Johnnies' Erichsen 3rd in NCAA title race

Chris Erichsen of St. John's took third place in the NCAA Division III men's cross-country championships Saturday at St. Olaf with a time of 25 minutes, 6 seconds over 8,000 meters, leading the Johnnies to a 12th-place finish. Carleton took 23rd in the 32-team field.

Qualifying individuals Daniel Greeno and Carl Graditsch of Bethel placed 22nd and 32nd, respectively. Chris deLaubenfels of Gustavus was 54th and David Swanson of St. Olaf placed 113th in the 280-runner field.

In the 6,000-meter Division III women's race, also at St. Olaf, St. Thomas placed 13th. St. Olaf was 30th. Individuals Marie Borner and Nikki Umhoefer of Bethel placed 17th and 35th, respectively. Erin Lowrey of Macalester was 236th.

• Minnesota State Mankato took fifth place at the NCAA Division II men's cross-country championships at Joplin, Mo. In the women's race, individual qualifier Liz Palkie of Minnesota-Duluth finished 41st.

Oberstar first in figure skating regionals

Molly Oberstar of Duluth finished first among senior ladies with 144.35 points in the Midwestern Sectional Figure Skating Championships in Rochester Hills, Mich. Angie Lien, who skates in Duluth, had 132.01 points to finish fourth.

Rohene Ward of Minneapolis and Eliot Halverson of St. Paul finished second and fourth among senior men, with 196.77 and 198.58 points, respectively. Kirsten Olson of Burnsville was second in junior ladies, with 148.68 points. In junior pairs, Michael Chau of Oakdale and his partner Tracy Tanovich finished first with 128.76 points.

Alexander Johnson of Minnetonka was the winner in junior men, scoring 199.26, nearly 33 points in the lead.

Etc.

• The Concordia volleyball team (33-4) advanced to its third NCAA Elite Eight in five years with a 22-30, 30-28, 30-27, 30-22 victory over top-ranked Minnesota Duluth (29-2). The Bears play the winner of the Atlantic Region.

• Andy Kolle won a unanimous middleweight decision over Matt Vanda in the main boxing event at Myth nightclub in Maplewood. Among the undercard events, supermiddleweight Caleb Truax won a unanimous decision over Jeffrey Osborne Jr.