MENOMONIE, Wis. — The stage was bigger—and so were the performances of the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota track and field teams.
After opening the season at the three-team Saint Mary's Early Birdinal last weekend, the Cardinals stepped into a much bigger arena on Saturday—taking part in the nine-team UW-Stout Open.
And the Cardinals were certainly up for the challenge.
Saint Mary's picked up a pair of first-place finishes, while boasting 16 top 10 performances at the non-team-scored event.
Morris Dennis (Elk River, Minn.) and
Jovan Newsum (Glendale Heights, Ill.) got things going for the Cardinal men, as Dennis won the 400 with a time of 51.53, while Newsum—coming off a stellar cross country season in which he became Saint Mary's first-ever male NCAA national qualifier—grabbed a first in the 3,000, stopping the clock in 9:16.40.
Newsum was one of three Cardinals to finish in the top 10 in the 3,000, as
Austin O'Hare (Rushford, Minn.) was second (9:42.67) and
Jase Pater (Adrian, Minn.) placed fifth (9:55.52).
Ross Kinderman (Onalaska, Wis.) finished second in the long jump (6.55 meters) and
Jacob Hagen-Erickson (Austin, Minn.) was third in the triple jump (10.38 meters), while
Brandon Krogman chipped in a fifth in the 800 (2:02.72),
Tyler Kircher (Cashton, Wis.) added an eighth in the weight throw (14.47 meters), and
Aaron Haley (Plainview, Minn.) and
Jared Wolt (Farmington, Minn.) chipped in 10ths in the mile (4:49.69) and 800 (2:06.85), respectively.
On the women's side, Laura Schommer (Hutchinson, Minn.) led the way, finishing second in the 400 (1:01.83) and fifth in the 60 (8.34). Alicia Berkenes (Buffalo, Minn.) led a trio of top 10 finishers in the mile with a sixth-place time of 6:06.06, followed by Mary Hayes (Chicago, Ill. / 8th, 6:06.95) and Bridget Hayes (Chicago, Ill. / 0th, 6:07.60), with Maria Missurelli (Franklin, Wis.) adding a seventh in the pole vault (2.76 meters).
The Cardinals are back on the track next Saturday, as Saint Mary's travels to River Falls, Wis., to take part in the UW-River Falls Falcon Classic.
