By RYAN BUCHMEIER
Saint Mary's Sports Information Intern
 
STEVENS POINT, Wis. — With the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Indoor Championships only one week away, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota track and field teams were hoping to put in some great performances Saturday at the UW-Stevens Point Big Dawg Invitational.

And they did not disappoint.

Portia Mensah (Bloomington, Minn.) ran a fantastic race, taking third in the 60 with her time of 8.19, dropping over a 10th of a second from her previous PR and placing her third all-time for the Cardinals.

Maria Missurelli (Franklin, Wis.) finished second in the pole vault, tying her own indoor school record of 3.40m, while Danielle Franke (Mounds View, Minn.) took third in the 3000 with a time of 11:28.52, and Natalie King (Houston, Minn.) finished third in the weight throw (14.53m). All four women were able to secure their place in conference with their performances, and the women's team was able to take fourth place overall in the meet, scoring a combined total of 38.33 points.

For the Cardinal men, Brandon Krogman (Owatonna, Minn.) and Austin O'Hare (Rushford, Minn.) each took first place in their particular events, with Krogman running a 1:56.06 in the 800 and O'Hare running a 4:23.78 in the mile.

While everyone else was at the Big Dawg, the Cardinal jumpers traveled to Oshkosh, Wis. for the Titan Challenge.

Becca Dup (Albert Lea, Minn.) got a taste of nationals today, as she competed against former national triple jump champion Bria Halama. Not fazed in the least, Dup still finished well in both the long and triple jumps—taking third in triple (11.52m) and second in long (5.53m), tying her current indoor school record. Desmond Steward (Milwaukee, Wis.) had a fantastic meet as well, taking second in men's triple jump (13.58m), and second in the long jump (6.75m).

The Cardinals hope to repeat their successes this season next weekend, as they travel to Macalester's Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn. for the MIAC Indoor Championships.