KENOSHA, Wis. - Black Hills State enjoyed its return to the Dr. Wayne E. Dannehl course Saturday for the 2007 NAIA National Cross Country Championships, as the Yellow Jackets took two top-10 team finishes, had five All-American runners and pocketed a third-place trophy in the combined team point race.

Black Hills State, led by Allen Wood's 11th-place finish, was second in the men's championship. Sophomore Wendy O'Lexey placed ninth in the women's run to lead BH to an eighth-place finish in the team standings.

"We had one incredible day," Yellow Jacket head coach Scott Walkinshaw said. "It's a great day to be a running Yellow Jacket."

Black Hills State trailed only Malone, Ohio, and Simon Fraser, British Columbia, in the combined team point championship.

The Pioneers, who also won the men's team championship, finished with 223 points to claim the national combined title. Simon Fraser, which won its fifth straight women's team crown, was second with 327. BH followed in third place with 457.

Walkinshaw's teams have performed well on the Dannehl course in Kenosha. After four years of running the national meet on a flat speed course outside of Louisville, Ky., the Yellow Jackets were anxious to get back to Kenosha, where hills and weather are both a factor.

True to form, Black Hills State ran above expectations in both divisions.

The BH men, who were tied with Lindenwood, Mo., for fifth in the final NAIA top 25 ranking, finished second to Malone for top team honors.

The Pioneers, who were ranked No. 1 throughout the season, had four runners score in the top 10 and totaled 59 points. Black Hills State was second with 144. Third place went to Lindenwood with 210 points.

"The men, it's pretty amazing," said Walkinshaw, whose team matched the runner-up finish posted by the BH men in 2000. "I thought there were six or seven teams that we're going to be vying for trophies. When you have three kids that are All-Americans, you figure you're going to do pretty well team-wise."

Simon Fraser continued its dominance of the women's division with its fifth consecutive team title and 10th overall. The Clan totaled 99 points to top Cedarville, Ohio, which finished with 145. Milligan, Tenn., was third with 163 points.

Black Hills State entered the national meet ranked No. 22 in the NAIA's final poll. The Yellow Jackets improved on that ranking by 14 spots, placing eighth with 255 points.

BH finished ahead of the two teams - Concordia, Neb., and Northwestern, Iowa - that finished ahead of the Yellow Jackets on a relatively flat course at the Region III week on Nov. 3 at Sioux Falls. Northwestern finished 10th, and Concordia was 15th on Saturday at Kenosha.

"Concordia and Northwestern are two teams that had beaten us pretty darn bad at regionals. That's an indicator of how well we ran today," Walkinshaw said. "The women got out really good. At the end, I thought, 'My gosh, we ran pretty well, and we might be in the top 10.'"

O'Lexey, a sophomore, covered the 5,000-meter Dannehl course in 17 minutes 58.8 seconds to place ninth overall. Kerry Washburn, a red-shirt sophomore returning from a foot injury that kept her out of the 2006 national race, placed 29th in 18:24.9 to become an All-American for the second time.

Alicia Verhulst finished 88th overall in 19:04.2, just ahead of Shelli Scheffler, who placed 89th in 19:04.5. Katie Cook placed 125th in 19:23.8, Kaila Ivers was 197th in 20:05.2 and Kayla Ferguson finished 222nd in 20:30.8 to round out BH's placings.

In the men's race, Wood, the Region III men's champ, placed 11th overall. A senior, Wood covered the 8,000-meter run in 25:03.5. Bordewyk followed in 18th place in 25:16.7, while Trent Waage was third in 25:24.1.

All three were recognized as All-Americans by finishing in the top 30.

"I was real happy for Allen, Trent and Cody," Walkinshaw said. "Cody has had some good races, but this was probably his best race ever in cross."

Mike Nekuda, a fifth-year senior from Hot Springs, placed 94th in 26:12.0 to crack the top 100. Birch Haraden was 133rd in 26:31.3, Tyrone White finished 143rd in 26:34.3 and K.C. Fiedler placed 161st in 26:44.4 for the Stingers.

South Dakota Mines' lone entrant in the 2007 national meet, Rob Hahn, finished on White's heels in the men's race, placing 144th in 26:34.3.

With its third-place finish in the combined Saturday, Black Hills State has now finished fifth or better in the two-team event seven times. It is the third time in three years BH had finished third in the combined team total.

The five individual All-Americans is also a record for the program. BH had four All-Americans in 2002 and 2003.

"We left there today feeling very, very good," Walkinshaw said.

Runners from Asuza Pacific, Calif., won both individual championships. Aron Rono won the men's race in 23:52.1. The women's race winner was Jaime Canterbury, who posted a winning time of 17:10.8.