked 11 assists, which also put her over the millennium mark for her blue and orange career.
• The Scots close the season at 13-15 overall, an improvement over their 9-16 record in 2023. They also went 5-6 in-conference, their best since 2006, when some of their younger players may not have even been alive.

Men’s swive takes down Carleton

• On Nov. 9, the Scots battled the Carleton College Knights at home and emerged with a statement win, 144-140. 
• Thomas Moore ’27 was a triple winner on the day, individually coming home first in the 200- and 100-yard freestyle swims, as well as swimming a leg of the Scots’ winning 200-yard medley relay.
• The meet’s score was 134-133 in Carleton’s favor before the final event, the 200-meter freestyle relay. With 11 points on offer, the race would be winner-take-all. 
• History on the line, the quartet of Charles Batsaikhan ’25, Isaac Kisker ’25, TJ Palli, ’26 and Max Taufen ’28 threw down a monster race, with Palli, Kisker and Batsaikhan respectively swimming the fastest, second fastest and third fastest legs of anyone in the meet taking the 11 points on offer and winning the meet outright. 

Women’s swim and dive out touched by Knights

• These aquatic scots welcomed Carleton College to the Riley pool on Nov. 9 and fell 156-144.
• Molly Nuckolls ’28 was characteristically speedy, taking the 1000-yard freestyle and the 200-yard butterfly. Emma Henry ’26 was also a double winner, coming first in the 200-yard backstroke and the 100-yard butterfly.
• This meet also came down to final-event dramatics; the 200-yard relay finale saw Henry, Natalie Pollock ’25, Olga Merkadeau ’25 and Caroline Chapon ’25 leave everything in the pool, only to come up just 0.12 seconds shy of winning the event and the meet.