Meet Results | GameDay Preview

RIVER FALLS, Wis. — Niels Anderson will be the first to admit that his Saint Mary's University track and field teams built up a good head of steam at their indoor season-opening SMU Early Birdinal last weekend.

And the Cardinals picked up right where they left off on Saturday at the UW-River Falls Falcon Winter Classic.

"It was a great day overall," said Anderson, whose men's team placed third, while the women were fifth. "We had a lot of fantastic performances and some individuals really stepped up — which is great to see."

Laura Schommer (Hutchinson, Minn.) led the way for the SMU women, as the junior pulled away in the final 15 meters to win the 400 in a time of 1:04.04. Schommer also added a third-place effort in the 55, stopping the clock in 7.77. Allie Thiel (Burr Ridge, Ill.), Clare Siska (Rochester, Minn.) and Amy Spitzmueller (New Brighton, Minn.) chipped in a 2-3-4 showing in the 3,000, posting times of 11:19.98, 11:27.56 and 11:59.95,, respectively. Maya Booker (St. Paul, Minn.) also enjoyed a strong day, placing second in the weight throw with a toss of 14.58 meters.

Aaron Haley (Plainview, Minn.) cruised to a first-place finish in the men's 3,000, stopping the clock in 9:22.06. Haley led a 1-3-5-6 effort by the Cardinals in the 3,000, as Jovan Newsum (Glendale Heights, Ill.) was third (9:33.47), followed by Jase Pater (Adrian, Minn.) in fifth (9:43.16) and John Soucheray (Woodbury, Minn.) in sixth (9:56.06).

Tyler Kircher (Cashton, Wis.) posted a second-place performance in the weight throw (14.57 meters), while adding a fourth in the shot put (12.13 meters), while Gus Wiggert (La Crosse, Wis.) was third in the shot put with a throw of 13.82 meters. Gabe Thiel (Elgin, Minn.) notched a time of 2:04.76 to place third in the 800) and Andrew Markert (St. Paul, Minn.) added a seventh in the 400 (55.00)

The Cardinals are right back in action next Saturday, traveling to Menomonie, Wis., to take part in the UW-Stout Warren Bowlus Invitational.