ST. PAUL, Minn. — It was Day 2 at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships Saturday afternoon—and the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota track and field teams certainly saved their best for last.
The Cardinals combined for two new school records and four top-3 finishes at the outdoor season-ending conference meet at Hamline University. The Cardinal men placed ninth overall, while the women finished 12
th.
Austin O'Hare enjoyed a record-setting day in the steeplechase, placing second with a school-record time of 9:29.44, just over a minute behind conference-champion Ryan Bugler of Saint John's, who won the event in 9:28.21.
And O'Hare wasn't the only one in a record-setting mood Saturday afternoon.
The Cardinal women's 4x100 relay team of
Becca Dup,
Bailey Joens,
Portia Mensah, and
Kynzie Smedsrud broke the school mark with a sixth-place time of 49.58
David Kemper,
Kyle Lichttenegger, and
Desmond Steward joined O'Hare as All-MIAC performers, placing second, third, and third, respectively in the pole vault, 200, and triple jump. Kemper cleared 4.73 meters en route to his second-place showing in the pole vault, while Lichttenegger clocked a time of 22.18 in the 200, and Steward posted a leap of 13.79 meters in the triple jump to finish third.
Along with his All-MIAC performance in the 200, Lichttenegger earned honorable-mention honors in the 100 with a fourth-place time of 11.10.
The Cardinals also had five other individuals post top-10 efforts on Saturday. Dup and
Brandon Krogman recorded ninth-place showings in the 100 (12.76) and 800 (1:58.04), respectively, while
Ross Kinderman (javelin, 46.40),
Natalie King (hammer throw, 41.94m), and Joens (high jump, 1.53m) all chipped in 10
th-place efforts.
Danielle Franke, meanwhile, chipped in a 19:54.46 to place 22
nd in the 5,000
