Complete Meet Results
MENOMONIE, Wis. — Saint Mary's University track and field coach Paul Thornton was hoping his team could turn in one more solid performance before the season-ending Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Indoor Championships.
After all, his teams had been averaging a school-record a meet prior to last Friday's UW-Stout Invitational, and a repeat performance would be the perfect final tune-up for his Cardinals.
One school record wasn't enough for the Cardinals, however, as Assumpta Mbele (Northfield, Minn.) Ashley Dingels (Gibbon, Minn.), Amber Liss (Onalaska, Wis.) and Jenny Folgers (McHenry, Ill.) teamed to rewrite the SMU record books in both the 4 x 200 and 4 x 400 relays to highlight the Cardinals' performance in their final regular-season meet of the season.
The SMU foursome clocked a time of 1:50.63 in placing second in the 4 x 200, then added a first-place time of 4:08.24 in the 4 x 400.
"It was a pretty good meet for us," said Thornton. "We turned in some good, solid times. I think for a final meet before the MIAC Championships it was a very positive showing. Now we can hopefully carry this over to that all-important conference meet."
Along with their record-setting performances in the relays, Liss, Dingels and Folgers were also outstanding on their own. Liss won the 400 with a time of 60.39, while Dingels was second in the 200 (26.86) and Folgers was third in the 55 hurdles (8.97).
Not to be outdone by their female counterparts, the SMU men were also solid at the UW-Stout Invite.
B.J. Klenke (Jordan, Minn.) posted a seasonal-best and team-leading time of 2:00.80 in placing sixth in the 800, while teammate Ethan Lane (Winona, Minn.) added a sesaon-best time of 2:02.69 to take eighth.
Todd Yankowski (Chicago, Ill.) and Chris Beach (Maple Grove, Minn.) chipped in a 4-5 finish in the high jump with leaps of 5-8 and 5-6, respectively, while Beach added a fifth in the 55 hurdles (10.07) and a 12th in the pole vault (12-5 1/4).
Shawn Stewart (McHenry, Ill.) finished fourth in the 55 hurdles (8.65) and sixth in the long jump (18-5 3/4), while Travis Simmering (Fairmont, Minn.) was fifth in the triple jump (40-1 1/2).
