WINONA, Minn. — It was their last regular-season meet — the final tune-up before the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships.

And the Saint Mary's University cross country teams saved their best for last.

Led by Keith Pieschek's (Sturgeon Bay, Wis.) top 10 finish, the SMU men's team placed second at the four-team Winona State Invitational last Saturday, while the Cardinal women, fueled by Ellen Koranda's (Blue Earth, Minn.) second-place individual effort, placed third.

"This was a great way to finish (the regular season)," said SMU coach John Skemp, whose team now has two weeks off, before taking part in the MIAC Championships at Como Park Golf Course in St. Paul, Minn., on Nov. 1. "Our times have been dropping pretty consistently over the past couple of meets, which is good to see. It looks like everyone's going to be at their best for our two biggest meets (the MIAC and the NCAA Regional)."

Pieschek and Koranda were certainly at their best on Saturday.

Pieschek clocked a season-best eight-kilometer time of 28:22 en route to his ninth-place individual finish, while Koranda's time of 19:34 was only bettered by individual champion Marian Christen of UW-River Falls.

"Ellen and Keith both ran great races," praised Skemp. "Their times were really solid."

Speaking of solid, Andy Boisjolie (Austin, Minn.), Jim Bansley (Chicago, Ill.) and Jim Baertsch (Winona, Minn.) gave SMU four place finishers among the top 15 — which Skemp is hoping is a sign of good things to come.

"The guys' times have really been dropping, they've been getting after it pretty hard," said Skemp. "Hopefully it will continue over the next month."

Boisjolie finished 12th in 28:28, while Bansley was 13th in 28:39 and Baertsch was 15th in 28:52. Karl Hatteberg (Waltham, Minn. / 21st, 29:22), Pat Polasek (Glendale Heights, Ill. / 26th, 31:36) and Mike Marek (Winona, Minn. / 27th, 32:20) rounded out the SMU lineup.

The women also boasted a tight-knit group, with their top four finishers all among the top 16 in the 53-runner field. Along with Koranda's second-place effort, Tera Bollig (Cambridge, Minn.) was 11th in 20:23, followed by Renee Willkom (Cadott, Wis. / 13th, 20:37), Alicia Hartung (Menomonie, Wis. / 16th, 20:52). Natalie Cossetta (West St. Paul, Minn. / 22nd, 21:18), Keri Drake (Sturgeon Bay, Wis. / 25th, 21:23) and Jenny Folgers (McHenry, Ill. / 26th, 21:25).

"I was happy with our performances," said Skemp. "We're down to the nitty-gritty time in the season, and hopefully we are going to be up to the challenge."