ST. PETER, Minn. — Saint Mary's University of Minnesota cross country coach Ward Berndt knew exactly what he wanted to get out of his athletes at Saturday's season-opening Gustavus Invitational.
 
And he got it.
 
Led by Aaron Haley's (Plainview, Minn.) ninth-place finish, the Cardinal men placed third, while Katie Stolz (Forest Lake, Minn.) fueled the Saint Mary's women's third-place showing by placing seventh.
 
"It was a good first meet for us," said Berndt. "We got through healthy and I thought everyone put together a solid performance."
 
Haley and Stolz, both coming off all-conference and all-region seasons a year ago, picked up right where they left off on Saturday.  Haley clocked a five-kilometer time of 17:03, while Stolz toured the 5K course in 21:06.
 
Austin O'Hare (Rushford, Minn.) making his collegiate debut, chipped in a time of 17:16 to place 13th, while Jovan Newsum (Glendale Heights, Ill.) was 16th (17:32), Jase Pater (Adrian, Minn.) was 19th (17:49) and Sherman Moga (Shoreview, Minn.) was 21st (18:09). Brandon Krogman ( / 18:31), Andy Meyer (Tucson, Ariz. / 19:28), Andrew Markert (St. Paul, Minn. / 19:57), Tyler Fiebig (Baraboo, Wis. / 20:05) and Killan Gordon (La Crescent, Minn. / 23:47) rounded out the Saint Mary's men's lineup.
 
Along with Stolz's seventh-place effort, the Cardinal women got a 15th-place time of 21:56 from Allie Thiel (Burr Ridge, Ill.) and an 18th-place time of 22:05 from Clare Siska (Rochester, Minn.). Bridget Hayes (Chicago, Ill. / 22:14), Mary Hayes (Chicago, Ill. / 23:20), Jessie Burns (Chanhassen, Minn. / 23:24), Ashley Bollig (Saint Croix Falls, Wis. / 24:09) and Paige Schernecker (Manawa, Wis. / 24:38) rounded out the women's lineup.
 
The Cardinals are back in action on Saturday, when they return home to host the Saint Mary's Alumni Open